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)

Join Jackson—Throw A Lifesaving Party This Month!

December 19, 2012 by matt · Leave a Comment 

This sweet little boy, Jackson, decided to donate a portion of his Mario-themed 7^th birthday party toward saving the life of an Iraqi child!

Do you have any creative fundraising ideas of your own? Why not join Jackson in saving lives while you celebrate?

Share your party ideas with us in the comments section below, and scroll down to click the birthday gift and start your own fundraiser now!

	$9—Stitch a Heart Our partner surgeons use high-quality stitches (called “sutures”) to fix leaky heart valves, sew up holes, and close up wounds after surgery. For just $9, you can help us save a child’s life—perfect for an office party or stocking stuffer!
	$50—Patch a Heart Our partner surgeons and nurses make heart patches for each child during their operation from a sheet of material called “Gore-Tex.” For just $50, you can fill the gap in a child’s heart and help save their life!
	$500—Package of Patches Your gift will help us buy enough material to create the patches and change the lives of ten children suffering from life-threatening holes in the walls of their hearts.
	$1,000—Heartmender Package Your gift will help us buy all the medicines, sutures, patches and a portion of the airfare for our doctors and nurses required to save one child’s life on our next Remedy Mission. In partnership with the Iraqi government, $1,000 is roughly what it costs PLC to save a life in Iraq.
	Start Your Own Fundraiser Online Today! You may feel like you only have a few dollars, but when you combine your best with those closest to you, you will quickly find that you can patch a heart—or fund an entire heart surgery—as a group. Click here to get started –>

As Communication Director, Matt Willingham spends most of his time trying to get the word out on PLC's work in Iraq. On the side, he likes reading stories, devouring the great food his wife cooks up, and DSLR camera work. He's also mildly obsessed with Twitter: @mehtin.

VIDEO: Four Iraqi Children Arrive in Istanbul for Lifesaving Heart Surgery

July 20, 2010 by Jeremy · Comments Off 

On July 18th four Iraqi kids arriving in Istanbul, Turkey in need of lifesaving heart surgery. They have entered a country about which they have mostly heard negative stories.

This week will change their perspectives and change their lives forever…

Follow Chro on Twitter: @ChroArkan. Subscribe to Chro’s updates via RSS HERE. Follow Chro’s thread of longer stories (with pictures & video) on the PLC blog HERE.

Follow Leah on Twitter: @Leahibrahim. Subscribe to Leah’s updates via RSS HERE. Follow Leah’s thread of longer stories (with pictures & video) on the PLC blog HERE.

Follow Nivar on Twitter: @NivarMohammed. Subscribe to Nivar’s updates via RSS HERE. Follow Nivar’s thread of longer stories (with pictures & video) on the PLC blog HERE.

Follow Jeen on Twitter: @JeenMustafa. Subscribe to Jeen’s updates via RSS HERE.

Jeremy Courtney lives and loves in Iraq as a co-founder and Executive Director of the Preemptive Love Coalition. He's also the father of two spectacular children, and married to the lovely Jessica Courtney. When not absorbed in PLC work he can be found writing songs and singing about hope and future. Follow Jeremy on Twitter: @JCourt.

Meet Sara (Twitter: SaraMuaeed)

March 4, 2010 by Jeremy · Comments Off 

Meet Sara. Sara hails from the still contested, disputed, and much-disrupted city of Kirkuk, Iraq. So disrupted, in fact, that there were reportedly four bomb explosions in Kirkuk the day before Sara left for Turkey.

Sara’s father works in a local anti-terrorist security unit. Given the backdrop of “Arabization” reaching back decades, conventional Kurdish storytelling now often says that all the terrorists are Arabs and that all the danger lives in the Arab part of city.

Those of us at the Preemptive Love Coalition can speak to that terrible stereotype by referencing our own run-ins with Kurdish terror conspirators. So in hopes of tearing down harmful stereotypes, we’re excited that Sara’s family has drawn so close to baby Deelan’s mother during their surgical sojourn together in Turkey – because Deelan’s mother is an Arab from Kirkuk.

We brought Sara to surgery because of a valve problem she is having that is threatening her life and possibly the life of her future children. At 14 years old, the window of operability for Sara is narrowing. And if she had not experienced your kindness and received surgery, she would likely die during pregnancy or childbirth due to the extreme toll such changes take on the body.

