1: What are you trying to accomplish?
2: What's your evidence that you can accomplish it?
3: How is it possible that you can provide an open heart surgery in Iraq for less than $1,000? Is that the full cost?
4: So is that the same thing as saying that my donation doesn't really make a difference? That the "up to 85%" funded locally by those inside Iraq is all that is really necessary to make this work?
5: Any other costs?
6: What is the bottleneck to more surgeries: money or skilled labor?
7: I'm skeptical of non-profits and charities because they always seem to be asking for more money. How can I be sure that Preemptive Love Coalition has "room for more funding" and that I'm not paying into a huge savings account, "Rainy Day Fund", or something similar?
8: Do you have enough volunteer surgeons available for unfunded Remedy Missions? (i.e., are there trips that you could fund if you had more money, or is there a labor bottleneck?)
9: Many heart surgeries require follow-up treatment (including additional surgeries). Do you have a way of providing these to patients?
10: How do you assess whether surgeries are completed competently and appropriately?
11: What is the rate of complications during and following surgery?
12: How do you assess whether surgeons are performing additional surgeries that they would have not had the funding or motivation to perform otherwise?
13: How do you assess whether surgeons are charging their patients for the surgeries you fund?
14: Do you follow up with the surgeons you've trained to assess whether they are correctly applying their training?
15: What information is available on the activities - and competence - of the surgeons you've trained?
16: Where do surgeons work after completing training? Do they serve poor patients?
17: How much do you spend each year on "program" expenses and how much on "overhead?"


----------

 Q: What are you trying to accomplish?

A: Train Iraqi heart surgeons and nurses so they can eradicate the backlog of tens of thousands of Iraqi children waiting in line for lifesaving heart surgery. [Back to Top]

 Q: What's your evidence that you can accomplish it?

A: Each year we continue to increase Iraq's total number of pediatric cardiac surgeries with new surgeries in Iraqi centers that would not - indeed could not - have been accomplished otherwise. Ministry of Health (MOH) officials speculate 500 surgeries were accomplished in 2009 (of which we provided 23 - 4.6% - outside the country). The addition of our 82 surgeries in FY 2010 - to the 500 baseline - for a total of 582 approximated surgeries, represents an increase created by PLC of 14% over 2009. In FY 2011 we anticipate increasing Iraq's total number of pediatric cardiac surgeries to at least 719 (or another 19% over FY 2010 directly attributable to our surgeons and our training).

Each year the local teams with which we work will become more proficient, and each year they will independently take on a larger case load than they could have the year before. None of these figures yet account for that additional output.

In March 2010 the Iraqi Ministry of Health asked us to expand our work to three additional sites. In May 2010 we began additional discussions about establishing a fellowship program in which international surgeons and nurses would take up residence in the Iraqi system to train locally for 40 weeks out of the year.

Our model does not rely strictly on volunteers because the level of need in Iraq outstrips what we could reasonably supply through volunteer labor alone. Accordingly, we set our budgets so as to actually contract the international surgical and nursing staff we need to accomplish our mission.

Sure, this increases the cost-per-mission (and thereby, cost-per-child) over early "mission" models in which volunteerism was idealized and training was not necessarily prioritized. But our contract labor + volunteerism model is inarguably the only way to create a nationwide quarterly training program and fellowships inside Iraq with international experts across approximately 6-8 surgical sites. Moreover, our model does not face the same sluggishness of learning that other surgery organizations suffer because we do not have the same rates of turnover; we have incredible consistency across our programs and missions. [Back to Top]

 Q: How is it possible that you can provide an open heart surgery in Iraq for less than $1,000? Is that the full cost?

A: The "less than $1k" numbers we routinely publish represent the amount in "program costs" we spend from our international donor money. The figure does not necessarily account for every single management, overhead, or fundraising expense.

Our total expenditures for FY 2010 were $188,919. We performed 82 surgeries during the same period for a per child total of $2,304 (though this data is a bit moot moving into 2010-11 as we abandon our very expensive "surgery exports" program(s) in Turkey, etc. and focus henceforth on more cost-effective in-country surgeries alone).

When all of our Remedy Mission partners are taken into consideration - including the Iraqi Government, medical companies that donate medicines and supplies, and local organizations - the real Remedy Mission cost to all donors is in the range of $5,400 - $7,000. Put another way, up to 85% of the total cost of a single surgical/training mission is now subsidized by local, Iraqi constituent institutions. [Back to Top]

 Q: So is that the same thing as saying that my donation doesn't really make a difference? That the "up to 85%" funded locally by those inside Iraq is all that is really necessary to make this work?

