Fueled By Hope
A hidden consequence of the pandemic has been the way that new economic constraints are impacting the health of so many Bolivians. “We read in newspapers about the collapse of hospitals, or the lack of oxygen tanks in the ICUs,” says Maria Eugenia Brockmann, Senior Director of Programs “but we rarely read about how many patients are not getting the health care they need because of their inability to pay for diagnostic and preoperative tests, or their inability to pay for basic or essential medications.”
In response, we have been operating a new Extraordinary Support Program since August 2020. Creatively developed by our sister organization, Puente de Solidaridad, this program has reached more than 600 patients - with medical assistance and hope - since its inception.
Puente de Solidaridad established alliances with diagnostic labs, hospitals, and imaging centers in five of the nine Bolivian departments to provide “solidarity rates” to the patients we refer. But even with preferential rates, many patients still cannot afford these services. Economic shutdowns, and illness at such a wide-scale, have upended the economic situation for families at every level of society. Solidarity Bridge has doubled our financial support for patients, to cover the cost of tests or medications that they cannot afford. This program combines the generosity of our Solidarity Bridge community with the service of our mission partners to increase access to essential health care throughout Bolivia.
The care provided through this, and all of our programs, is coordinated by Marizol Mamani and Carmen Salses, social workers at Puente de Solidaridad. Marizol shares that this program “has been able to give hope to patients and their families.” Carmen adds that this hope also fuels her motivation for our mission because “we can offer help to someone who has nowhere else to go… and we see many people and other health providers trying to help as well. We feel part of the process of recuperation of the patient.”
Martín’s story moved us to our core and helped Puente de Solidaridad to move the solidarity of many other people and institutions…Martín had been in the Children’s Hospital for over a month. He is the youngest of seven siblings, and just turned one while staying at the Hospital. His family lives in La Asunta, a rural town of Santa Cruz. To get the treatment he needed for COVID, his mother left the other children with family members and traveled with Martín to the city of Santa Cruz. Each day Martín was at the hospital, it cost the family roughly USD $350, a daily sum equal to the family's monthly food budget.
Martín’s mom learned of our Extraordinary Support Program and visited the Puente de Solidaridad office. We were able to support Martín with diagnostic lab and imaging tests, as well as needed medications. In addition, Carmen assisted the family to organize a local solidarity campaign on social media which helped them cover other hospital costs. Martín is now back in La Asunta recuperating with his mother and siblings.
We are grateful to all of the Bolivian providers and all of our US donors who contribute to make this program possible. Thank you for being a source of hope in this challenging time.