Today, under the skill of Prof. Dr. Sertaç Çiçek, Sara will receive the valve repair she needs and – GOD willing – will be set free to enjoy her adolescent and adult life with much joy and little fear.

Sara is scheduled for surgery on Thursday. More to come…

Special thanks to the college students of FWCM.org for their phenomenal $14,800+ two week fundraising campaign for Sara and one other child. Your passion and effectiveness in fundraising is a testament to the faith, values and lifestyle you profess. We’re looking for 12 other houses of worship, schools, and clubs to partner with us in 2010. For more on our 2010 Fifty Family Focus, click here.

Follow Sara on Twitter: @SaraMuaeed. Subscribe to Sara’s updates via RSS HERE. Follow Sara’s thread of longer stories (with pictures & video) on the PLC blog HERE.

*In accordance with PLC’s desire to lend a hand-up by avoiding strict hand-outs (when possible), Sara’s family contributed $6,500 towards PLC’s highly-discounted surgery prices.

Jeremy Courtney lives and loves in Iraq as a co-founder and Executive Director of the Preemptive Love Coalition. He's also the father of two spectacular children, and married to the lovely Jessica Courtney. When not absorbed in PLC work he can be found writing songs and singing about hope and future. Follow Jeremy on Twitter: @JCourt.

Meet Deelan (Twitter: @DeelanKameran)

March 2, 2010 by Jeremy · Comments Off 

Deelan arrived in Istanbul, Turkey last night on a plane from Iraq thanks to Atlasjet Airlines and the generous support they’ve offered to help us get this February group to surgery. If you are one of our summer interns, we highly recommend that you choose Atlasjet to fly into Iraq.

Our Family Services Director, Jessica Courtney, (who, if you’re keeping score at home, is also my wife) accompanied Deelan, his mother, and one other family to Istanbul last night to round out our February/March group of surgeries.

Special thanks to the Alice Abdi at the Anadolu Medical Center for the continual support, for staying late at the hospital to receive these dear kids, and for sending – as always – a special private van to pick up these fearful families. This keeps our costs low, speeds up our travel, and most importantly, shows the kind hearted desires of so many here in Turkey as they reach out to Kurds and the rest of the people of Iraq in providing these deeply discounted, life-saving heart surgeries.

Deelan is not doing well at all – crying nearly constantly and facing down dangerously high pulmonary pressure in addition to the huge hole between the lower two chambers of his heart .

Deelan is scheduled for surgery on Wednesday.

Follow Deelan on Twitter: @DeelanKameran. Subscribe to Deelan’s updates via RSS HERE. Follow Deelan’s thread of longer stories (with pictures & video) on the PLC blog HERE.

*In accordance with PLC’s desire to lend a hand-up by avoiding strict hand-outs (when possible), Deelan’s family contributed $5,000 towards PLC’s highly-discounted surgery prices.

Jeremy Courtney lives and loves in Iraq as a co-founder and Executive Director of the Preemptive Love Coalition. He's also the father of two spectacular children, and married to the lovely Jessica Courtney. When not absorbed in PLC work he can be found writing songs and singing about hope and future. Follow Jeremy on Twitter: @JCourt.

Meet Sozyar (Twitter: @SozyarHamdan)

February 24, 2010 by Jeremy · Comments Off 

The team of Turkish doctors personally pre-screened and selected Sozyar for surgery when they were with us in Iraq last week working with us to promote more local (Iraqi) solutions to these local problems.

Sozyar was referred to us by a local organization, saying she was in need of “urgent surgery.” Because of the tremendous cooperation of the Anadolu Medical Center and Prof. Dr. Sertaç Çiçek we are almost always able to fast track children like this and see them served before it’s too late. They visited us and we sent Sozyar to surgery in exactly two weeks. We could not do that without your faithful giving and the highly interested and capable Turkish team.

You can click here to read more on the Fontan procedure that the doctors plan on performing for Sozyar.

Follow baby Sozyar on Twitter: @SozyarHamdan. Subscribe to Sozyar’s updates via RSS HERE. Follow Sozyar’s thread of longer stories (with pictures & video) on the PLC blog HERE.

*In accordance with PLC’s desire to lend a hand-up by avoiding strict hand-outs (when possible), Sozyar’s family contributed $4,000 towards PLC’s highly-discounted surgery prices.