A: There is not a single site across Iraq for which our Remedy Missions are fully funded. If we fail to provide our 15-19% of the overall budget, Remedy Missions fail, surgeons and nurses do not get trained regularly, on-site audits from our international team do not happen, up to 20 children are delayed from receiving surgery, and a few may even die or become inoperable. Your role in funding the remaining 15-19% is as critical in the short term as any other entity. A single Remedy Mission is binary - it either happens or it doesn't. Your money makes it happen. But our goal is to continue to graduate all our programs so they are 100% funded locally in the next 5-10 years. [Back to Top]

 Q: Any other costs?

A: Our numbers per Remedy Mission do not account for "indirect costs," such as the cost (or value) of our volunteer medical staff from around the world, costs to local healthcare systems, the cost of a family to travel to the surgery site, the opportunity costs of lost income for families as they wait for surgery, etc. The reason we think it's important to note this here is because lifesaving is actually quite difficult. Building a pediatric cardiac surgery system for the entire country of Iraq is laborious and full of complexities. [Back to Top]

 Q: What is the bottleneck to more surgeries: money or skilled labor?

A: People often assume that the biggest need is more Iraqi heart surgeons. We could use a few more, but the real bottleneck is skilled nurses, technicians, and non-surgical physicians. A surgeon is only as good as his support staff. One of our biggest challenges is training pediatric cardiac intensive care nurses. To date, we haven't found a better model than our Remedy Missions through which we bring quarterly hands-on training to local nurses (and surgeons) in Iraq. Rather than exporting the nurses to Europe or the USA for training (whose medical systems barely resemble the Iraqi system), we train them with what they have on hand in their local environment. [Back to Top]

 Q: I'm skeptical of non-profits and charities because they always seem to be asking for more money. How can I be sure that Preemptive Love Coalition has "room for more funding" and that I'm not paying into a huge savings account, "Rainy Day Fund", or something similar?

A: For the record, we are skeptical of non-profits as well! In 2012 PLC needs $350,000 on hand at any given time to cover our cash flow needs for up to three Remedy Missions per quarter. We are still 30% under-funded against that goal. In addition to cash flow needs, we still require 15-19% funding on most of our missions after local sources contribute their portion; we have un-funded pilot programs in new cities where local doctors have been requesting our help (but where weve yet to woo local philanthropists or health directors); and we have research and social service initiatives through our Followthrough program that require funding at present because we have not yet sought local funding for those initiatives (seeing as how they relate mostly to our Monitoring & Impact Evaluation objectives). Please see our "Funding Gap" page to look deeper into our anticipated program costs, the sources of funding we are counting on, and the funding gap between the two for the next few years. [Back to Top]

 Q: Do you have enough volunteer surgeons available for unfunded Remedy Missions? (i.e., are there trips that you could fund if you had more money, or is there a labor bottleneck?)

A: Great question! We use a hybrid volunteer/staff model. Roughly 25-30% of any one of our Remedy Mission teams is employed by the International Children's Heart Foundation (typically the surgeon, scrub nurse, anesthesiologist, ICU doctor, and often a part-time ICU nurse). The remainder of the team typically comprises volunteer physicians, technicians, and nurses from across the world. Because the hardest-to-come-by positions are contract labor for us and NOT volunteers, we have never failed to run a mission for lack of personnel. We have only cancelled or turned down a request for a future mission due to lack of funding. [Back to Top]

 Q: Many heart surgeries require follow-up treatment (including additional surgeries). Do you have a way of providing these to patients?

A: Yes, we do. Our model dictates quarterly visits to each program site (a hospital inside a regional hub). Our reliance on local cardiologists ensures that the local team prioritizes and almost entirely sets the agenda for patient selection (within a development curricula) - after all, Iraqi doctors are the ones who are most intimately connected to the patients and their daily progress! When a local cardiologist sees a child who has either (1) deteriorated and requires another intervention or (2) advanced as expected to the next step of a complex, staged intervention, the child is prioritized for follow-up treatment. [Back to Top]

 Q: How do you assess whether surgeries are completed competently and appropriately?

A: Because we are a broker and play a combination administrative and financier role in the coalition of partners working in Iraq to develop pediatric cardiac care, we are able to stand in-between the local surgical team and the international surgical team (whom we contract as a third-party to train and perform surgeries in Iraq). If the local team or health directorate suspects a lack of competence in the international team, a cavalier attitude, or a single poor judgement call, our role is to be the go-between - to be the advocate for the local healthcare providers vis-a-vis the international surgical team.

