HOPE in Action in Poland, Kosovo and Macedonia
This week,, I am visiting HOPE’s program sites in Poland, Kosovo and Macedonia, where our long-term relationships in these countries are providing health care and lifesaving medicines.
Each and every day, I am inspired by the work Project HOPE achieves to make health care accessible to children, women and families around the globe.
But I have to admit, I am even more encouraged when I have the opportunity to visit HOPE’s program sites and see our work in action first hand. This week, I have the opportunity to travel to HOPE’s program sites in Poland, Kosovo and Macedonia, where our long-term relationships in these countries are providing health care and lifesaving medicines to people still recovering from the cold-war era.
First, I will visit the University Children’s Hospital in Krakow. HOPE began supporting the hospital nearly 40 years ago. Today, the hospital serves as a Center of Excellence throughout the region, providing health care training opportunities in the most up-to-date pediatric medicine specialties, with an emphasis on the detection and diagnosis of pediatric cancer and quality of life for young cancer patients.
Later in the week, I will visit HOPE staff and program sites in Kosovo. HOPE began working in Kosovo in 1999, as one of the first responders to the humanitarian crisis in the country following the war. Today, we operate a successful Medical Resupply Program which not only delivers critical medicines to people in need, it also helps the ministry of health save money which can be reinvested in the country’s health system to save even more lives.
My final stop will be meeting with HOPE program staff and volunteers in Macedonia. In 1992, Project HOPE became the first health organization to provide humanitarian assistance to Macedonia with a delivery of medicines and medical supplies valued at $1.9 million. That delivery helped set the early stages for a successful Medical Resupply Program in the region. Since 2006, Macedonia has become an example of how to build an effective program which has delivered more than $40 million of medicines and medical supplies to better the health of people in the region.
I look forward to meeting with Project HOPE staff, volunteers and partners in the region. But I especially look forward to meeting the beneficiaries of our programs, hearing their stories and learning what else Project HOPE can do to help provide Health Opportunities to People Everywhere.
Be sure to check back to learn more about our programs in Poland, Kosovo and Macedonia.
John