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Up Coming Events

Fox 13 News to Air Special on HART's activities in Ghana, Feb. 2004

KJZZ to Air Special on HART's effort to treat Buruli Ulcer in Ghana, March 21, 2004

November 22-29, 2003 - Medical and Surgical Trip to Goaso Ghana November 6, 2001 - Medical Aid in Ghana Touches Lives in Provo
February 2000 - BYU Men's Chorus benefits HART
January 19, 2000 - HART headed for Ghana
October 1999 - Peter Breinholt & Nancy Hanson Benefit Concert for HART

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Medical Aid in Ghana Touches Lives in Provo
PROVO - Nov. 6, 2001
The helpless, 4-year-old Joseph Aryaa had his 20 pound body lying across his father's lap. The dark, brown skin on his leg was now eaten away by the Buruli ulcer. His leg tendons and pink, fleshy tissue were all that was visible.

Immediately upon seeing this, Megan Rabner, a HART volunteer and representative, quit her other tasks and took Joseph, his mother and his father to Ghana's closest hospital. They arrived at 1 p.m. and the nurses told them they were closed for the day.


After a lot of pleading, the nurses reluctantly allowed the boy in. Upon seeing his condition, the nurses told them that Joseph needed a blood transfusion. Megan took Joseph and his parents to get a blood transfusion.

Three weeks later, Rabner returned to check on Joseph's condition. She did not find Joseph. He had died. His parents' blood was not suitable for a blood transfusion and none of the hospital workers were willing to give their own blood.

Rabner was not able to save Joseph's life; however, she was given a very vivid view of the seriousness of the Buruli ulcer problem and could see why the impact of HART's work is so important in the lives of these people.

Rabner said, "In a small way we were able to get things started." Although there is not an immediate solution to the Buruli ulcer problem, the HART group is able to set up a treatment system they can leave begind so the people can eventually run it themselves.

Rabner plans to go back to Ghana next year and stay for about three months. She will have more time to run projects and help those who are suffereing with the Buruli ulcer.
" It's incredible to be a creator of this program. As students, we are able to create our own projects and run with them," Rabner said.

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February 2000 - BYU Men's Chorus benefits HART

The BYU Men's Chorus will present a concert to benefit the Humanitarian Aid Relief Team (HART) at Kingsbury Hall (200 South 1350 East, SLC) on Tuesday, April 4 at 7:30 p.m. General admission tickets cost $10 and are available through all ArtTix locations (1-888-451-ARTS) and the Kingsbury Hall box office (581-7100) as well as the Cougar Copy Center in Provo.

Directed by Rosalind Hall, Men's Chorus has gained a considerable following due to their powerful voices and dynamic performances. Two campus concerts were held on March 9 to accommodate the growing interest in the chorus. These evening performances were in addition to a free afternoon concert in BYU's Harris Fine Arts Center for 10 visiting high schools and one visiting junior high school from the Wasatch Front.

In addition to local performances, the 210-member chorus traveled to New Mexico February16-18 for three full days of assemblies for elementary, junior high and high school students, as well as evening performances for local residents in Farmington and Albuquerque. On Saturday, a special tour was arranged for them to attend the Albuquerque LDS Temple open house.

" We know that Men's Chorus is a powerful tool for good and needs to be accessible to those who aren't normally able to see our performances," Men's Chorus Co-President Bryan Reeves said.

Reeves, together with Men's Chorus Co-President James Favoro and Hall, decided to organize "Outreach 2000," an unprecedented movement that caters to junior high and high school age choir members as well as charitable organizations. Men's Chorus wishes to cultivate the fraternal brotherhood they already feel and to infuse excitement into the community through service opportunities.

While on tour in New Mexico, David Nielsen, a Men's chorus member and HART volunteer, approached director Rosalind Hall about the possibility of having the Men's Chorus perform in a benefit concert for HART. Hall was enthusiastic about the idea, and within a week, a date was scheduled, and plans for the concert were made. HART was organized in 1992 with a mission statement "to make substantial, lasting improvements in the delivery of health care throughout the world and to attract, develop and excite exceptional people to participate in the cause of humanity."

Since 1994, HART has been working in Ghana, West Africa, to help eradicate the Buruli Ulcer, a tropical skin disease that twists, maims, and destroys the limbs of its victims. The Buruli Ulcer is the third largest mycobacterial disease in the world, next to tuberculosis and leprosy. Presently, the only form of treatment is through skin grafting. Unfortunately, amputation of infected limbs is required if medical attention isn't received in a timely manner, according to Brian Swiss, HART executive director.

