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.
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