From December 7th to December 17th, a clinical team from Gift of Life International (GOLI), led by Dr. Rodrigo Soto and supported by CHADASHA, traveled to Georgetown, Guyana. This location is one of three programs that CHADASHA assists in partnership with GOLI. This December trip was the third visit to the Georgetown Public Health Corporation (GPHC) in 2024.
A group of 23 healthcare professionals from the United States and Canada gathered in Guyana to provide care for 15 children and collaborate with the local team at GPHC. Over the course of 10 days, both the visiting and local teams worked together, facilitating the transfer of knowledge and skills. Our ultimate goal is to build local capacity so that Guyanese doctors and nurses can effectively care for children with congenital heart disease.
During this trip, we not only performed surgeries on children with heart problems but also conducted catheterizations for diagnostic purposes in nine children. These procedures will help us make informed decisions and plan surgeries for our upcoming trips in 2025.
The team encountered several challenges during our visit. One significant case was that of Nativia Frazer, a six-week-old girl with a complex heart condition. Weighing just 3 kg, Nativia had been hospitalized for three weeks before our team arrived and had experienced two heart arrests. At such a young age, she was facing more medical challenges than some individuals do in their entire lives. On the second day of our trip, we performed a palliative surgery that aimed to help her grow and become eligible for a complete heart repair in the future. Thankfully, the surgery was a success, and we are hopeful that she will continue to grow and be ready for further procedures down the line. Nativia’s survival was made possible because we were present to provide the necessary care.
Many children need our help. Work with us to provide a permanent solution to this problem, building the local capacity needed so the Guyanese team can one day effectively treat these patients.
For 2025, we have scheduled three more trips to continue assisting GPHC and the children of Guyana.
Trip Gallery
