Amy Laden, ReSurge director of international services.
A young woman wrote to ReSurge recently, hoping to get in touch with a former domestic program patient (we brought over 500 children to the U.S. for care through that program, which we discontinued about 10 years ago for many reasons).
Fifteen years ago, Adaneli was a classmate of Delmira's (pictured right), who is from Ecuador, when she spent several months in the U.S. for surgery on her burns in 1997. Adaneli tutored her, and they became friends. They were pen pals for several years after Delmira went back home, but they eventually lost contact. Adaneli was looking through ReSurge's flickr pictures, came across a photo of Delmira, and wrote to us hoping to re-establish contact.
I had overseen the domestic program, and was easily able to contact Soozee Shireman. Soozee speaks fluent Spanish and joined many teams as a coordinator/translator before she married and had children, two of whom are adopted sisters from Colombia. Fortuitously, Soozee is planning to go to Ecuador in June, with her children, to help Dr. Jorge Palacios, ReSurge's outreach director there. While in Ecuador, they will visit Delmira and her family, who live in a house that was built with funds that Soozee and others raised for this purpose.
Delmira was only 8 when she was badly burned by the explosion of a kerosene lantern, She had been doing her homework by its light in the wooden hut where her family lived. She had undergone 14 surgeries in Ecuador, including 4 by ReSurge, before Soozee, with ReSurge's help), brought Delmira to the U.S. for care. Delmira had lost sight in her right eye and her skin was scarred. Delmira stayed with a host family - the mother in that family organized efforts to raise money to enable her family to build a new house.
Delmira went home several months later, with a beautiful prosthetic brown eye, and improved skin. In addition to six suitcases filled with gifts and clothing, she went home with more than $8,000 that had been raised to help the family buy food, medicines, school supplies for Delmira and her six siblings, and to build a new house! Soozee went with her, to establish bank accounts and to talk with Delmira's father about the house plan. The house was built.
Soozee has been back several times to visit the family. She will help Adaneli get back in touch will Delmira; she will also have more news after her June trip and we will bring you up to date on Delmira then.