Fighting Disease

The Rotary Club of Fort Collins has a long history on participation in a wide variety of health-related projects in developing countries.  Each year, we initiate several projects in countries all over the world.  Below are examples of health projects that have been completed in recent years.Type your content here...
Posted on Dec 26, 2021
Barron Clinic Project Approved

The Barron Clinic is in rural Sinaloa Mexico outside of Mazatlán, Mexico. The Mazatlán Rotary club and the Rotary Club of Fort Collins, CO, USA are partnering to fund some basic medical equipment for this clinic. The Barron Clinic NGO has been working for over 5 years and has achieved substantial success in serving the underprivileged  in this rural area.

Here is the list of equipment provided. All equipment is purchase new in Mazatlán:

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Malaria Net Project in Ghana

 

The purchase and distribution of these mosquito nets was a joint project between the Rotary Club of Ft. Collins and the Rotary Club of Accra East Ghana. On December 1, 2007 approximately 300 insecticide-treated mosquito bednets were distributed in the communities of Ayim, Adenkrabi, Agyemanti and Jamaicaso in Ghana where the incidence of malaria is very high. The majority of the beneficiaries were pregnant mothers, infants and children up to 5 years old.

Fistula Hospital in Ethiopia (MG #54354) 

 

This was a project conducted with the Rotary Club of Addis Ababa Bole in Ethiopia to provide beds, furniture, and equipment for a hostel for young indigent women seeking treatment at the fistula hospital in Addis Ababa (right). An obstetric fistula of the kind that occurs in Ethiopia (and many other developing countries) is a hole between a woman's birth passage and one or more of her internal organs. This results from prolonged labor that causes the tissue damage.  This hole results in permanent incontinence of urine and/or feces. A majority of women who develop fistulas are abandoned by their husbands and ostracized by their communities because of their inability to have children and their foul smell.  Additional information on the fistula treatment programs in Ethiopia..

Dental Project in Mexico (MG #53113)

This project was conducted with the Rotary Club of Torreon, Mexico.  Dr. Art Missirlian (left), a Fort Collins dentist, and a team of assistants have volunteered on numerous occasions to provide free dental care to the people in small villages around Torreon, Mexico.  On each trip, they would have to haul all of their dental equipment and supplies; an arduous and expensive exercise.  This project was initiated to purchase portable dental equipment to make it much easier to provide badly needed dental care to poor residents in villages around Torreon, Mexico.  Over $7,000 worth of dental equipment and supplies were purchased and are stored permanently in Torreon where they are easily available for Dr. Missirlian and others who travel to the area to provide dental care to local residents.

Cataract Surgery Projects in Indonesia (MG #9946 and 12046)

Our club has participated in several preventable blindness projects with financial support to provide cataract surgery to poor people in Indonesia who could otherwise not afford the procedure. 

Working with the Rotary Club of Purwokerto in Central Java, Indonesia and surgical teams who volunteered their time and expertise, these projects provided cataract surgery to several hundred people at a cost of approximately USD 100/person.

Surgeons performing cataract surgery (right above).

Rotarian Joe Looper (center left) visiting a cataract patient in the recovery room.


 

 

 

 

India Deafness Project (MG #19838)

 
Club member and Ft. Collins physician Dr. P.K. Vedanthan who volunteers several months each year to provide medical care to poor people in rural Indian villages.  Thanks largely to his efforts, the Rotary Club of Ft. Collins has participated in several deafness projects in India.  Working with the Rotary Club of Chitradurga, India, MG#19838 provided resources to purchase equipment, instruments and hearing aids and allowed expert volunteers to conduct 26 hearing camps in remote villages in which over 5,000 patients were screened for hearing problems.  Minor surgical procedures were performed on 368 patients and hearing aids were provided to many needy people.  The camps were used as a training opportunity as junior physicians and paramedical staff were able to learn from the Ear, Nose and Throat specialists who volunteered their time for the hearing camps.  In addition, the Rotary Club of Chitradurga was able to get local youth involved in this service project by getting members of the Interact and Rotoract clubs to participate as volunteers in providing logistical support for the camps.