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WORLD CONNECT FUNDS NEW PROJECTS IN 5 COUNTRIES; PROGRAM CONNECTS MOTHERS TO MOTHERS WORLDWIDE

Celebrates Mother’s Day with First Round of Grants; Honors Kenia Feliz, Changemaker in Dominican Republic

WALTHAM, Mass. – May 4, 2010 – World Connect today announced its first round of grants connecting mothers to mothers worldwide. Funding projects in Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Mali and Rwanda, projects range from healthcare facility improvement and health education, to early literacy and school enhancement programs to skill workshops and business development for women, all with the central goal of improving the health and well-being of women and children.

“World Connect is pleased to celebrate Mother’s Day with our first round of World Connect Grants by connecting mothers to mothers worldwide,” said Sarah Henry, executive director of World Connect. “Through our program, we work directly with community leaders who identify solutions to challenges affecting the health and well-being of women and children in their communities. The impact is direct, immediate and life changing.”

The World Connect Grants program is a giving channel for projects led by mothers and other champions of women’s health and well-being to support health, education and/or income generation. Grants go directly to changemakers in high need communities and empower these local leaders to solve problems in their communities. World Connect Is inspiring change by giving these leaders the support they need to turn their good ideas into reality. World Connect reviews, approves and funds projects twice a year with grant awards up to $2,500 each. 

Projects and social entrepreneurs receiving funding from this inaugural round of World Connect Grants include:

Women of Volcan Greenhouse & Nursery, Volcan, Costa Rica
Local women’s group to construct a greenhouse and nursery for fruit, vegetables, medicinal & ornamental plants. Project is designed to improve nutrition in a vitamin-deficient community and generate income for the women’s group.

Rural Maternity Improvements in Kati, Mali
Rural community health center to install solar panels and running water to improve conditions for labor and delivery. This project will make the maternity ward of the health center more inviting and improve access to healthcare services for mothers and their newborns.

World Connect Honors Community Leader
Kenia Feliz is an example of a changemaker who has been funded by World Connect and has made a meaningful difference in the health and well-being of women and children in her community. 

“This Mother’s Day, World Connect is pleased to honor Kenia Feliz as a role model and passionate champion for women and children in her community,” added Sarah Henry. “When we first met Kenia, she hadn’t finished high school. Now, she is pursuing her nursing degree and has countless medical trainings and certifications. She is not only a loving mother, but a respected and community leader.”

Kenia was elected by her community in the Dominican Republic to be a health promoter. Her job involves visiting mothers in the community to encourage them to seek prenatal care, visiting newborns in their homes within the first couple of days to educate mothers about breastfeeding and potential danger signs, keeping records of visits and seeking out mothers who do not return for follow-up, and visiting patients from the community when they are sent to the local hospital.

Still Time to Send a Mother’s Day Bouquet
Looking for something special to send a mother in your life? Go to http://www.worldconnect-us.org/mothers-day-bouquet.php

Press Contact: Jacquelyn Caglia jacquelyn(at)worldconnect-us.org (781) 894-8050 ext. 204

Press Archive 

National Kids to Kids Day Celebrates a New Generation of Global Leaders and Citizens

April 30 Marks First National Day Highlighting the Work of Kids to Kids Building Awareness and Raising Money to Bring Change to Kids Everywhere

April 26, 2010 -- World Connect, formerly Infante Sano, a non-profit that empowers local leaders in underserved communities to solve local problems, today announced plans for the celebration of the first-ever National Kids to Kids Day on April 30. This coordinated event will raise awareness and funds for the Kids to Kids program to bring about positive change in the lives of kids everywhere.

“National Kids to Kids Day is a celebration of the many kids in the US who are committed to getting involved and changing the lives of their peers around the world,” said Sarah Henry, executive director of World Connect. “The day is also a celebration of the thousands of kids in our partner countries who are taking part in the projects Kids to Kids funds. However, in many ways, this day is most about kids everywhere recognizing they are citizens of a global community and that they can have an active role in shaping their collective future.”

For Kids to Kids Day, students are holding local events that spotlight the gap in basic opportunities for youth in education, recreation and cultural programs in countries around the world. The goal is to encourage more students to get involved with Kids to Kids by becoming Kids to Kids Members, helping to raise money and awareness and joining in the online voting that determines which overseas projects are funded. (Read more about the recent round of grants funded by Kids to Kids in “World Connect Funds 51 New Projects through Kids to Kids Program.”