Similarly, if the international surgical team feels pushed by the local surgical team to perform procedures with which they are uncomfortable or for which they think the local system is ill-prepared, they are able to refuse children for surgery and/or use us (PLC) as a go-between.

The checks-and-balance between the two teams helps us ensure surgeries are performed in a competent, appropriate manner. [Back to Top]

 Q: What is the rate of complications during and following surgery?

A: We report our in-hospital and 60-day mortality after each Remedy Mission. You can finds those numbers here. We also produce reports after each Remedy Mission detailing the trip, including data on intraoperative complications, post-operative complications, and mortality. You can find those reports here. We are also deliberately raising the funds necessary to help us bring our various heart hospitals into compliance with the International Quality Improvement Collaborative for Congenital Heart Surgery in Developing Countries. If this kind of quality improvement and reporting initiative interests you, we are currently looking for financial partners for our Followthrough program. [Back to Top]

 Q: How do you assess whether surgeons are performing additional surgeries that they would have not had the funding or motivation to perform otherwise?

A: Pediatric heart surgery in Iraq is almost nonexistent without our work. There are two active programs for relatively simple surgeries (one in Erbil and one in Baghdad). Local surgeons claim that combined they perform no more than a few hundred pediatric surgeries a year. In every location where we work, pediatric heart surgery is effectively nonexistent. Therefore, every surgery performed at our program sites (both when we are present and when we are not) are "additional surgeries" that they would not have had the SKILL to perform without the FUNDING we employed to train them in their local environment. [Back to Top]

 Q: How do you assess whether surgeons are charging their patients for the surgeries you fund?

A: Because we work in public (government) hospitals - and because healthcare in Iraq is provided almost entirely free of charge - it is widely known that any cardiologist, surgeon, or administrator seeking compensation for services is acting outside of Iraqi law. [Back to Top]

 Q: Do you follow up with the surgeons you've trained to assess whether they are correctly applying their training?

A: We see them quarterly in their local environment and perform real-time audits of their skills, recollection of past training, application of new techniques, etc. Additionally, our international surgeon remains on call at any time via phone, Skype, or email for consultation. [Back to Top]

 Q: What information is available on the activities - and competence - of the surgeons you've trained?

A: Because our Remedy Mission training program only began in late 2010 - and pediatric heart surgery at our sites across Iraq is the same age - there is still relatively little independent practice to report, and therefore little data on the activities and competence of our surgeons and their teams. But as they begin performing more surgeries independently, we are trying to align each site/surgical team with the International Quality Improvement Collaborative for Congenital Heart Surgery in Developing Countries (a data collection and tracking initiative of Children's Hospital Boston and Harvard University). [Back to Top]

 Q: Where do surgeons work after completing training? Do they serve poor patients?

A: As of Q2 2011 there was only one private hospital in Iraq (to our knowledge) providing pediatric heart surgery (and those surgeries were on the lower end of the complexity scale). Our work does not necessarily mean to exclude private hospitals as they continue to come online and become viable options, but at present the government system has a better equipped foundation for training local surgical teams. As we look to fully graduate our local surgical teams in the next 5-10 years, we imagine that most of them will stay in the public sector for all of the stability, pensions, and benefits of loyalty provided to those who stick with it. But, undoubtedly, some will seek positions at private hospitals (assuming private hospitals are willing to invest in the requisite capital purchases necessary to establish a credible program). In the public sector, rich and poor are served alike. In the private sector, poorer patients would be at an obvious disadvantage. [Back to Top]

 Q: How much do you spend each year on "program" expenses and how much on "overhead?"

A: As a rule, we do not adhere to the model that claims that "overhead" is somehow bad and "program" is somehow good. There are very bad program expenses. There are overhead expenses that are excellent investments. We agree with Paul Brest, President of the Hewlett Foundation, when he said, "Achieving a low overhead ratio drives many charities to behaviors that make them less effective and means more, not less, wasted dollars." Therefore, we spend as much on overhead as we need to accomplish our mission. The mission itself is our North Star - not arbitrary (even harmful) standards about overhead-vs-program expenditures. For the record, however, you can find a current pie chart of our expenditures here (and if you're into that sort of thing, you'll probably be impressed!). [Back to Top]

Jeremy Courtney Founder, Executive Director Twitter: @Jeremy_Courtney

“I'd love to hear any critique or questions you might have!”

