In the Fall of 2005, while attending ward rounds one day at the National Hospital in Tanzania I met a 9 year old girl named 'Rosie' being treated for rheumatic heart disease (RHD). Some of you reading this might be wondering how a 9 year old girl acquires heart disease. Rosie is one of millions of children living in low income countries with RHD, a condition that was mostly eradicated in the US in the 1950s and 1960s through the widespread availability and use of antibiotics to treat streptococcal infections (more commonly known as strep th
roat). RHD follows a neglected strep infection which can cause severe damage to the heart. Once severely damaged, the only course of treatment is expensive valve-replacement surgery, something Rosie is not even a candidate for, as her condition is too severe.
Inspired by Rosie, I joined my colleagues in Tanzania and at Harvard/MIT to launch a US 501 c(3) foundation called Bienmoyo. Bienmoyo in French and Swahili translates to ‘Good Heart’ or ‘Good Soul’. Through the generous support of colleagues, friends, and acquaintances almost five years later we have managed pilot programs to find ways to help prevent rheumatic heart disease in children living in Tanzania and accomplished so much more. During this time we have had over 50 volunteers join us in the field working closely with our dedicated colleagues from the public and private health sectors to support programs ranging from developing a business plan to expand cardiac care services at the national hospital, strategic planning workshops to help provide micro financing to over 600 physician practices, and
most recently ways to use emerging mobile health (mHealth) technologies to improve maternal and child health by reducing infant death from obstructed airways after birth.
Ms. J.K. Rowling of Harry Potter fame stated at the 2008 Harvard Commencement Address, “We do not need magic to change the world, we carry all the power we need inside ourselves already: we have the power to imagine better.” The Bienmoyo philosophy stresses how by working together and using our collective imaginations as a global community we can create new approaches and innovations to improve quality of life for the world’s most vulnerable populations.
The journey for my colleagues and me began anew in 2005, with the knowledge that through hard work and great perseverance a difference can be made to help those most in need. We have learned so much over the past five years through our successes and the challenges we have overcome. We now more than ever sincerely believe that answers to global health delivery problems are best found locally to provide high quality and affordable health services.
So thank you Bienmoyo family and friends for all for the wonderful support over the years and we look forward to an amazing 2010 and beyond.
Jeffrey Blander
President
Bienmoyo Foundation
Sunday February 14th, 2010
roat). RHD follows a neglected strep infection which can cause severe damage to the heart. Once severely damaged, the only course of treatment is expensive valve-replacement surgery, something Rosie is not even a candidate for, as her condition is too severe.Inspired by Rosie, I joined my colleagues in Tanzania and at Harvard/MIT to launch a US 501 c(3) foundation called Bienmoyo. Bienmoyo in French and Swahili translates to ‘Good Heart’ or ‘Good Soul’. Through the generous support of colleagues, friends, and acquaintances almost five years later we have managed pilot programs to find ways to help prevent rheumatic heart disease in children living in Tanzania and accomplished so much more. During this time we have had over 50 volunteers join us in the field working closely with our dedicated colleagues from the public and private health sectors to support programs ranging from developing a business plan to expand cardiac care services at the national hospital, strategic planning workshops to help provide micro financing to over 600 physician practices, and
most recently ways to use emerging mobile health (mHealth) technologies to improve maternal and child health by reducing infant death from obstructed airways after birth.Ms. J.K. Rowling of Harry Potter fame stated at the 2008 Harvard Commencement Address, “We do not need magic to change the world, we carry all the power we need inside ourselves already: we have the power to imagine better.” The Bienmoyo philosophy stresses how by working together and using our collective imaginations as a global community we can create new approaches and innovations to improve quality of life for the world’s most vulnerable populations.
The journey for my colleagues and me began anew in 2005, with the knowledge that through hard work and great perseverance a difference can be made to help those most in need. We have learned so much over the past five years through our successes and the challenges we have overcome. We now more than ever sincerely believe that answers to global health delivery problems are best found locally to provide high quality and affordable health services.
So thank you Bienmoyo family and friends for all for the wonderful support over the years and we look forward to an amazing 2010 and beyond.
Jeffrey Blander
President
Bienmoyo Foundation
Sunday February 14th, 2010