Some of the events our members have planned include:

* Groton School, MA: Kids to Kids members are hosting an environment themed day with a cookout, t-shirt sale and student dance
* Wayland High School, MA: Kids to Kids members are hosting a movie night fundraiser
* Bayview High School, RI: Kids to Kids members are holding a candygram fundraiser at school


For others looking to plan an event for Kids to Kids Day, World Connect offers a toolkit on the Kids to Kids Website.

National Kids to Kids Day comes at an exciting time as the Kids to Kids program is growing on multiple fronts. Kids from 15 states have taken the membership pledge and are helping to build the program in their schools and communities. Kids to Kids is now working to fund projects in 10 countries and, with a total of 230 projects, has affected the lives of more than 12,000 kids abroad.

Press Contact: Jacquelyn Caglia jacquelyn(at)worldconnect-us.org (781) 894-8050 ext. 204

WORLD CONNECT LAUNCHES MOTHERS TO MOTHERS

Celebrates International Women’s Day with Call for Grant Proposals to Help Women and Children in Resource Poor Communities Worldwide

WALTHAM, Mass. – March 8, 2010 – World Connect, formerly Infante Sano, a non-profit that empowers local leaders in underserved communities to solve local problems, today officially launched its new Mothers to Mothers program in celebration of the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day. The program tackles the very real healthcare and poverty gaps facing women and children in communities around the world. With Mothers to Mothers, World Connect is creating a giving channel for mothers and other champions of women’s health and well-being through the support of health, education and/or income generation projects. Grants will go to changemakers in high need communities. The impact is direct, immediate and life changing. Since 2005, World Connect has contributed millions of dollars through nearly 200 grants, supporting more than 150 communities in eight countries.

“Mothers to Mothers was created to empower women around the world to improve the health and wellbeing of their families and communities,” said Sarah Henry, Executive Director of World Connect. “We want mothers and those who love them to raise money and awareness here in the U.S. and for women in communities worldwide to have the means to solve the problems they see around them every day. This program is about creating change through community action both here in the U.S. and abroad.”

Grant requests are sought from community leaders working in partnership with Peace Corps volunteers in seven countries: Belize, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Mali and Rwanda. Through Mothers to Mothers grants, these community leaders will have the funding they need to help turn their good ideas into reality. World Connect reviews, approves and funds Mothers to Mothers projects with up to $2,500 each, and seeks to fund at least 50 new projects in 2010. Requests for funding are due by April 19, 2010. For more information about the program go to www.worldconnect-us.org.

Grants of this size can do miraculous things help small communities, especially in countries where many people live on less than a dollar a day. World Connect hopes to support a variety of projects from improving clinical services and health education at rural health clinics to building water systems so that women can avoid walking hours a day to find water.

“This is great news because the Peace Corps volunteers here see opportunities everyday where a little well placed funding can spark big change,” said Claudia Martinez, Youth Development Program Manager of the Peace Corps country office in El Salvador. “It’s even better news for my people! I will be spreading the word about this wonderful opportunity for communities to find funding for practical, important ways to boost their overall quality of life.”

Announcing the launch of Mothers to Mothers and the kick off of the first grant cycle today is World Connect’s way of honoring the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day and the work of the White Ribbon Alliance (WRA). “We celebrate that on this, the 100-year anniversary of International Women’s Day, almost all women live through the complications of pregnancy and childbirth, thanks to the care they receive from skilled midwives, nurses and doctors, ” said Theresa Shaver, WRA President and Executive Director. “However, we have much to do to ensure care for the millions of women, most of them in developing countries, who give birth alone or with only a family member or neighbor to help. Only a significant increase of investments in maternal health in communities where women need care can save lives.”

Press Contact: Jacquelyn Caglia jacquelyn(at)worldconnect-us.org (781) 894-8050 ext. 204

Infante Sano Physicians Win Prestigious Support from the American Academy of Pediatrics

Boston, MA - February 2, 2009 - Dr. Sara Tolentino, Infante Sano Country Director in the Dominican Republic has been awarded a prestigious community health grant from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). In partnership with Dr. Kim Wilson, her colleague and Medical Director at Infante Sano, Dr. Tolentino has received a three-year grant from the AAP’s International Community Access to Child Health (I-CATCH) program.

