Current Projects

Our Hearts Are In El Salvador

Gift of Life International's Board of Directors has selected El Salvador as its country of focus for 2010. This means that the over 60 Gift of Life programs around the world will work as one to bring assistance to the children of El Salvador who suffer from congenital heart defects.

Over a 6 month time span we will work to provide the necessary procedures/operations to a minimum of 80 El Salvadorian children. This will be accomplished by the work of hundreds of healthcare professionals, volunteers and Rotarians throughout the world. Investments of hundreds of thousands of dollars will be made by those that for no other reason want to help a child in need. We will break this effort up into two Phases: Phase One will entail the funding of 50 cardiac catheterization interventions in country. Phase Two will see a minimum of 30 children sent to over 25 Gift of Life affiliated hospitals in over 13 countries. By sending the children to hospitals throughout the world, we will illustrate the needs of the El Salvadorian children who suffer from congenital heart defects and focus the global-community of pediatric cardiac surgeons and cardiologists on helping them. Additionally, this effort will create support within the network of Gift of Life programs to continue to invest in the care of these children. Once the children recover from their procedures/operations and are home safely we will begin the final stage of the program - the formulation of a strategy to develop a sustainable pediatric cardiac surgery program at a hospital in El Salvador.

The key will be to obtain support from the El Salvadorian Government and an in country hospital to prioritize the development of a sustainable program. Throughout our 6 month program we will brief the Government, hospital administrators, physicians and other interested parties on a regular basis. They will be fully informed as to what has been done around the world and in El Salvador on behalf of the El Salvadorian children. This program is designed to be a dramatic illustration of the resources that are available around the world to help with the process in El Salvador to develop a sustainable program.

In October, Gift of Life International will convene a conference that includes all stakeholders. The goal of this conference will be to develop a, Memorandum of Understanding which will form the basis for making a sustainable pediatric cardiac surgical program a reality in El Salvador. Once all interested parties are in agreement on how to proceed, we will work to provide the necessary funding and support to make a sustainable program a reality for El Salvador and its children. Our goal will be to have such a program in place by the year 2014.