Jeremy Courtney lives and loves in Iraq as a co-founder and Executive Director of the Preemptive Love Coalition. He's also the father of two spectacular children, and married to the lovely Jessica Courtney. When not absorbed in PLC work he can be found writing songs and singing about hope and future. Follow Jeremy on Twitter: @JCourt.

Meet Muhammed (Twitter: @MuhammedAdnan)

February 24, 2010 by Jeremy · Comments Off 

Muhammed’s presence in our life is a testament to the way the Preemptive Love Family Services Team has lived out our Core Values – namely, our pursuit of excellence (or constant improvement) and the way we seek to provide whole solutions for whole people. But all that sounds a little vague, so let me break it down…

In February 2009 a Kurdish soldier knocked on the door of our office. Though I hadn’t done anything wrong, I was sure I was about to be hauled in to give an account for something ridiculous. Thankfully, I was wrong. His name was Hywa and his daughter needed a life-saving surgery…. very urgently. We fast-tracked his family to surgery, but unfortunately he had already missed the optimal surgery window for his daughter when he first appealed to us. His little baby died in March 2009.

But Hywa and I formed a friendship that was somehow wrapped up in our mutual efforts to save his child’s life. When we put Honyar on that plane to Istanbul there was an initial feeling that we had both succeeded. And as I stayed back with him in Iraq, we cried together, somehow feeling like we had both failed that day she died. Of course, it was not the same grief for me as it was for him, and I would dishonor him to imply otherwise. But we celebrated, mourned, and grew together.

A few months later Hywa referred his friend Sami to us because Sami’s boy Danar was dying from a similar heart defect. We sent Danar to surgery in January 2010 and Danar can be seen doing really well after his surgery in our video of follow-up echos a few days ago.

After Danar returned from surgery, his father, Sami, referred Adnan to us because Adnan’s son is similarly facing death from extremely high pressure in his lungs as a result of two large holes in his heart.

Call it the “butterfly effect” or “serendipity” or “Providence” or a “job well done.” I’m really proud of our Family Services Team and all the work they’ve done to leave a lasting impact on families like Hywa, Sami, and… hopefully… little Muhammed’s family.

Follow Muhammed Adnan on Twitter: @MuhammedAdnan. Subscribe to Muhammed’s updates via RSS HERE. Follow Muhammed’s thread of longer stories (with pictures & video) on the PLC blog HERE.

*In accordance with PLC’s desire to lend a hand-up by avoiding strict hand-outs (when possible), Muhammed’s family told us they would sell their car to help their son and ultimately gave $6,500 towards PLC’s highly-discounted surgery prices.

Jeremy Courtney lives and loves in Iraq as a co-founder and Executive Director of the Preemptive Love Coalition. He's also the father of two spectacular children, and married to the lovely Jessica Courtney. When not absorbed in PLC work he can be found writing songs and singing about hope and future. Follow Jeremy on Twitter: @JCourt.

Meet Danar (Twitter: @danarsami)

January 5, 2010 by Jeremy · Comments Off 

Danar was scheduled to go initially in our November 2009 group but ran into some unfortunately passport problems that prevented him from leaving the country.

Thankfully, Danar has been able to hold on these last two months and join us in this, our first group, of 2010.

Danar is your average three year old boy. He loves to joke and play with his older brother. He has lived a mostly normal life except for having to sit out to rest while playing with friends or walking with his parents. He recently was hospitalized after turning blue while playing with his brother. His oxygen saturation is back up and he is ready to have surgery so that he can play like all the other boys.

PRINT & PASS ALONG DANAR’S HOPE CARD HERE.

Follow 3-year-old Danar on Twitter: @danarsami. Subscribe to Danar’s updates via RSS HERE. Follow Danar’s thread of longer stories (with pictures & video) on the PLC blog HERE.

—————–

ADDITIONAL LOCAL FUNDING BY:

* FAMILY FUNDING		KURDISTAN SAVE THE CHILDREN
*In accordance with PLC’s desire to lend a hand-up by avoiding strict hand-outs (when possible), Danar’s family has paid $4,000 towards PLC’s highly-discounted surgery prices.

