Greek Charity Funds Health Facility in Isolated Village in Nigeria
Greek Charity Funds Health Facility in Isolated Village in Nigeria
The little known Greek charity Heart Doctors (Giatroi tis Kardias) made an isolated village in Nigeria rejoice with their decision to fund the reconstruction of their community clinic.
Founded officially in the year 2001 by just twenty one members, Heart Doctors has been active both in Greece and in numerous territories abroad in humanitarian missions, delivering healthcare services and supplies to those in need.
From Greek and European communities affected by natural disaster to the most impoverished corners of the world, Heart Doctors are there to ease the burden.
Their name derives “from love to our suffering fellow people, emanating from the heart,” which they prove true with their generous projects.
Greek charity’s humanitarian mission to Nigeria
“On our last mission to Niger State, Nigeria, we visited a remote inland village where there was a small infirmary to serve the needs of local residents, but due to poor construction and age it was dilapidated and in very poor condition,” Heart Doctors wrote on their Facebook Fan Page about their current project.
“Fearing the collapse, which may have resulted in injuries to patients, doctors and nurses we asked residents to demolish the building at that time, promising to fund the construction of a new infirmary,” they added alongside a video of the unsuitable health facility.
The reconstruction of the clinic is progressing rapidly, and the charity is planning to inaugurate it in their next mission to this state, which will take place in the first months of the new year.
This is not a first for Heart Doctors, though. Last November, they inaugurated a school and a clinic in Cameroon.
Heart Doctors’ challenging tasks
Some of the members of the organisation are doctors of various specialties, and several have participated in humanitarian missions since 1998.
In those missions they have faced a wide range of challenges, including to their own safety, like the kidnapping of Heart Doctors’ Vice President Eleni Sotiriou in Iraq in 2006. The charity worker was rescued after 5 days in captivity.
In less dangerous situations, the Greek charity members often have to come up with solutions to healthcare emergencies using their problem-solving mindset.
“Many times, reaching the final destination is a challenge! The team has to travel for many hours and use different means of transport – airplanes, cars, pirogues…” they say.
In a recent post, Heart Doctors showed how they had to prepare an improvised splint using a piece of cardboard box, cotton and bandage, to stabilise a hurt limb until the patient could reach the nearest hospital, many kilometers away from home.
All donations by supporters in food and medicine are taken directly to those who need them most, and received with gratitude from the local communities who benefit from the free healthcare services of this far-reaching Greek charity.