…New York-based humanitarian organization saving lives
“Saving Hands Emergency Aid” (SHEA), a non-profit humanitarian organization, held their latest fundraiser titled, “An Evening with SHEA 2019,” recently in Richmond Hill, New York. It was a well-attended event.
Nicholas Singh sat down with Lori Narine; the founder of SHEA for an interview.
During the interview, Ms. Narine related that before SHEA was officially formed, she became concerned “by the lack of medical services in Guyana and by seeing families pleading for help for their loved ones.”
Ms. Narine recalled multiple occasions when she would read newspaper articles regarding families having insufficient funds to get the life-saving medical treatment, resulting in many young lives lost and families broken.
“These children were dying because they did not have the funds or the treatment needed in Guyana,” she related. Inspired to make a change, Ms. Narine recalled that would do as much as she could to help patients and families, but then realized that the demand for help was substantial. So, in 2015, she founded a life-changing, successful charitable organization for disadvantaged and despaired families called SAVING HANDS EMERGENCY AID (SHEA).
Ms. Narine added that SHEA not only provides financial help to families, but also provides these families with “hope.” “When there’s a patient [with burn injuries] and we are told by the doctors in Guyana that they cannot do anything for the patient’, we would then reach out to our network of hospitals here in the U.S., once the hospital accepts the patient, we start fundraising.”
Ms. Narine emphasized the importance of SHEA helping these families financially: “We cover all expenses so that families can focus on their loved ones, and not worry about where their meals are going to come from or how they’re going to get to and from the hospitals.”
Ms. Narine was happy to say that her supporters donate generously to this charity. Supporters and followers of SHEA have played an essential part in helping to save lives by making donations that fully cover patients’ medical, airfare, housing, meal, and transportation expenses.
Ms. Narine pointed out that SHEA’s audience has been generated and frequently growing by many different ways especially through social media.
For SHEA, like many organizations, every single case poses challenges that the organization must face and overcome. One of those challenges is the fact that SHEA does not have complete support from different agencies in Guyana. This inconvenience, Ms. Narine stated, could be prevented by “having a direct link to public offices, not just make work easier for SHEA, but to give these children a better chance of surviving.”
It should be noted though that Ms Sita Sugrim who resides in Guyana is one of SHEA’s lead volunteers. Ms. Sugrim along with other volunteers often work tirelessly for long hours with every patient. They personally take full responsibilities and make sure every patient receives all necessary documents including medical records in a timely manner.
SHEA’s ability to quickly coordinate paperwork for patients would not be at all effective without its volunteers. Many of SHEA’s patients do not have a birth certificate, passport, or visa; so the volunteers would stand in line at various offices to acquire these necessary documents.
An additional hurdle that SHEA has impressively leapt over is attaining medevac (medical evacuation) for patients who cannot travel via commercial airline. Compensating for medevac which cost approximately $50,000 USD, is a feat for SHEA, being that their donations come from the general public. In a previous case, the Rotary Club of Demerara assisted SHEA with 50% of the cost of medevac for one of their patients, alleviating major pressure from the charity and saving crucial time for the patient’s treatment.
The SHEA organization gets some of their cases referred by physicians in Guyana, but most cases are referred through social media, as detailed by Ms. Narine. When a case is presented on social media, a great deal of persons would either forward it to the charity’s email, or tag one of their many volunteers, or the charity’s Facebook page (@SHEACharityGY) in order to get their attention and services.
One of the many miraculous cases that SHEA has facilitated was the case of a 13-year old boy named Chitram Ayana. Chitram was admitted into multiple hospitals in Guyana; from Berbice hospitals to Georgetown hospitals and even to private hospitals, where they were unable to get him a proper diagnosis. SHEA decided to step in and find the right clinic that would diagnose Chitram and save his life. He was transferred to a hospital in New York where he was diagnosed with an aggressive form of sarcoma cancer, which the hospital had no treatment for.
Chitram’s family was then advised to admit him into a hospice where he would spend the rest of his short remaining days. But SHEA was determined and did not let this setback impede their effort. They kept researching for a specialist who could treat Chitram’s condition. While doing so, they met Dr. Nadia Ramdin, a hematology and oncology specialist, who offered her services to help young Chitram. Within a few days, SHEA organized Chitram’s transfer to Dr. Ramdin’s office, where he was put on a rigorous treatment course which included chemotherapy. Chitram was in treatment for 6 months then on October 8, 2019, he was declared cancer-free.
Another remarkable case handled by SHEA was the treatment of cancer survivor Allisha Rahim, an innocent 8-year-old girl who suddenly became ill after complaining to her mother about pain in her joints. She was given medication and treatments by multiple physicians to ease the pain, but as months went by, her symptoms got worse. Following various occasions where Allisha was incapable of walking or even standing, doctors recognized that her blood count was falling, making it difficult for them to determine what her illness was. Her condition became worst every day because the doctors could not test her.
Luckily, SHEA arrived and relieved Allisha’s family of the monetary burden which would have prevented her from receiving treatment in the U.S. As of March 2018, she was safely transferred to Long Island Jewish Medical Center in New York where she was diagnosed with leukemia and placed into treatments which would last about 3 years. Allisha has tremendously improved since being treated, resulting in her being able to walk pain-free and unaided, go to school, and live life like a kid again.
SHEA is currently working on a case dealing with two brothers, Gansham and Besham Sohan, who were tragically injured in a fire accident. These two infants were being treated at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC), where the younger brother was on life support, while his older brother was in the hospital’s Intensive Care Unit. Treatment needed to save their lives was not available in Guyana.
SHEA using their platform, was able to organize funds and acquire the advanced medical treatment that these young children needed. Thanks to the compassion and hard work of SHEA and their supporters, the Sohan brothers have been in the U.S. receiving several extensive surgeries, all of which turned out successful. The youngest brother, Besham, who was not expected to survive in Guyana, has recently been discharged from the hospital, while his older brother, Gansham, will remain in ICU getting treatment to properly heal. The SHEA organization has been a vital catalyst in providing these blessed children with a warranted second chance at life.
Ms Narine said her most memorable moment dealing with these patients is “seeing these children come out of surgery and seeing them smile as they walk out of the hospitals is the reason why we do what we do.”
Ms. Narine related that she was heavily influenced by her father, who was a taxi driver. She recalled that he would pick her up from school, along with every other child who did not have a ride, and taking them home free of charge. “He is very generous and very compassionate, and I know that I gained that quality from him. I cannot begin to tell you how many times I was told, by complete strangers, of my father’s kindness.”
SHEA’s success as a charity is seen through the many patients who were once hopeless, but are filled with courage, optimism, and a new life.
Congratulations to Lori Narine and all her network of volunteers, supporters, and donors. We sincerely hope that you continue this great humanitarian service. Kindly donate to SHEA charity at www.sheacharity.org; without your donation it would be difficult continue this mission.
Donations are accepted by SHEA through Facebook’s new fundraising option, as well as their website and PayPal Charity.
