Disaster Relief

Friends of VIDA - we are now MOBILE!

November 17, 2011

Anyone can give $10 with a simple text to the project of their choice! We have 4 active projects on Global Giving accepting mobile giving!

HAITI

Text GIVE 4567 to 80088
to give $10 to Medical Supplies for Hospitals in Haiti on GlobalGiving.

PERU

Text GIVE 3284 to 80088
to give $10 to Medical Supplies for Hospitals in Peru on GlobalGiving.

Text GIVE 4620 to 80088
to give $10 to Medical Supplies for Clinics in Cusco on GlobalGiving.

CHILE

Text GIVE 3284 to 80088
to give $10 to Medical Supplies for Hospitals in Chile on GlobalGiving.

Info on terms

Dear Friends of VIDA,

As 2010 comes to a close, the VIDA family wishes you a joyous holiday season. As we reflect on the past twelve months, and count our many blessings, we are mindful that our world has lived through a year of tremendous challenges and suffering. Devastating earthquakes in Chile and Haiti unleashed indescribable destruction upon these nations. And, as always, it is the poor who suffer most. However, in this time of need, we witnessed the boundless generosity of everyday people who answered the call to ease the pain and despair of their fellow human beings. We write you today, to thank you for your past support, and ask you for your continued generosity, in bringing the gift of VIDA to our less fortunate brothers and sisters in Latin America.

For hundreds of thousands of people living in poverty, VIDA is the embodiment of our community's philanthropic spirit. Because of supporters like you, VIDA quickly responded to these emergencies by shipping containers to Haiti and Chile carrying over $7.5 million in medical aid. From bandages to surgical kits, wheelchairs to hospital beds, VIDA helped deliver lifesaving medical care to devastated communities such as Petit Goala in Haiti and Pichilemu in Chile.

In good times and in bad, access to healthcare remains a daily challenge confronting the poor in Latin America. Since our founding in 1991, VIDA has played an important role in bridging this gap. VIDA has shipped over 325 containers carrying over $450 million in aid and has diverted over 1,000 tons of viable medical supplies from Bay Area landfills. In spite of the difficult economic environment, 2010 is shaping up to be a record year for VIDA. We are on pace to send 32 containers carrying over $35 million in aid to projects in Latin America. VIDA remains an outstanding steward of your generosity. For every $1 you donate, VIDA sends $150 in life-saving medical aid to Latin America.

VIDA Peru is an inspiring example of our commitment to serve communities long after a disaster has struck. In 2010, VIDA Peru distributed supplies and equipment to over 250 institutions throughout Peru's 12 regions. Of special note is Puente de VIDA which provides free medical consultations, basic nutrition and prenatal care to Peru's most remote communities in the Amazon, Andes, and Coastal Deserts through our mobile clinics. This year, Puente de VIDA served a record 24 communities, up from 16 in 2009. For many of our clients, this was their first access to healthcare.

To build on our successes, the VIDA Board is setting the bar even higher. We have an ambitious goal of shipping 40 containers in 2011 and 50 in 2012. Central to achieving this goal is the opening of VIDA Miami in 2011. Thanks to the generosity of Giraldo Leyva, all operating costs for the new office will be underwritten by his company.

The mission of VIDA honors the dignity of every individual. No child should suffer because they cannot afford to have a wound properly bandaged. No elderly person should have to convalesce on a broken cot because there is no hospital bed. No human being should die because they cannot afford basic medical care. We are exceedingly grateful to all of our supports who have so generously given their time, talents, and treasures to help VIDA bring healthcare to impoverished people in Latin America. Today, we respectfully ask you to once again make a commitment to VIDA. Please join us in helping to bring the gift of VIDA to those in greatest need.

Sincerely,

Haydee Rodriguez-Pastor
President

Adam G See
Executive Director

P.S. To learn more about VIDA's "Adopt-A-Container" program, please contact Adam See at (510) 355-5805. This is a great way for family, friends, and groups to share the gift of VIDA.

Medical Supply Distribution

SEVEN THOUSAND DOLLAR DONATION MAKES A HALF-A-MILLION DOLLAR DIFFERENCE IN ECUADOR

Emeryville, CA-July 15, 2008

Juan M. Leoro, Consul General of Ecuador in San Francisco, reached out to VIDA for help with recent devastating flood disaster.

VIDA loaded and shipped $520,045 in medical supplies and equipment including sterile syringes, gauzes and respiratory supplies collected from Bay Area hospitals to the Agencia Ecuatoriana de Cooperacion Internacional (AGECI) located in Quito, Ecuador.

Reports estimate that February floods caused the injuries and/or death of approximately 450,000. Child Family Health International (CFHI) made this contribution possible with a $7,000 donation, provided to cover shipping expenses.

VIDA USA is a non-profit organization that provides a dual service to both Latin America and the San Francisco Bay Area by collecting surplus medical supplies and equipment from health institutions, diverting them from landfills and shipping them to Latin American hospitals and clinics that rely on such donations for the provision of basic health care.

