Esperanca is a global health non-profit that provides life-changing programs to over 100,000 people a year. We provide poor children and families with surgical missions, training to grow nutritious food microbusinesses, building safe housing, access to clean water and preventing as well as treating diseases.

a  46 year-old woman from Nicaragua, who desperately needs surgery for an ureterovaginal  fistula that resulted from a very difficult surgery, performed by volunteer surgeon. She will travel to San Francisco courtesy of Esperança, an international nonprofit whose mission is to improve the health and well being of the world’s poor and the Lion’s Club of San Francisco .  Upon arriving, she’s scheduled to receive pro-bono healthcare from Kaiser Permanente San Francisco Medical Center.

The surgery, equipment, supplies and doctor’s time will be donated by Kaiser Permanente San Francisco Medical Center.  Esperança will cover the travel costs and any transportation and while the patient is in the United States. The patient will remain in the San Francisco area for approximately three weeks.  During her recovery period, Kaiser Permanente will provide follow-up care.

Dr. Diane Sklar, a gynecologic surgeon, who has volunteered her time with Esperança for seven years will perform the surgery with Dr Arturo Martinez , a Kiaser urologist.   She has completed eight volunteer medical missions outside of the United States with Esperança and is passionate about giving back to those less fortunate.

Dr. Sklar completed a medical mission trip to Nicaragua in May 2012 and met this particular patient for consultation.  She learned that the Nicaragua doctors were unsuccessful in attempting to repair the patient’s fistula and due to the difficulty of the procedure,  and availability of specialized equipment at Kaiser, Dr. Sklar recommended she come to the United States for the final procedure to repair her condition.

Tom Egan, president and CEO of Esperança notes, “Dr. Sklar and her team are committed to the poor and uninsured regardless of where they are from.  This woman has lived with Massive fibroids in her uterus for more than seven years.  The fibroids were symptomatic and made her look 6-months pregnant and has made her a social outcast in her small village.  She has never married or had children Dr. Sklar’s willingness to provide quality care to her in the United States is her only hope of being cured.  It’s truly remarkable what Dr. Sklar and her team are willing to do to help.”

“In our country there has been much discussion and debate about our healthcare system. Whatever your beliefs on that discussion are, we still have the best healthcare system in the world.  The families and children that we see in the developing world have either never seen a doctor before in their life or as in the case of this woman, the system in her home country is not capable of helping her,” added Egan.

The Kaiser Permanente team will consist of Dr. Sklar, Dr. Robert Karoukian, anesthesiologist, who has done 3 trips with Esperanca in both Bolivia and Nicaragua and Dr. Martinez, urologist.  The estimated value of this donated surgery is $50,000 and an additional $5,000 in travel and lodging costs.

The patient is scheduled to depart on Jan. 17 and the surgeon will take place in San Francisco on Jan. 22. Dr. Sklar will be available for interviews.  Should you want to attend, please contact Lindsay Hansen, PR Consultant (480-205-6195) or Christina Araiza, Esperança Program Director (602-252-7772 EXT. 104) to make arrangements.

If you are interested in sponsoring a medical mission trip through Esperança, please contact Jared Leslie at 602-252-7772.

Esperança is pleased to announce Chelsea Sage Durkin and Paula Eick have joined the organization’s board of directors.

Chelsea Sage Durkin is an attorney at Osborn Maledon, P.A. As a litigation associate, her practice focuses on general commercial litigation, criminal defense and attorney regulation. She’s a Phoenix native and has diverse connections in the community. She is a board member for Angels on Patrol and volunteers with Tumbleweed Center for Youth Development.

“We’re thrilled to have Chelsea on our board,” said Tom Egan, president and CEO of Esperanca. “She’s a third generation supporter of Esperança. Her grandmother and parents have been supporters for at least 20 years. It’s really neat to have families share the tradition of community giving with their children and grandchildren. Chelsea is very familiar with our mission.”

Paula Eick is safety director/risk manager at Adolfson & Peterson Construction. She’s been there for the past five years and is responsible for health, safety and environmental compliance on jobsites in Arizona, California, Washington and Oklahoma.

“The mission of Esperança is appealing to me in that it addresses the most basic needs people often take for granted: clean water, access to health care including basic knowledge about nutrition and disease, and safe and clean living quarters. I am hopeful that my talents can help make a difference in the lives of others,” said Eick.

PHOENIX, Ariz. (Nov. 2, 2012)- Esperança has received the GuideStar Exchange Seal, a leading symbol of transparency and accountability provided by GuideStar USA, Inc., the premier source of nonprofit information. The Seal demonstrates to Esperança’s vast support-base our deep commitment to nonprofit transparency and accountability.

“We have worked hard to showcase our progress toward our mission, and our long-held belief in being transparent about our work, to our constituents,” said Tom Egan, president and CEO of Esperança. “As a GuideStar Exchange member, we use their platform to share a wealth of up-to-date information about our work to our supporters and GuideStar’s immense online audience of nonprofits, grantmakers, individual donors, and the media.”

In order to be awarded the GuideStar Exchange Seal, Esperança had to fill out every required field of our nonprofit report page on www.guidestar.org, including our annual report, photos, videos, etc.

“I encourage you to check out our profile on GuideStar to see what we’re all about,” added Egan. “We are engaged in exciting initiatives, and we are thrilled to have another platform for communicating our advancement and progress.”

About the GuideStar Exchange
The GuideStar Exchange is an initiative designed to connect nonprofits with current and potential supporters. With millions of people coming to GuideStar to learn more about nonprofit organizations, the GuideStar Exchange allows nonprofits to share a wealth of up-to-date information with GuideStar’s many audiences. Becoming a GuideStar Exchange member is free of charge. To join, organizations need to update their report pages, completing all required fields for membership. The GuideStar Exchange Seal, acknowledged as a symbol of transparency in the nonprofit sector, is displayed on all Exchange members’ report pages.

About Esperança
Since 1970, Esperança has been providing programs to improve the health and well being of the world’s poor. Headquartered in Phoenix, Ariz., this international nonprofit provides volunteer surgical missions, health education, training of community health workers, home building, clean water projects, micro enterprise, agricultural development, dental treatment and prevention programs, and sends donated medical equipment and supplies to project sites around the world. Esperança’s goal is to build clean, sustainable and healthy communities worldwide. To learn more, visit: www.esperanca.org.

We’re pleased to announce Jared Leslie has joined our team as Development Director.  Feel free to read about him in this week’s Phoenix Business Journal.

Jared Leslie