Current Appeal:

Invitation Relief embarked to India in July 2006 to make post-tsunami assessments and help set up a new technology platform for local health professionals which is readily available today, telemedicine. The team took advantage of this opportunity and partnered up with SANGHA, another non-profit which focuses on building communities, and traveled to India with a U.S. based team of medical and health professionals. One of the goals was to further develop an adaptive curriculum for local health staff and to identify other existing disparities. The efforts focused on neglected populations and underserved areas, such as Andaman and Nicobar Multiple Rehabilitation Center for Handicapped Children which is home to over 100 deaf, blind, and disabled children. The team received the generous support of Baptist Health Systems and the use of their telemedicine platform. The islands have the ability for videoconferencing and the team took an IT specialist to obtain an IP address to enable the use of webcasts for teaching purposes. The effort was successful and the new platform is now able to provide the participants including many nursing students with ongoing education through the collaboration of University of Miami, Dr. Florida International University, and Columbia University. This project will hopefully be a pilot for many other different countries after natural disasters occur or conflict, helping enable local health professionals to receive long distance learning in emergency post-disaster assistance and prevention.

Deaf and partially blind children of the Andaman and Nicobar Multiple Rehabilitation Center for Handicapped Children in India

The Challenge:

While giving essential basic health and training lectures to local nursing staff on the islands, Invitation Relief's staff conducted public health assessments and simultaneously engaged in discussions to improve the overall livelihood of the main center for mentally and physically challenged children. The lack of basic essential needs incuding food, blankets, shelter, medical supplies, wheelchairs, walking canes for the blind as well as other support for the disabled, transportation including costs to and from shelters, tutoring and education, as well as basic needed materials were reported in the assessments conducted. The government refuses to release funding for these children with special needs and the majority of NGOs and local organizations are immersed in basic emergency relief delivery for the mass populations affected by the tsunami, neglecting these children and simply reporting as to not having the time nor extra funds to help them adequately grow.

Founder of Invitation Relief asking for a child's autograph (who's experiencing Down Syndrome)

The Value:

Invitation Relief hopes to help underserved communities through improved access to education and enterprise by using cost effective technology and strengthening local resources: "Micro/Macro-Enterprise".

The mission is to optimize educational and medical infrastructure by increasing capacity of local personnel and organizations. By building a stronger foundation for the education of the center and providing sustainable strategies for micro-enterprise, Invitation Relief hopes to help build on local medical care through continuing medical education of physicians and education for improved public health of local communities.

The value, Invitation Relief believes, is that native programs, infrastructure and organizations have unique strengths in identifying areas of need and opportunity. Thus, we will network within communities to set up ongoing processes that will continue to grow a community's natural resources and confidence.

Amidst the blind orphaned children singing songs of hopes, amidst the deaf children dancing to vibrations of music, amidst the mentally challenged teenagers not having enough food to eat and only tea for dinner, there is the inspiration to pray until the morning dawn- it's a very special and united center separated from the stigmas of the surrounding community, just hoping to be discovered.

Eight young deaf boys saying "love" in sign language