We may be tempted to rush into fixing and advising. Needs are urgent. Patients have waited for long-delayed surgeries, hospitals have waited for new equipment, and we have all waited to be together to advance our mission in person. But it is critical to remind ourselves: the first duty is to listen.

In early 2021, after months of dialogue and planning between Solidarity Bridge, Puente de Solidaridad, and our medical partners, we launched three series of virtual exchanges connected to the Solidarity Bridge Neurosurgery Program.

Latin American voices have been systematically marginalized in global health discussions. To begin to dismantle some of the structural barriers upholding this marginalization, we helped found the G4 Alliance Working Group on Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC WG).

A recent administrative trip helped advance the projects of our neurosurgery program and allowed us to reconnect personally with many of our partners across Bolivia.

Our shipment of supplies arrived in Paraguay as the pandemic began to surge. The delivery was presented to the hospital as small source of solidarity and support in the midst of growing health crisis.

The coronavirus variant from Brazil, a more aggressive mutation of the virus, is causing COVID-19 surges in many areas of North and South America. In the face of this ongoing crisis, we remain committed to the common good.

We remember and celebrate the life-giving legacy of Isaac Goff, entrepreneur, philanthropist and cherished mission partner.

In the face of the devastating toll of the pandemic, like Jesus on the cross, we may at times feel forsaken, abandoned. But we are not.

Filling a 40-foot shipping container with medical supplies is a significant undertaking, but it is also the most efficient and effective way to addres the urgent needs of our partners and patients.

Personal experiences of healing draw us closer to the reality of those who suffer around the world. In the name of all those who must wait for healing care, our work to increase access to safe and timely surgery continues.

Delivering critical medical supplies to our Bolivian partners has been a key theme within our COVID response. Thanks to a generous donation by LTA Research and Exploration, more than 50,000 face shields are being distributed to medical workers on the front lines of this public health emergency.

Following the model of our surgical programs, we are expanding support to hundreds more patients in Bolivia.