Physicians for Peace Receives $500,000 Grant for Rehabilitation Work in Haiti

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A patient at the Haitian Amputee Coalition clinic at Albert Schweitzer Hospital in Deschapelles. Photo by Roberto Westbrook for Physicians for Peace

NORFOLK, VA (02/01/2011)(readMedia)-- One year after a 7.0 earthquake devastated Haiti, ChildFund International, a Richmond, Va.-based international child development nonprofit, has awarded a $500,000 grant to Physicians for Peace. The money will support Physicians for Peace's work in Haiti, funding custom-fitted prosthetics, medical equipment, a summer camp for children, and many additional efforts.

"The grant funds will help build long-term health care capacity and human resources in Haiti, while meeting the immediate needs of disabled poor children and their families," said Brig. Gen. Ron Sconyers (USAF, Ret.), president and CEO of Physicians for Peace. "Through programs such as a summer camp, which will provide children with psychosocial care and the opportunity to engage with other children, the grant money will help Haitians in a comprehensive manner consistent with our core philosophy to teach, empower and heal through sustainable initiatives."

Physicians for Peace has a history of collaborative partnerships in Haiti, having worked extensively with in-country organizations, including St. Vincent's Center for Handicapped Children. Immediately after the disaster, Physicians for Peace became a founding member of the Haitian Amputee Coalition, a public-private partnership with Albert Schweitzer Hospital, the Hanger Ivan R. Sabel Foundation, the Catholic Medical Mission Board, the Harold and Kayrita Anderson Family Foundation and the Shepherd Center, among other groups. Hanger and the Catholic Medical Mission Board are both sub-grantees of the ChildFund grant, working directly with Physicians for Peace to provide services in Haiti.

"ChildFund's focus is on keeping children on the pathway of development. Natural disasters such as the Haitian earthquake create terrible situations that put already vulnerable children in grave danger," said Anne Lynam Goddard, president and CEO of ChildFund International. "Working with Physicians for Peace means that children and others with disabilities will receive the support they need and reinforces ChildFund's commitment to creating positive outcomes and lasting change for vulnerable children."

In 2010, Physicians for Peace contributed more than $100,000 in direct investments and more than $350,000 in gift-in-kind donations to Haiti. The organization also sent a total of 15 volunteer physical therapists to the Haitian Amputee Coalition clinic at Albert Schweitzer Hospital in Deschapelles. Those therapists provided some 1,700 hours of volunteer service to 635 patients.

In addition to providing direct physical and psychosocial care to Haiti's disabled children, the $500,000 grant will allow Physicians for Peace to:

• Support the safety, security and health of patients.
• Increase the capacity of prosthetic providers to provide fitting and maintenance services, with a special focus on child and adolescent amputees, through training and mentoring.
• Participate in the launch of a national prosthetics and orthotics training and certification program for Haitian technicians.
• Coordinate community outreach and promotion for rehabilitation and child-centered services within communities affected by the earthquake.
• Provide medical equipment to healthcare providers and assistive devices (crutches, walkers, etc.) to patients, including children.

For more information on Physicians for Peace's work in Haiti, please visit www.physiciansforpeace.org.

ABOUT PHYSICIANS FOR PEACE

Physicians for Peace is an international non-profit organization that mobilizes volunteer healthcare professionals to assist developing nations with unmet medical needs and scarce resources. Through effective, hands-on medical education and training, clinical care and donated medical supplies, Physicians for Peace develops long-term, sustainable, replicable, and evidence-based programs to help partner nations build medical capability and capacity to help themselves. Since 1989 Volunteers for the 501(c) (3) nonprofit organization have conducted medical missions in more than 60 countries. With its headquarters in Norfolk, Va., Physicians for Peace has programs in 22 countries and offices in Manila, the Philippines and Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

ABOUT CHILDFUND INTERNATIONAL

ChildFund International is a global child development and protection agency serving more than 15.2 million children and their family members in 31 countries. For more than 70 years, it has helped the world's deprived, excluded and vulnerable children survive and thrive to reach their full potential and become leaders of enduring change. As a member of ChildFund Alliance we create supportive environments in which children can flourish.