DROP A NOTE OR DONATION BY MAIL: Preemptive Love Coalition 1300 Darbyton Dr. Hewitt, TX 76643 GIVE BY PHONE: To make a gift over the phone, using your credit card (Visa, MasterCard, American Express, or Discover), please call +1 (806) 853-9131 during normal business hours. IRAQ OFFICE: +964 770-355-6298 (local)

Mohammad Star’s Follow-Up

June 21, 2010 by Lauren · Leave a Comment 

A few weeks ago I met Mohammad Star, a ten-year-old boy who had heart surgery last November.

To get to Mohammad’s house, we drove through the mountains. For someone who has lived her whole life in the flattest part of America (Northwestern Indiana), seeing mountains on all sides of me and driving up the winding road to get to a village seemed unreal and euphoric. It felt like I was watching a movie – like I was not really there.

Mohammad’s house, like the ones surrounding it in the tiny mountain village, is made of dirt the same color as the ground. We climbed up narrow stairs into their sitting room, which also served as a kitchen; and Mohammad’s mom serves us food. She set out platters of wild cucumbers, watermelon, fruit juice and pastries. As we ate, Mohammad sat close next to his younger siblings, looking up at us timidly.Our Iraqi coworker Awara somehow got Mohammad to talk and show his toy car.

Awara asked about the chickens running around outside their home. Mohammad raised 14 chickens from a hen and a rooster – all on his own – which he proudly showed me and the other interns. He and his younger siblings pose for pictures with the village and national flag waving in the background.

To see how life-saving surgeries gave Mohammad Star the opportunity to live out his life was something that I will never forget.

Lauren Sawyer, a PLC summer intern ('10), is telling Preemptive Love’s story by managing its year-end review. Along with storytelling, Lauren loves reading 20th Century literature, listening to (good) music and chatting over a cup of coffee.

Photo of the Day

June 21, 2010 by Lydia · Leave a Comment 

Beautiful baby Gesh and her mother came to visit our office last week.

Lydia Bullock wrote and photographed for us during the 2010 summer internship and then again for 7 months in 2011. She documented surgical missions in northern and southern Iraq. See more of her excellent work on our Flickr stream, or follow her on Twitter: @lydiabullock.

Celebrating Fathers (Day)

June 20, 2010 by Esther · Leave a Comment 

For Abdul Kareem’s father, today may be his last Father’s Day.

Meet Abdul Kareem. This nine-month old’s family does not have the money to send him to surgery through conventional means outside the country.

Abdul Kareem is in a position where he must receive heart surgery before his first birthday or he will likely be inoperable because of increased complications.

You can make this Father’s Day more than just a holiday for Abdul Kareem’s family. You can help commemorate today as the day that Abdul Kareem receives the funds to go to surgery.

This August our Remedy Missions team of international surgeons will perform 30 heart surgeries and train local medical teams. This will give Abdul Kareem an opportunity to receive heart surgery in his own country that is both affordable and accessible.

But at this point that chance at surgery will only be possible with your donations.

A few days after the pictures above were taken, Abdul Kareem’s father returned to our office to talk to PLC Director Jeremy Courtney about the status of his son’s acceptance for surgery. And just as any dad in this situation, Abdul Kareem’s father pleaded “Just do something for him. He’s just a little boy.” He got so emotional that he excused himself from the conversation and the office. The father, who had done all he could for his son, walked away from the office crying.

Let this Father’s Day be more than gifts and family luncheons. Invest in surgeries that will help give children like Abdul Kareem a lifetime of celebrating days with their fathers.

Esther Perez, a PLC summer intern ('10), is spending this summer managing the daily blog and telling the stories of Iraqi children affected by congenital heart disease. The die-hard Texan loves spending her time learning local languages, talking about soccer and swimming.

UPDATE on Three PLC Kids Three Months After Surgery

June 20, 2010 by Sophia · Leave a Comment 

Driving the dusty highways of Iraq, past kids selling water on the side of the road and through security checkpoints, I’ve found that the journey to visit PLC patients is one of joy. These family visits after a child has been sent to surgery are used to see the child’s progress and their health condition post-surgery.

Last week I had the pleasure of visiting three children who have already undergone surgery. Mohammed, Deelan, and Sara received successful, life-saving heart surgeries earlier this year, and what a joy it was to see them doing well only a few months after!

Eleven-month-old Mohammed entered the reunion screaming his head off – a wonderful sign of healthy lungs and a healthy heart! Mohammed has been gaining weight since his return home and can happily entertain himself with a cell phone on his father’s lap, not unlike many babies his age.