Dr. Tolentino, a leading advocate for child health in the Dominican Republic, will receive $2,000 US per year from AAP in support of Infante Sano’s community health interventions. Under Dr. Tolentino’s leadership in the Dominican Republic, Infante Sano will direct these funds to improving the health of newborns during the postnatal period in two communities in the southwestern region of the country. As part of this three-year project, Infante Sano is strengthening its network of community health workers in the Dominican Republic to provide postnatal home visits to mothers and newborns, bringing healthcare out into the community and into people’s home during the most critical period for mom and baby. Ultimately, the goal is to improve the capacity of mothers to care for well and high-risk infants by teaching them to recognize potential danger signs and seek care when needed, while also improving the quality of care available at the community level.

Infante Sano, Spanish for Healthy Infant, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit with the mission to improve the health and well-being of mothers and infants in Latin America and the Caribbean. Every year over 10 million mothers and children die throughout the developing world. Yet providing simple, effective, low-cost health services could prevent over half of these deaths. To address these issues, Infante Sano has designed a program that partners with existing hospitals and clinics to provide targeted training courses and the necessary medical equipment to improve the lives of thousands of mothers and their babies.

Through the I-CATCH program, AAP offers small grants in support of the notion that “One pediatrician can make a difference.” In the case of Infante Sano, Dr. Tolentino is one such pediatrician, inspiring change at a local and national level.

Press Contact: Jacquelyn Caglia 781-894-8050 jacquelyn@infantesano.org

First shipment of medical equipment arrives in Bani

Bani, Dominican Republic - April 25, 2008 - Equipment arrived in Bani; community and staff are excited by the improvements to the hospital

Infante Sano, in collaboration with IMEC (International Medical Equipment Collaborative), ODRI (The Dominican International Resources Organization) and SESPAS (the Dominican secretary of public health and social assistance), donated $680,000 worth of hospital equipment and supplies to the Nuestra Señora de Regla Hospital in Bani. The Hospital serves a population of approximately 100,000 and is the referral hospital for numerous primary care clinics and two local hospitals. The ceremony to present the equipment to the hospital was attended by key civic and public health leaders, and the master of ceremonies was a supporter and local journalist, Jose Miguel German. One of the participants had this to say about the arrival of the equipment, “We feel very grateful to Infante Sano because there has been change in our hospital, not only with equipment but also there has been a change in attitude, behavior and clinical practice from both the medical and nursing staff. This makes everything better for the patients we serve. As an OB-GYN, I am filled with pride and emotion to be working in a community that is benefiting from the services of Infante Sano.” Dr. Ismael Urbaez, physician at Nuestra Señora de Regla. Dr. Soto Lorenzo, the director of the hospital, promised that in conjunction with the arrival of the Infante Sano equipment, the hospital is undergoing a top to bottom renovation. This has already started with a much-needed bathroom added to the high-risk antepartum inpatient unit.

Infante Sano's first shipment of medical equipment is on its way to the Dominican Republic

North Andover, MA - March 8, 2008 - The Bani hospital will soon receive enough refurbished medical equipment from the States to outfit their entire pediatric and obstetric wards. Last week, Infante Sano saw off two containers filled with everything from infant scales to labor beds.

The shipment will arrive at an ideal time for the Nuestra Senora de Regla hospital in Bani. The hospital has undergone drastic improvements since partnering with Infante Sano, and equipping the infant and maternal areas of the hospital will enable doctors and nurses to further improve their care. No longer will women have to give birth on antiquated birthing beds; no longer will doctors and nurses have to run around the hospital to find resuscitation equipment in an emergency. Women will now be able to have a clean safe birth with respect and dignity and know that their new baby will have a healthy start to life.
Infante Sano partnered with the International Medical Equipment Collaborative (IMEC) to send two full containers of life-saving medical equipment valued at $680,000 to the Dominican Republic. By donating quality medical equipment and partnering with international NGOs, IMEC, a volunteer-based organization, is able to improve the quality of healthcare in developing world countries.

Infante Sano, Spanish for Healthy Infant, is a nonprofit with the mission to improve the health and well being of mothers and infants in Latin America and the Caribbean. Every year over 10 million mothers and children die throughout the developing world. Yet providing simple, effective, low-cost health services could prevent over half of these deaths. To address these issues, Infante Sano has designed a program that partners with existing hospitals to provide specific training courses as well as the necessary medical equipment for health care workers to do their jobs. Our core values (Respect, Improve, Sustain, Empower) drive our programs, which build upon local capacity, promote sustainability, and recognize every person's right to basic health care. For more information visit www.infantesano.org