In 1998, the World Health Organization (WHO) invited HART to cosponsor the first World Health Conference on Buruli Ulcer, which took place in Ivory Coast. Since then, WHO has requested that HART provide assistance for two highly endemic districts in Southern Ghana.

HART team members include surgeons, nurses, and other volunteers. The team typically spends about two weeks working in local hospitals, treating Buruli Ulcer victims, teaching Ghanaian physicians how to perform skin grafts, and educating villagers about the disease. Swiss said HART can typically treat 70 cases during their stay.

Since HART volunteers pay for their own airfare and expenses, all donations are used for the purchase of medical supplies and equipment, which often total more than $60,000 a trip. During their January project, HART donated three new computers and a new skin grafting machine to the local hospital.

" I think that we're very fortunate to have BYU Men's Chorus present this benefit concert for HART," said David Nielsen. "We anticipate raising enough funds to help purchase supplies and equipment for our future projects."

The April 4 concert at Kingsbury Hall will be the final opportunity to hear the Men's Chorus perform this school year. This program will include classical pieces, hymns, spirituals, popular, and traditional arrangements.

The Men's Chorus originated in the School of Music in the College of Fine Arts and Communications at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. BYU is one of the nation's largest private universities with an enrollment of 30,000 full-time students from throughout the United States and 107 foreign countries.

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January 19, 2000 - HART headed for Ghana

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (January 19)

Student-run Humanitarian Aid Relief Team to travel to Ghana Saturday to fight the disfiguring Buruli Ulcer

PROVO, Utah -- The Utah County-based Humanitarian Aid Relief Team (HART), comprised of medical and student volunteers, will begin a two-week trip to Ghana, West Africa, Saturday to treat victims of the Buruli Ulcer, a virulent tropical skin disease that affects mostly children.

The Buruli Ulcer -- a disease similar to leprosy -- twists, maims and destroys the limbs of its victims resulting in extensive deformations that can lead to amputation. Victims often lose their ability to perform simple everyday functions and are treated as outcasts in their own villages.

HART, a non-profit organization run by Brigham Young University student volunteers, aims to make substantial, lasting improvements in the delivery of health care throughout the world and to attract, develop, and excite young people to participate in the causes of humanity.

While in Ghana, a team of surgeons, anaesthesiologists, nurses, and students will treat those afflicted with the Buruli Ulcer using basic medical supplies donated from Utah County hospitals. Since treatment for the Buruli Ulcer requires special skin grafting equipment not usually available to Ghanaian physicians, HART surgeons also plan to train local doctors how to use this equipment.

Student volunteers will spend part of their time educating entire villages how to detect the Buruli Ulcer in its early stages of formation, currently the best way of treating the disease. In the future, HART hopes to construct small stations where the skin ulcers can be easily removed before becoming too advanced.

HART is also aiding scientists in finding a cure for the Buruli Ulcer by funding research projects and publishing articles in medical journals to create more awareness. In July 1998, HART co-sponsored the first World Conference on the Buruli Ulcer in Ivory Coast. Last year, HART also participated in the second World Conference in Geneva, Switzerland.

HART invites Utah broadcast journalists to the Salt Lake City International Airport Jan. 22 for its 8 a.m. departure. For more information on the departure, or if you would like to do a more complete story on HART, please contact project director David Nielsen.

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October 1999 - Peter Breinholt & Nancy Hanson
Benefit Concert for HART

On Saturday, October 24, HART (Humanitarian Aid Relief Team) is having a benefit concert to raise money for the organization. The concert will be held at the University of Utah's Kingsbury Hall and will begin at 7:30.

Performers will include local talents:

Peter Breinholt
Nancy Hanson

Tickets for the concert are $8.00 and are available at all ArtTix locations and at the Kingsbury Hall box office and Capitol Theater.

All proceeds from the concert will benefit HART and will be used to purchase medical equipment and supplies that will be delivered to local hospitals in Ghana.

If possible, we would like to have a television crew at the concert to do a short segment on the Saturday 10:00 news. Tickets are selling very well and we are confident the concert will sell out. This concert is a big event and is certainly for a great cause. Also, we would appreciate your announcing our concert in your community events calendar if possible. If you have any questions concerning HART or the concert, please contact David Nielsen 801-798-8294 or Lincoln Nadauld 801-370-2289.


 

 

   
 
$8 is the average cost for the treatment of a nodule, which is one of the early stages of Buruli ulcer

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