LAKE COUNTY — It doesn”t take the smarts of a Harvard grad to realize that Lake County”s Dr. Paula Dhanda is exceptional, but it doesn”t hurt to have a Harvard graduate helping to support her humanitarian cause either. Chuck McMinn, who owns Vineyard 29 in St. Helena with his wife Anne, is that person.
Dhanda will be joined by a journalist and a photographer from National Geographic during a medical mission to Nepal in October. McMinn, hosted a fundraising effort on Thursday to support Dhanda”s fourth medical mission.
“I am a big believer in just raising your hand and wanting to do something,” McMinn said. “She does this out of the goodness of her heart. She is a spectacular model for how people can make a difference.”
Dhanda said, “Chuck has supported me from the very beginning, since my first mission.”
More than $30,000 was raised at the event. McMinn donated $15,000 of the total, matching money donated during the event, which featured a silent auction and a live auction of a John R. Clarke painting.
Dhanda chose Nepal for this mission because the maternal mortality rate is one of the highest in the world.
“One woman dies every 90 seconds from complications of pregnancy and childbirth. Every single day 800 mothers lose their lives. The face of maternal mortality is the children that are left behind. More than 1-million children are left motherless every year. In many cultures the fathers do not take over the care of these children, so they end up in orphanages or are sold into prostitution,” Dhanda said. “Without a mother, children have a 14 times higher rate of dying before their first birthday. They are less likely to receive proper nutrition, get medical care or to be educated.”
Nepal is one of the most impoverished countries in the world with one of the highest mortality rates. One of the reasons for the high mortality rates is that about 80 percent of women deliver without a physician or a trained midwife.
More than 90 percent of these deaths are preventable by utilizing simple measures.
“A lot of effort and planning goes into each mission, so that our work changes lives in a meaningful way,” Dhanda said. “In Nepal we will be partnering with Himalayan Healthcare, which is a U.S.-based non-profit that built a hospital in eastern Nepal. We have put together a team of physicians, midwives and nurses.”
Dhanda said, “When we invest in women it pays. There is a ripple effect. When we save a mother we impact the life of the whole family. When a family thrives the community prospers. Thriving economies lead to political stability and healthier futures for all of us.”
Dhanda”s daughter is inspired by her mother.
Jasmin Clarke, 11, will also travel to Nepal for the two-week intensive medical mission.
“She gave up the money she was saving for an iPod to help pay for her plane ticket,” Dhanda said. “She has always wanted to go on a mission.”
Dhanda thinks it will be a life-changing experience for her daughter and she believes that service work is important for all youth to experience.
“My vision is that women worldwide will have access to a safe delivery. It is not acceptable for me that any woman has to die giving birth, so I call you to action today to help us to save lives, one woman, one child, one birth at a time.”
Dhanda”s organization, Worldwide Healing Hands, was born of her passion to help others. She said she loves being a physician and it is her dream to be able to travel on missions all around the world providing much-needed medical care to those less fortunate.
Dhanda was recently featured on International model Christy Turlington-Burns” blogsite for her work at http://everymothercounts.org/blog/201206/clean-delivery-kit-lifesaving-birthing-kit-fits-sandwich-bag.
To learn more about Dhanda”s mission or to donate to the effort visit www.worldwidehealinghands.org or call 279-8733.
