A Good Start To 2018!

We had a successful first quarter, both from a fundraising point of view and because we achieved our objectives.

Medical supplies and Equipment

We continued to collect medical supplies donated by GPs and hospitals:

• So far, we have shipped more than 350 kg of recycled material and all of it has arrived at its destination or is currently in transit.
• We have sent supplies to Distrito Capital, Vargas, Lara, Zulia, Merida and Guarico.
• We have shipped from the US 1000 strips to measure glucose in blood. Our local partner, Guerreros Azules (Blue Warriors), works with children with Type 1 diabetes. It is using the strips for low-income families at the children's hospital.
• We have purchased a colposcopy to perform cervical screenings and sent it to a renowned NGO, the Salesian Ladies, in Merida. The equipment has arrived and is already in operation.
• We have partnered with two international NGO, Factor-H and UEFH, and a local one (Primeros Auxilios LUZ) to work in communities that have a higher than normal percentage of people with Huntington's disease. We have sent them much needed medical supplies.

HIV tests

We provided reagents and sequencing services for performing the HIV Genotypic Resistance test to people living in Venezuela with HIV. This will allow us to perform at least 40 tests to patients, and this will lead to adjusting their treatment to one efficiently restricting viral replication.This project is being managed by Acción Solidaria, an NGO, and I.V.I.C. the leading research centre in Venezuela.

Mental Health Programme

We have delivered 6 stress management programmes to Salesians Ladies, a school in Caricuao (a low-income area in Caracas), the children's hospital JM de los Rios and Centro Medico. In all, these have benefited 157 people. Our partner in Venezuela is the local branch of an international NGO, The Art of Living.

Sexual health

To prevent teenage pregnancy, in the first quarter we provided 25 coils to girls between the age of 16 and 19 years, some of them already with 1 or 2 children. Our partner in Venezuela, ALAPLAF, is an NGO founded in 1976. It has had support from many national and international donors and has an excellent track-record.

Thank You!

We couldn't have done all this without the support of our donors and our wonderful volunteers. The most successful fundraising event was an extraordinary Zumbaton which raised more than £12,000, but there also been smaller fundraisers (Facebook birthdays, corporate events and parties) and all have done better than we dared to hope for. We are now on Amazon Smile, a platform that allows charities to raise funds when the supporters use it. We haven't received the first cheque yet, but we expect Mr Bezos to be as generous as Mr Zuckerberg has been :-)
Thank you all for your wonderful support and please keep going. Venezuelans badly need all the help they can get.