AIEPI Neonatal Training Launched

Bani, Dominican Republic - May 23, 2007 - Infante Sano held a two-day AIEPI Neonatal training focusing on the care of the newborn in the hospital Nuestra Senora de Regla in Bani May 18th and 19th. In attendance were 23 representatives from all of the local hospitals in the province of Peravia, including pediatricians, key nurses, and general doctors. The training was sponsored and coordinated by Infante Sano in collaboration with the ministry of health and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO).
The goal of the training was to build upon medical knowledge and skills while strengthening the referral communication system within and between hospitals. The participants were positive and excited about the training. One local Bani doctor noted, "as a pediatrician I often feel that I know most of the basic care of the infant, but I was astounded by how much I learned in this two-day course." The course was divided into lecture, practice, and case study sessions to apply the newly acquired skills. At the end of the two-day training all the participants signed an agreement to return to their respective health institutions and implement their new skills.

In addition to the training, Infante Sano surveyed equipment needs in all the hospitals to determine what equipment would be necessary to acquire in order for the staff to implement the skills that were taught. These hospitals will be outfitted with the necessary equipment. Follow up measures will take place by the Quality Improvement Committee, which was formed in the Nuestra Senora de Regla hospital and consists of the head of the hospital, other department heads, and Infante Sano staff. As a group they ensure proper implementation of equipment, ultimately leading to improved quality of care.

The AIEPI training was the fourth carried out thus far by Infante Sano in the Dominican Republic. The other three included Neonatal Resuscitation, care of the Low Birth Weight baby, and Community Health Worker training. To date, Infante Sano has trained over 100 medical staff and trainers on these medical topics. In addition, over 40% of the Nuestra Senora de Regla hospital’s nursing staff has been trained in neonatal resuscitation. Infante Sano also provided the necessary equipment so they are now effectively implementing the skills.

Infante Sano is a nonprofit organization affiliated with the Children’s Hospital in Boston. Its goals are to improve infant and maternal health throughout Latin America. Infante Sano partners with existing hospitals and community health clinics and assists them in implementing effective health care guidelines. By training and providing medical supplies and equipment, Infante Sano enables local health care providers to improve quality health care services for mothers and newborns. For more information visit www.infantesano.org

Hospital seeks drastic improvements through formation of quality improvement committee

Bani, Dominican Republic - July 25, 2007 - Significant work has been done by Infante Sano to improve the Nuestra Señora de Regla Hospital resulting from the formation of a quality improvement committee. Every department in the hospital is represented on the committee and meets weekly for two hours to set hospital wide priorities and take action steps.

To date, the committee has; developed a mission, vision, and values for the hospital that are now up on the wall all over the hospital, determined how to designate the 27 million pesos recently awarded to the hospital by the Dominican government, identified water, electricity, infection control, and record keeping as the critical issues for the hospital, prioritized needs by department, formed an infection control team, solicited an expert from a RedSalud program to come to Baní to work with the record keeping department, and improved overall motivation and interest in improving the hospital.

The committee’s work has already resulted in the perinatology area of the hospital being rewired and installed with voltage regulators in order to maintain consistent use from equipment during energy surges. This is a critical addition to the hospital, as the country frequently experiences fluctuation in energy delivery.

Infante Sano is a nonprofit organization affiliated with the Children’s Hospital in Boston. Its goals are to improve infant and maternal health throughout Latin America. Infante Sano partners with existing hospitals and community health clinics and assists them in implementing effective health care guidelines. By training and providing medical supplies and equipment, Infante Sano enables local health care providers to improve quality health care services for mothers and newborns. For more information visit www.infantesano.org

Children's Hospital Nurses Display their work with Infante Sano

Boston, MA – May 11, 2007 - The Childrens Hospital of Boston finished Nursing Week this week. Three of Infante Sano’s NICU nurses who work at CHB presented their experience working with us.

Sophy Rodriguez, Lorianne Boa, and Luz Maria Davila described their work in the Dominican Republic in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. As Maria described to one of the onlookers, "the conditions there are so different than they are here. Part of what we are doing down there is not just training their nurses, but bringing equipment and supplies that they really need."

The Childrens Hospital generously donates thousands of dollars worth of quality medical supplies to Infante Sano monthly. In addition to all of their programmatic work with the organization, Sophy, Lorianne, and Maria generously donate their time to separate and sort these otherwise discarded medical supplies from CHB.