Deelan, now one and a half years old, has had tremendous improvement in his condition. Before surgery Deelan was a very weak and frail little boy, but he is now feisty and pushing over tables and chairs!

As Jessica, the family services director for PLC, recalled, “Deelan was so weak and tired on the way to surgery… his mother just didn’t know what to do with him.” That doesn’t seem to be a problem for Deelan’s mother now since it appears she spends some of her time chasing Deelan as his tiny legs run in circles around the room.

Sara, who is 14 years old, had her surgery in March. Ever so polite, she carries herself with confidence and maturity. When asked what she hopes to be in the future, Sara said proudly that she wants to study medicine, because her doctors were, in her own words, “so good.”

Revisiting kids like these three that inspires us at PLC to continue our work here in Iraq. Some days the stories of sick children are hard to handle, but when we are able to see tired and defeated faces turn into healthy and smiling ones, it certainly gives us strength.

Sophia Pappas, a PLC summer intern ('10), is passionate about living, loving and saving lives. While in Iraq, Sophie enjoys wandering the bazaar, trying local foods and playing with the kids.

Photo of the Day

June 18, 2010 by Lydia · Leave a Comment 

A few of our many local Iraqi bakers making Naan, a staple in many local dishes. Baked in a traditional clay oven, there is nothing quite like the taste of Naan paired with kebab!

Lydia Bullock wrote and photographed for us during the 2010 summer internship and then again for 7 months in 2011. She documented surgical missions in northern and southern Iraq. See more of her excellent work on our Flickr stream, or follow her on Twitter: @lydiabullock.

Photo of the Day

June 17, 2010 by Lydia · Leave a Comment 

Like any 10-year-old boy, Mohammad Star is quick to show off the scar left over from his heart surgery this past fall!

Lydia Bullock wrote and photographed for us during the 2010 summer internship and then again for 7 months in 2011. She documented surgical missions in northern and southern Iraq. See more of her excellent work on our Flickr stream, or follow her on Twitter: @lydiabullock.

Photo of the Day

June 16, 2010 by Lydia · Leave a Comment 

PLC interns have recently worked with local shoe makers to design the first-ever pair of female Klash! Here, a Klash-maker cuts ribbon for the bow, which is one feminine aspect of the new shoes. Pre-order a pair here for a limited time only.

www.buyshoessavelives.com

Lydia Bullock wrote and photographed for us during the 2010 summer internship and then again for 7 months in 2011. She documented surgical missions in northern and southern Iraq. See more of her excellent work on our Flickr stream, or follow her on Twitter: @lydiabullock.

A PLC Intern’s Thoughts on Brain and Feet Soup and New Cultural Experiences

June 16, 2010 by Preston · Leave a Comment 

Experiencing Iraqi culture in a variety of ways is one of the great parts of being a PLC intern. The tasks we take on allow us to build meaningful relationships with new friends as we work. So far, a few of us interns have been a part of this relationship building through working with our new friend Aram. Aram is a local Klash maker who uses his unique gift to help PLC provide much-needed heart surgeries for children right here in his home country. For the last few weeks, the interns have been working with Aram on new ideas for Klash. Day after day, at least two of us have been frequenting his shop, speaking in broken language, trying to communicate new ideas, and in doing so, slowly building a great relationship while experiencing a new and exciting culture!

This culture is one of great hospitality. Every time we step foot in his shop, Aram is quick to offer water and tea. Often times we try to pay for the drinks he gives us, but the gesture is always denied. Many people here have a joy about them as they serve their guest. Even after three weeks of our visits, Aram never fails to extend his hospitality. On one of our latest visits, we partook in a rather unusual adventure of the culinary type.

While sitting in Aram’s shop during lunch time the other day, he asked if we would like some sêrûpê. This dish that I’ve only heard tale of, has often times made our Iraqi friends laugh by even just mentioning the name. The food that was brought to us was a green-yellow, brothy mixture containing sheep brain, foot, tongue, and mid-region. I know the thought is quiet unappetizing, but after timidly tasting the first bite, we understood that the Iraqi people know what’s going on when it comes to food. They can even make sheep brain and feet taste delicious. Served with a tortilla-type bread called naan, the meal could not have been more delicious.

Along with experiencing the culture through food, we’ve also experienced a type of relationship building that can only be formed by sitting in a Klash shop in the middle of Iraq while sipping hot tea. After sitting around a bit and talking about our new Klash ideas, the conversation can quickly drift to dugolie (the Kurdish word for “soccer” or “futbol”), especially focusing on the World Cup and the many reasons why Aram thinks Germany will win it all. We talk about the trade, argue about sports, and work on Klash together. Spending time in Aram’s shop has been one of the best ways of experiencing the culture so far.

