2020 Annual Update

Dear friends and family, I hope that this letter finds you healthy and that 2020 brought moments of joy and gratitude despite being a year marked by so much loss. I would like to briefly update you on how the Manos de Ramon Foundation continues supporting the lives of mothers and infants in the Dominican Republic, thanks in great part to your shared vision and generous donations. Under the extraordinary leadership and resilience of our local program manager, Dr. Wanny Roa, we adapted our educational programming in the face of pandemic restrictions and initiated virtual training sessions in Helping Babies Breathe, Essential Care for Every Baby and Helping Mothers Survive last spring. We transitioned back to small in-person training sessions this month, with the most recent workshop taking place on December 29th at Ricardo Limardo Hospital in Puerto Plata. We have currently trained over 1200 nurses, physicians, medical trainees, and community health workers in the northern region of the country. We were invited to present the outcomes of 5 years of Helping Mothers Survive training in the DR at the International Pediatric Simulation Society conference in October and are submitting a manuscript for publication regarding this work next month. Thank you to everyone who has contributed to the effort to protect the lives of women and babies in the DR. Together, we are moving the needle towards health equity for Dominican and Haitian mothers and babies living on these Dominican hills and shores at a time when they are more vulnerable than ever. Please visit our website www.manosderamonfoundation.com to find out more about our work and reach out to me if you would like details about how each dollar donated goes directly to maternal-infant education programs in the Dominican Republic. Tax deductible donations to support our work can be made through our website via Paypal. If you are unable to donate (or already have—thank you, again!), we welcome all who share our vision of health equity and can spread the word to those who might want to join the effort. May this new year find us closer to creating a world in which each birth brings the opportunity for life. With immense gratitude and hope,

The MDR leadership team