Infante Sano is a nonprofit organization affiliated with the Childrens Hospital in Boston. Its goals are to improve infant and maternal health throughout Latin America and the Caribbean and to disseminate collected information to the international community working on improving neonatal and maternal healthcare practices. Infante Sano partners with existing hospitals and community health clinics to help them implement effective health care guidelines and improve the quality of care they provide to mothers and newborns. Local health care providers are capacitated through training and provision of medical supplies and equipment necessary for quality health care services. For more information visit www.infantesano.org

Infante Sano Hosts Hospital Inauguration to Unveil Improvements

Baní, DR - April 5, 2007 - Over the past 3 months, Infante Sano Director Sarah Henryand Medical Director Dr. Sara Tolentino have worked hard to receive donations from the local community of Baní for improvements to the Hospital.

Infante Sano also worked closely with the local Pediatric Committee, a long-standing local Baní institution that has been helping the area of Pediatrics in the Hospital for fifteen years. Together they worked with local political figures, including Senator Guerrero and Mayor Landestoy, as well as local businesses that responded with incredible generosity. Computers, paint, wall fans, garbage cans, and much more were donated. Volunteers helped Infante Sano clean and re-paint the hospital, as well as install a library with computers, garbage cans and wall fans, all of which contribute to the overall well being of patients.
To celebrate the improvements at the hospital Infante Sano hosted a reception for the community, hospital, and public health figures. The inauguration was well attended and the guests exceeded the capacity of the room. Noteworthy guests included Infante Sano President Bill Haney and Medical Director Dr. Kim Wilson, nurses Sophy Rodrigues and Lorianne Boa, all of whom attended from the United States, Dominican Minister of Public Health for the Province of Peravia Dr. Emilton Lopez, the Minister of Health for the Southern Region of the Country, the Sub-Secretary of Health for the country, as well as, many other local leaders and business owners from the Baní area. After the ceremony there was a tour of the facility highlighting the newly painted walls with health messages as well as the library.

Staff at the hospital, as well as members of the community, are thrilled about the new improved look of the hospital. Many of the doctors and nurses have commented on how cleaning and painting the walls has improved overall moral, not to mention the noticeable difference for patients.

The hospital inauguration took place in the middle of the Community Health Worker and Low Birth Weight trainings; the second and third curricula being rolled out in Baní by Infante Sano this year. Upcoming trainings include Ambulatory Primary care and Management of Perinatal Complications.

Infante Sano is a nonprofit organization affiliated with the Children's Hospital in Boston. Its goals are to improve infant and maternal health throughout Latin America and the Caribbean and to disseminate collected information to the international community working on improving neonatal and maternal healthcare practices. Infante Sano partners with existing hospitals and community health clinics to help them implement effective health care guidelines and improve the quality of care they provide to mothers and newborns. Local health care providers are capacitated through training and provision of medical supplies and equipment necessary for quality health care services. For more information visit www.infantesano.org

Community Health Worker training launched in the Dominican Republic

Baní, DR – April 5, 2007 - Community Health workers in the Dominican Republic completed Infante Sano’s first Community Health Worker training on March 22nd. The one-week training on Basic Maternal and Infant Health was given to Dominican health workers who work with Infante Sano and Public Health.
The initial training coordinated by Infante Sano and led by Drs. Karen Sadler and Heather Crouse, worked directly with 36 community health workers. These workers will reach out to their communities around Baní, and will help educate and identify mothers and newborns at risk and refer them to the necessary health center.

The goals of the course were to instruct community health workers to work with pregnant women and new mothers in their communities, and to teach them how to decide which women and babies need more urgent care. Through lectures and role-plays, health workers learned important communication skills, antenatal care to prevent, detect, and treat pregnancy and newborn complications, how to appropriately learn about a woman’s history, how to prevent and treat infection and respiratory difficulties, and more critical skills to help them save mothers and infants from preventable diseases, infections, and premature deaths.

The CHW training was one of five training programs being offered in Baní this year. The Low Birth Weight (link to PR) and Neonatal Resuscitation Trainings have also been completed. Ambulatory Primary care and Management of Perinatal Complications will take place later this year.

Infante Sano is a nonprofit organization affiliated with the Children s Hospital in Boston. Its goals are to improve infant and maternal health throughout Latin America and the Caribbean and to disseminate collected information to the international community working on improving neonatal and maternal healthcare practices. Infante Sano partners with existing hospitals and community health clinics to help them implement effective health care guidelines and improve the quality of care they provide to mothers and newborns. Local health care providers are capacitated through training and provision of medical supplies and equipment necessary for quality health care services. For more information visit www.infantesano.org.

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