Preston Wright, a PLC summer intern ('10), has dedicated his summer to spending time working with the Iraqi people, specifically, visiting with Kurdish children, Klash makers and doctors. When he is not preoccupied with his intern duties the West Tennesseean enjoys playing soccer and working with children.

Photo of the Day

June 15, 2010 by Lydia · Leave a Comment 

Baby Honya has recovered wonderfully from her heart surgery! We checked in with her this week and she is doing great. At 15 months her teeth still haven’t grown in and her parents lovingly refer to her as “grandma”.

Lydia Bullock wrote and photographed for us during the 2010 summer internship and then again for 7 months in 2011. She documented surgical missions in northern and southern Iraq. See more of her excellent work on our Flickr stream, or follow her on Twitter: @lydiabullock.

A Visit to A Local Doctor is Sobering but Encouraging to a PLC Summer Intern

June 15, 2010 by Alex · Leave a Comment 

The past few days of my internship have placed me in the offices of Dr. Aso Faeq. As a partner to the Preemptive Love and an invaluable member of this Coalition, Dr. Aso is the only pediatric cardiologist serving the northern region of Iraq. And what sets him apart even further is that as an intreventional cardiologist – a heart doctor certified to not only diagnose cardiac problems but also perform simple surgical procedures – Dr. Faeq is fullfilling a role that is even more rare throughout the country.

Given his position, Dr. Aso would already have an extensive patient list. But considering the high rate of congenital heart disease in Iraq, it was not surprising to find his waiting room overflowing with mothers and fathers holding and comforting their sick kids, whispering assurance and love into their ears.

Our visits to his office are heartbreaking, humbling, challenging and encouraging.

It is heartbreaking to realize how rampant congenital heart disease is in Iraq. The entire time Dr. Aso met with me and other interns he was seeing patient after patient and diagnosing congenital heart defects such as atrial septal defect, transposition of the great arteries, Tetrology of Fallot and others. It is heartbreaking to know that the best course Dr. Aso can pursue is often a procedure performed to extend a child’s life only a few years so that they can wait for an improbable surgery down the line.

It is humbling to see how Dr. Aso makes these diagnoses using very limited, mostly-donated equipment in a public hospital with little institutional support. It is humbling to see him treat more patients in a day than many doctors see in a week, without any extra compensation, with joy and a smile on his face.

It is challenging, as a student pursuing a career in medicine, to see such stark disparities in healthcare between western countries and that of the region where much of “western” medicine originated. It is challenging to hear this brilliant doctor humbly state that all he wants is the opportunity for more quality training in order to further treat his patients, while simultaneously seeing that desire denied. Because of geopolitical fears and misconceptions associated with Iraqis, Dr. Aso was recently refused a visa to attend a training meeting of the Association for European Pediatric Cardiology, of which he is a member.

And although I’ve left Dr. Aso’s office heartbroken, humbled or challenged, I always leave his office encouraged as well. It is encouraging to know that through his partnership with the Preemptive Love Coalition Dr. Aso can send out families from his office, giving their children a chance at surgery. It is encouraging to realize that even though Dr. Aso may be denied visas to travel and get more advanced training, we can bring the training to him and other local doctors with Remedy Missions. Most of all, it is encouraging to know that “long-term, local solutions” isn’t just a slogan. Long-term, local solutions are people – people like Dr. Aso.

Alex Phillips, a two-time PLC summer intern ('10 & '11), has invested his heart into the surgical and medicinal aid available to the children of Iraq, hoping to better understand the complicated ties between poverty and health. On his off days, Alex spends his time reading up on his field, listening to punk rock, riding his bike, and updating his Twitter: @_alexphillips.

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	Matt Willingham is the PLC press secretary and writes primarily on politics, history, general updates and visual peacemaking through photography and film.
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	Jeremy Courtney is a PLC cofounder and writes primarily to emphasize our vision and values, including organizational and financial transparency.

Preemptive Love Coalition provides lifesaving heart surgeries for Iraqi kids in pursuit of peace between communities at odds. We offer the 30,000 Iraqi children suffering from life-threatening heart defects a chance at the surgery they need to save their lives. With our world-class international surgical partners we create long-term solutions by training local Iraqi doctors and nurses so they can sustainably save lives without our help.

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