Local Heroes Changing the World

We profile five South Shore residents who are the founders and leaders of international nonprofit organizations that are helping to influence change

At first glance the magnitude of the world’s problems seem daunting. Faced with staggering statistics of people struggling to attain basic necessities like clean water, nutritious food, and education, you might be surprised to learn that potential solutions to these global problems are closer by than you might think. We profiled five inspiring South Shore residents who are the founders and leaders of international  nonprofit organizations that are helping to influence change. Working closely with teams of volunteers and international partners, these local heroes are bringing hope to people in need and having a global impact.

DR. DENNIS SNYDER

Medical Missions for Children

The simple expression of a smile has the power to communicate happiness across cultural borders. But for children born with congenital facial deformities such as cleft lips and cleft palates, smiling is simply impossible, and when the children live in under-privileged countries the condition can become a lifelong curse. For Dr. Dennis Snyder of Scituate, an ear, nose and throat specialist, this was a cause he couldn’t ignore.

Snyder is a co-founder of Medical Missions for Children (MMFC), a Massachusetts based nonprofit organization made up of close to 375 dedicated surgeons, anesthesiologists, and dental specialists who take time away from their jobs each year to volunteer their skills to repair facial deformities in children living in disadvantaged countries. Without surgery these malformations can make it difficult for children to eat or speak and can cause psychological damage as children are often ridiculed because of their appearance.

The idea for MMFC came out of a formative experience Snyder had while he was a medical student at Wake Forest University. On a school biology trip to Ecuador, he and his classmates witnessed a scene that would forever change the way he looked at the world. Long lines of people, hundreds deep, were waiting to meet with doctors. With them were children with cleft lips (a condition where the two halves of an infant’s upper lip have failed to join), cleft palates (where the two halves of the palate have failed to join), missing ears, and severe facial burns. In developed countries these conditions are repaired before a child reaches one year old, but due to the lack of modern medical care in many impoverished nations, a staggering number of children suffer with these facial deformities their entire lives.

In 1990, Snyder and a group of other like-minded doctors came together to make an effort to change this situation and establish Medical Missions For Children. The group’s first entirely self-funded trip was to Quito, Ecuador. Since then MMFC has extended its reach so it can bring healthcare services to countries with the most children in need. Volunteer doctors from across the United States work pro bono, conducting between 15 and 20 surgical and dental missions a year in China, Ecuador, Guatemala, India, Peru, the Philippines, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Ukraine.

Since its inception, MMFC has helped to heal over 1,000 children and young adults each year and has provided dental care to over 50,000 patients all at no cost to the patients.

Missions typically last for one or two weeks and are led by a team of volunteer surgeons and dentists. The team sets up operating rooms and recovery areas and brings all their supplies with them. In addition to surgery, the group works to spread medical knowledge, and recent innovations to the local medical communities. Doctors provide professional training to the local physicians, s

urgeons and nurses, and leave behind necessary equipment and supplies. Operating on donations from corporate as well as local institutions, MMFC uses only 7 percent of its funds for operational costs, which means the organization is able to dedicate 93 percent of donations directly to helping children.

“The experience really opens your eyes,” says Snyder. “You get more than you ever give.” Knowing that MMFC has changed the lives of countless children around the world gives Snyder great satisfaction; the new smiles on their faces are enough to make all the work worthwhile.

TIMOTHY BILODEAU

Medicines for Humanity

Spend a few minutes with Timothy Bilodeau, executive director of the Rockland-based nonprofit Medicines for Humanity (MFH), and you’ll soon understand his passion for saving lives.
“Nine million children under the age of 5 die each year from preventable and treatable illnesses,” says Bilodeau, “the problem is arguably the most egregious injustice in the world.” A Hull resident with a big heart, Bilodeau founded MFH in 1997, motivated by the belief that no child should die because they don’t have access to basic medicines or healthcare. He has dedicated his life’s work to reducing child mortality rates in impoverished countries around the world.
It was during a trip to Ecuador many years ago that Bilodeau came face to face with the harsh realities of poverty. He encountered a local priest who was consoling a local woman whose 3 year old son had recently died from dehydration. Bilodeau found out that the priest had given the woman some money to buy medicine for the child but the poor woman, forced to make the choice between medicine and food, chose to buy food instead. “When I found out that 30 cents worth of Pedialyte and oral rehydration salts would have saved that boy’s life I realized this was a problem I needed to do something about,” says Bilodeau.

