By Lilia Bacu | Global Giving Lead
Dear friends,
I am amazed at the work Team Heart volunteers do in Rwanda. We have such a dedicated team of healthcare professionals who are determined to share their knowledge and educate the people of Rwanda in such a way that ensures inclusive and quality education for all while promoting lifelong learning. Our highly skilled sonography team has returned this month to Rwanda for another two weeks of screening and continued teaching, as well as skill transfer to nurses working in District Hospital NCD Clinics in Rwanda. Partnering with the Rwanda Biomedical Arm of the Ministry of Health, this is the second official training the team has conducted. Several Team Heart volunteers though are returning for their second or third trip. One of the Rwanda nurses who participated in this transfer of skill program is Olivier Hagumakubana, who is a senior NCD nurse at Kibungo Referral Hospital in the far east of Rwanda. Nurses are described as the backbone of the health care system and Olivier is a perfect example of why that is true. In 2014 Olivier participated in the first ECHO training led by David Adams 2014 team and he quickly picked up the techniques. Even more importantly, he asked for follow-up teaching and was mentored by the echo team and local cardiologist over subsequent visits. He now shares his skills to teach others. Olivier, and other nurses like him continue the work Team Heart has started, to diagnose early cardiac disease in vulnerable patients located in rural settings and refer them for cardiac care.
One of the patients who benefitted from these echocardiogram programs is Laetetia, who is a lucky young lady that desperately needed cardiac surgery for rheumatic heart disease. She finished the senior level of schooling in Rwanda and was very determined to follow her career path. Laetetia was first to be selected for one of the 16 spots we often have in the 8 days of surgery, and subsequently applied for a scholarship through a loyal Team Heart donor to attend University. She took a semester off to have baby Christella Emily, and then immediately jumped back to her last semester to obtain a degree in public health. She is living proof that your donations do more- and even though you might have made a donation 3 years ago for her.
Our goal is to build a cardiac center of excellence in Rwanda that will attract and serve the people in need of cardiac care. #CardiacHospital4Rwanda
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me at liliabacu@yahoo.com.
Lilia Bacu
Team Heart Advisory Board
Global Giving Lead
https://www.globalgiving.org/ projects/team-heart/
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