Since 2016, Wilshire Baptist Church has helped provide 586 heart surgeries in nine countries through their partnerships with medical teams. These teams not only perform life-saving surgeries for children with heart defects, but also take the time to train local doctors and nurses so they can continue providing this care independently. As a result, lives are being saved even after the visiting medical teams depart, and vulnerable communities are gaining greater access to healthcare. The report shares stories of several children from Iraq and other countries whose lives were transformed through the lifesaving surgeries made possible by support from Wilshire Baptist Church.

1. WILSHIRE BAPTIST CHURCH IMPACT REPORT
September 2017

2. 1
Since 2016 you have helped provide 586
heart surgeries in nine countries.
Countries:
• Honduras
• Iran
• Iraq
• Libya
• Macedonia
• Morocco
• Nigeria
• Russia
• Ukraine
Iran

3. 2
There were no doctors
who could save them.
Parents were traveling across the country, from
doctor to doctor, looking for someone to spare their
children from death. Again and again, they were told
no one in the country could save them. They would
need to travel outside Iraq in order to find help.
Wealthy families could do that, but most families
can’t afford the thousands of dollars needed to get
surgery outside Iraq.

4. But you gave them hope.
For so many Iraqi parents with children born with heart
defects, the situation feels hopeless. But it isn’t hopeless,
when you are standing by them. You are sending doctors
and nurses who can save the lives of these children. You are
sending in world-class, pediatric heart surgery specialists
who teach local medical professionals how to perform the
complex surgeries.
3

5. 4
Meet Umalbanen
Justababy,sheandherparentswereshuffled
from hospital to hospital because her case
was too hard. Finally, you were able to
provide her the surgery she always needed.
Umalbanen lived for a week following her
surgery. While our team wasn’t able to give
her years of life, they were able to transform
the short time she had with her family.
Umalbanen, and other babies like her, are
the reason we bring in the teams to work
with local doctors, so one day there won’t
be stories like hers.
READ MORE...

6. 5
You helped provide medical training.
We partner with foreign medical teams who travel to each child’s country. While they
work on these kids, they also train local doctors and nurses to build Iraq’s capacity to
provide high quality cardiac care.

7. 6
Meet Yossef
He was diagnosed with a heart defect,
discovered after seeing a doctor for the
flu. His parents took him to the two best
facilities in Iraq, but nobody could take
the case, because it was too complex.
Despite both his parents having jobs, they
could not afford to take him out of the
country for help.
That’s where you came into Yossef’s story.
READ MORE...

8. 7
These teams spend thousands of hours training local
medical staff—and then hand them the reins. As a
result, children’s lives are being saved in hospitals
across Iraq—and now, around the world—even after
our teams have gone.
By partnering locally, we are able to accomplish so
much more than we could alone.

9. 8
Meet Falah
He is 16 years old and was born with a heart defect.
He loves soccer, but can’t play it. He wants to be a pilot
when he grows up.
And now he has the chance to do that, thanks to you.
READ MORE...

10. 9
Families are finding hope, and children are getting a
healthy chance at life because of the hard work and skilled
hands of these doctors.

11. 10
Meet Yaqin
She is the girl who escaped death twice.
She was living life in a refugee camp after
her family fled from ISIS. Then her camp
was bombed, but she made it out alive.
Her family had to travel most of the way
across the country where they could feel
safe, which brought them to a place where
Yaqin could get the life-saving surgery she
desperately needed.
READ MORE...

12. 11
Here are a few more little ones who
have received your life-saving love.
MohasinAli
Narjis Warda
Osama
Lian

13. When you saw the need, that desperate
children had no way to get life-saving
medical care, you responded.
Thank you for helping kids in Iraq, Libya,
and other war-torn countries get what they
need to have a chance at life. We could not
do this work without you.
THANK YOU!
12

14. We love hearing from you!
Do you have any questions? Do you have ideas for more ways
we can work together to wage peace and #loveanyway?
We want you to fully understand your impact—your essential
role in waging peace in the world’s most polarizing conflicts—
so you can share your work with friends and family, colleagues
and constituents.
Please let us know how we can serve you better.