Severe Cases Referred Overseas for Specialized Treatment

Charlene Brennan

For the severe cases that require medical treatment overseas, the children are transferred to the Shriner’s Hospital for Children in Saint Louis, Missouri where they are provided free medical care. Mena and Committee Chair for the Belize Children’s Program, Charlene Brennan, told News Five about the process in  the U.S.

Charlene Brennan, Committee Chair, Belize Children’s Program

“Once our children arrive, they are placed in Host-Family Homes, very loving and caring homes that have been vetted and checked and background check. The families take the children in, they provide for them; housing, food and transportation back to medical care…basically become their family for the short time that they are in the United States and then as soon as they’ve satisfied their medical need they are returned to their families here in Belize.”

Joseph Mena

Joseph Mena, Belmopan Representative, Rotary Club

“We have been doing this project, we call it the Belize Children’s Project and we have been working with it for over thirty-five years now. The Rotary Club of Belmopan is the local component and we do our fundraising here in Belize to purchase airlines tickets to send the kids to the US for surgery at the Shriner’s Hospital in St. Louis.”

Duane Moody

“The financing for this in the U.S. – the surgeries and all of that—how is the cost taken care of?”

Charlene Brennan

“All of the care for the children, their transportation is provided by the Rotary District 6510 which is made up of forty-four Rotary Club in Southern Illinois and then we provide their wheelchair rental, medical equipment, pharmaceuticals; the host families provide all of their day to day living expenses; hospital provides all their medical care for free and then basically it’s no cost to their families here at all.”

The final clinic will be held on Thursday at the Northern Regional Hospital in Orange Walk.