The mission of MFH is to identify reliable local healthcare partners in areas where child mortality rates are high and train community health volunteers how to identify, treat, monitor, and prevent illnesses. The group also builds partnerships with local clinics to increase access to primary health services, and provide them with the tools they need to work effectively. From his Rockland office, Bilodeau spends time making phone and Skype video calls to 17 healthcare partners in eight countries: Angola, Cameroon, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Kenya, and Rwanda. MFH works directly with in-country healthcare partners to increase access to primary healthcare, nutrition services, and essential medicines to the people who need it most. Because malnutrition is such a major issue, great emphasis is placed on educating families about importance of adequate food preparation as well as proper sanitation. They also help identify the root causes of the problems, such as a contaminated water supply, and help educate families about the dangers to keep the illnesses from reoccurring.

The most common causes of child mortality in impoverished countries are diarrhea, malnutrition, acute respiratory infection, measles, and malaria. Effective treatments for these illnesses are often simple and relatively inexpensive, thanks to the organization’s ability to source generic medicines from European pharmaceutical companies, which are much less expensive in comparison to wholesale prices in the United States.

 “$1 dollar will pay for amoxicillin capsules to fend off respiratory infections, a simple bed net to prevent malaria, and 10 cents will buy anti-parasite medicines for children who don’t have access to clean water,” says Bilodeau. Ma

ny South Shore individuals and businesses as well as large corporate donors including the Major League Baseball Players Association and Green Mountain Coffee Roasters help raise money that makes it possible for MFH to help children in need around the world.

What began as one man’s ambitious idea has grown into an international enterprise with multiple program directors and countless medical associates working in different countries. Bilodeau still makes 4 – 5 trips a year to visit the people the organization serves as well as meet with members of local medical teams. His next trip will be to the Dominican Republic in January and then Cameroon in the spring.

“The number of children that are dying is a problem of Holocaust proportions. But the flip side of everything is there is a real, tangible opportunity to save lives,” says Bilodeau. “Each day we’re impacting the lives of extremely vulnerable children and families and that is truly satisfying.”

JOU NOUVO

Kerline Kofuri

Armed with stacks of paper, pencils, and schoolbooks, Hanover resident Kerline Tofuri travels several times a year to promote education in a rural community that is very close to her heart. Tofuri grew up in the town of Bon Repos, Haiti, a poor community sustained largely by sugarcane farms. While most families could not afford to send their children to school, Tofuri was fortunate that her parents were able to pay for her education. She moved to the United States in 1985 and when she returned 22 years later for a visit she was disturbed to discover the community was suffering from poverty, malnutrition, and the after-effects of a recent hurricane. Despite being in a destitute condition, she could tell the local people were motivated.

Tofuri met with a group of local women and discussed how improving access to education could ultimately improve the lives of many. Since public education is not free in Haiti, over half of the citizens cannot read or write the native language, Creole, or the country’s official language, French, which is only taught in schools. Women are often at an even greater disadvantage than men and this discrepancy creates a large class division. Believing that education could bring hope to a vast number of problems, Tofuri helped form Jou Nouvo, which means “New Day” in Haitian Creole, a  nonprofit organization aimed at advancing the lives of Haitian women and families by helping them become independent.

“I didn’t want to disappoint those women. I didn’t have the money to help them, so I promised to find individuals who could,” says Tofuri, who teamed up with Institution Mixte Alexandre Dumas, to provide free literacy classes for local women. In 2009 she formed a partnership with another  nonprofit called Partners in Development that was already working in Haiti and was able to broaden the scope of programs.

The ultimate goal of Jou Nouvo is to provide adults of Bon Repos with fundamental reading and writing skills in either or both French and Creole and also help instill the importance of furthering their education goals. With these skills there is greater hope that these individuals will be able to create small businesses and provide for their families. Jou Nouvo also seeks to provide small business loans, and medical care to families and provides women with helpful information about good health habits concerning nutrition and sanitation, giving the women the means to advance their society as much as possible.

While the initial progress of Jou Nouvo has been small in scope, Jou Nouvo has received a great outpouring of support from the South Shore community. The first year of the program, Tofuri paid for a teacher herself, but the United Church of Christ in Norwell now pays for a teacher and St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Hanover has also been hugely supportive of the cause from the start.

Following the devastating earthquake in 2010, Tofuri traveled to Haiti with a team of volunteers from Partners in Development to bring medical supplies and help with the relief effort. Astounded by the destruction, she set to work helping out wherever she could, even having her own family’s home in Bon Repos transformed into a makeshift health clinic.