RELIEF SUPPLIES SHIPPED TO PERU QUAKE VICTIMS BY BAY AREA HUMANITARIAN AID ORGANIZATION, VIDA

Emeryville, CA-AUGUST 16, 2007

In response to the August 15, 8.0 earthquake which rocked Pisco, Peru, Volunteers for Inter-American Development Assistance (VIDA) is prepared to deliver donated medical and disaster relief supplies.

Donations of medical supplies, medicines and tents are being accepted at the warehouse in Emeryville. No clothing please. Financial support is needed to transport the continaners. VIDA is accepting checks and online donations.

VIDA is a non-profit organization that provides a dual service to both Latin America and the San Francisco Bay Area by collecting surplus medical supplies and equipment from Bay Area health institutions, diverting them from environment-polluting landfills and shipping them to Latin American hospitals and clinics that rely on such donations for the provision of basic health care.

VIDA delivers swift relief to victims of natural disasters, facilitates medical training and assistance and creates projects that improve health standards in impoverished communities in Latin America.

COADHA: Distribution Report

February 14, 2005

As a continuation of its Medical Supply Program in Haiti, COADHA distributed on February 14, 2005 a trailer worth approximately $180,000 of medical supplies and equipment to several international and local organizations working in the Haitian health sector. The medical equipment and supplies that were distributed were sponsored by VIDA and CFHI.

In order to strategically distribute the donation, COADHA selected key partners that are present in the Artibonite area and in Port-au-Prince. The distribution targeted the following local and international organizations:

• Action Collective pour le Developpement: Gonaives
Fondation Kampeche: P-au-P
• Fondation pour le Developpement Economique et Social: Gonaives
Hospital Albert Schweitzer: St. Marc
• Hospital Sanatorium: P-au-P
World Vision - for Hospital of La Gonave and Hinche
• Eglise Maranatha of Hinche

The distribution took place on February 14, 2005, at the Albert Schweitzer compound. For transparency purposes, representatives from each organization were present. Supplies were distributed based on specific needs from each institution. Details of the distribution are provided in this report. Download the report

First Container to Mexico Chapter

April 22nd, 2002

VIDA is sending this month its first ever shipment to Mexico. It goes by train from Oakland to Querétaro, where it clears customs to then be transported by truck to VIDA-Mexico's headquarters in Zamora, Michoacán, between Guadalajara and Mexico City.

The trailer contents are exam tables, hospital beds and gurneys, dental chairs, wheelchairs, crutches, dialysis machines, and over 300 boxes of medical supplies. These items are then to be distributed by VIDA-Mexico volunteers among several clinics and hospitals that treat the most disadvantaged people throughout the area.

8th Medical Mission to Latin America

March 8, 2002 (Emeryville, California)

VIDA's latest mission was successfully completed on International Women's Day after a week long stay in Zamora, Michoacán. This was VIDA's 8th medical mission and its first to Mexico of more to come.

This time, two U.S. medical professionals from the San Francisco Bay area volunteered their time and effort to have a lasting impact in areas where low-income persons abound. In addition to seeing dozens of patiens, a gynecologist trained mid-wifes in how to improve the safety of new-born delivery and taught groups of women to perform pregnancy self-examinations; and a nutritionist taught seminars about easy ways to improve one's health by cooking in healthier ways.

First Container to Cuba

 April 18th, 2001

On April 18, 2001, VIDA loaded the first container for Cuba. It goes by train to North Carolina, then by truck to Montreal, and finally by ship to Havana.

VIDA is working through a non-profit organization from South-East United States called Cuban Health Network, which has been shipping supplies to Cuban hospitals and smaller clinics in need of medical supplies for several years in a smaller scale.

The 40-ft container, arriving in Cuba at the end of May, is carrying 14 hospital beds, 2 hospital gurneys, an operating table, 9 wheelchairs, 350 crutches, 50 walkers, and 500 boxes with a wide variety of medical supplies and medicines worth $535,000.

Response to Earthquakes in El Salvador

March 6, 2001

VIDA's response to the devastating earthquakes of January 13 and February 13, 2001 in El Salvador has been enormous and immediate.

On January 24, two 40-ft containers were loaded in VIDA's warehouse in San Francisco's East Bay containing beds, matresses, medicines and many medical supplies to assist the people who were injured or lost everything.

They were sent to the Sisters of the Poor of Saint Pedro Claver in Armenia, Sonsonate. On February 21, another container was sent to Fideicomiso Walter A. Soundy in Santa Tecla full of hospital beds and gurneys to distribute them to health institutions in the Department of La Libertad. Finally, a fourth ocean freight container was sent on March 6 to the Sisters in Armenia full of hospital supplies as well as clothes and other items of basic necessity.

In all, 4 containers carrying 52 tons (104,000 lbs) of medical supplies were sent to assist the people of El Salvador in the 8 weeks following the first and larger trembling.