While Tofuri is aware that money is essential to make big changes possible, she emphasizes that “although the women do not have the financial means, they have the human capacity,” which ultimately is the most vital element for getting things accomplished. She continues to find creative ways to help out, frequently gathering school supplies to take back with her. She hopes that Jou Nouvo and Partners in Development can one day create a community center where the children can play and the adults can converse. For Tofuri, helping the women and families in Haiti has become a life’s work. She continues to tirelessly spread the word about the need that exists in the country, offering the promise of hope that each new day can bring.

TIMOTHY ANDERSON

World Computer Exchange

It’s easy to take technology for granted, especially when everyone seems to be competing in a perpetual race to upgrade to the newer, faster, and fancier machines and systems. Meanwhile, many people across the globe don’t have access to even basic computers or the Internet. When Timothy Anderson of Hull started thinking about all the computers going to waste, he came up with a plan to help close this digital divide.
The idea came to Anderson while he was studying as a mid-career student at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. While there Anderson heard a statistic that between the year 1999 and 2005 over 250 million computers would become obsolete in the United States alone. Anderson, whose background was in education (he founded and managed South Shore Charter School) was shocked by the magnitude of this fact. In 1999 he founded the World Computer Exchange (WCE), a nonprofit whose mission is to provide refurbished desktop and laptop computers to developing countries at a low cost. Giving young people access to technology it helps promote their education and increases their likelihood of success.

Leaning on his past work experience gathering volunteers and resources, Anderson developed a network of over 700 volunteers worldwide who help WCE provide used computers and technology to schools, libraries, orphanages, refugee camps, community centers and universities throughout Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Eastern Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East. Computers can be pre-loaded with educational content and curriculum relevant to the needs of the recipients, such as language software.

In total, the WCE works in 73 countries, connecting over 1 million youth to the Internet every year. To date, the organization has established over 2,650 computer labs in collaboration with 650 formal Partners and 25 Strategic Allies. Loading days are very busy for Anderson and his team members at the WCE headquarters in Hull. In order to keep shipping costs low, WCE fills large containers that hold either 200 or 400 desktop computers. The program keeps the computers, which are fully functional, from going to landfills, which is an added earth-friendly benefit of the program.

Still operating the  nonprofit out of his home, Anderson doesn’t do it for the money. In fact, nearly 93 cents of every dollar donated to the WCE goes to support its programs. He travels abroad when he can, and also facilitates eCorps, an international service program where volunteers travel to other countries and work with partners in that country.

“We usually have four eCorps trips each year. For 2012 we will have a trip to Nicaragua and one to Tanzania,” says Anderson. “The value to the person going is often life changing.”

DR. GEORGE WHITELAW

Children without Borders

Ten times a year, Dr. George Whitelaw of Duxbury packs a suitcase and boards an airplane to Costa Rica—but the trip isn’t a vacation. The orthopedic surgeon is the Founder and President of Children Without Borders (CWB), a nonprofit organization based in Milton whose mission is to provide medical care to poor children in underserved countries and preventative care to their families.

Founded in 2007, CWB is a grassroots organization that is run almost entirely by devoted volunteers. The goal of the organization is to establish permanent health clinics in poor communities. Primarily operating in Costa Rica, CWB works with local doctors and international partners to provide medical and dental care for close to 100 children each week and also offer regular health education seminars for families.

“Costa Rica is known for having the best medical system in Central America but there are a lot of huge cracks in the system,” says Whitelaw. Rural and poor families often cannot afford to seek medical care. The CWB clinics offer these people the chance to have free access to medical, dental, and psychological care. “You walk into the clinics and see the smiling faces of these kids and then you walk through the areas they live and it breaks your heart,” says Whitelaw.
Rather than sending American doctors to treat patients, CWB works closely with local doctors in each community. This helps ensure the sustainability of its clinics and also offers opportunities to train future doctors. CWB clinics serve close to 7,000 patients a year. In 2010 alone, over 4,200 children were treated at its clinic located in San Jose.

Medical services are just one of the ways Whitelaw and the other members of CWB are seeking to help. The group recently received a federal grant from the United States Embassy for the development for a new community youth center in a slum neighborhood in San Jose, Costa Rica. Developed to help stem the burgeoning problem of illegal drug use in the country, the newly opened Casa Club offers local kids a refuge from the streets, where drug trafficking is commonplace. The center offers fun programs, such as hip-hop, karate, computer courses, and job training.

“When you’re living on a dirt floor, your main focus is on surviving,” says Whitelaw. “Our goal is to provide these people with a ray of hope and help them help themselves.” SSL