Jeremy Courtney lives and loves in Iraq as a co-founder and Executive Director of the Preemptive Love Coalition. He's also the father of two spectacular children, and married to the lovely Jessica Courtney. When not absorbed in PLC work he can be found writing songs and singing about hope and future. Follow Jeremy on Twitter: @JCourt.

New Embed-able, Share-able, Tweetable, Facebookable Video of Life-Saving, Game-Changing Heart Surgery

November 7, 2009 by Jeremy · 4 Comments 

A PEAK BEHIND THE SCENES INTO MOHAMMAD STAR’S SURGERY from Preemptive Love on Vimeo.

When he arrived in Iraq to intern with the Preemptive Love Coalition 5 months ago, Joshua Gigliotti never imagined he would end up sitting in on a heart surgery with one of the most amazing pediatric heart surgeons in this part of the world…

When Kelly gave his extremely needed, life-saving donation last week, he may not have known that he was actually going to have a chance to see how we put his hard-earned money to work.

And when Sheikh Fakher & Sheikh Towfiq of the Qaiwan Group graciously funded Mohammad’s surgery, in fulfillment of PLC’s requirement that 50% of all life-saving surgery funds come from within Iraq’s borders, they hoped (but couldn’t be sure) that their investment would go beyond good intentions.

And even Mohammad and his mother, when they got on the plane three days ago from Iraq to Turkey, probably did not expect that they would come to feel deep gratitude and love for the administrative, nursing, and doctoral staff of the Anadolu Medical Center.

But Josh was in that surgery, creating this media production to show to Kelly, the Qaiwan group, and you, and Mohammad’s mom erupted in prayers of thanksgiving and praise to God for the Turks that live to the north of her… These Turks that her neighbors might very well call enemies, she now calls friends.

Press play above to see beyond good intentions… watch a life be changed forever!

Idrees is the Next Child Waiting in Line for Life-Saving Surgery

	Idrees is slated for surgery in January 2010. We will be collecting money for his life-saving surgery throughout the Thanksgiving and Christmas season. What a chance to make a profound difference in the life of a child and his family!
	Donate the amount of your choice to Idrees by entering it in the field below. All donations made before January 2010 will go to help the Preemptive Love Coalition send Idrees (and any others in his group) to life-saving heart surgery.

Follow 11-year-old Mohammad on Twitter: @mohammadstar. Subscribe to Mohammad updates via RSS HERE. Follow Mohammad’s thread of longer stories (with pictures & video) on the PLC blog HERE.

Jeremy Courtney lives and loves in Iraq as a co-founder and Executive Director of the Preemptive Love Coalition. He's also the father of two spectacular children, and married to the lovely Jessica Courtney. When not absorbed in PLC work he can be found writing songs and singing about hope and future. Follow Jeremy on Twitter: @JCourt.

Meet Honya (Twitter: @honyamahdi)

October 31, 2009 by Jeremy · 581 Comments 

Honya is a precious little girl. She is always smiling and giggling despite the lack of oxygen flowing in her blood to her brain and the rest of her body. At nine months old she weighs roughly 12 pounds. She loves music and toys that light up. Dr. Çiçek at the Johns Hopkins affiliated Anadolu Medical Center in Istanbul, Turkey is very hopeful that she will have a full correction and believes that she is likely to benefit significantly from surgical intervention.

PRINT & PASS ALONG HONYA’S HOPE CARD HERE.

Follow 9-month-old Honya on Twitter: @honyamahdi. Subscribe to Honya’s updates via RSS HERE. Follow Honya’s thread of longer stories (with pictures & video) on the PLC blog HERE.

—————–

ADDITIONAL LOCAL FUNDING BY:

* FAMILY FUNDING		KURDISTAN SAVE THE CHILDREN
*In accordance with PLC’s desire to lend a hand-up by avoiding strict hand-outs (when possible), Honya’s family has paid $5,000 towards PLC’s highly-discounted surgery prices.

Jeremy Courtney lives and loves in Iraq as a co-founder and Executive Director of the Preemptive Love Coalition. He's also the father of two spectacular children, and married to the lovely Jessica Courtney. When not absorbed in PLC work he can be found writing songs and singing about hope and future. Follow Jeremy on Twitter: @JCourt.

Meet Meer

August 25, 2009 by Joshua · 276 Comments 

Meer’s situation is particularly urgent, referred to us both by Dr. Aso Faek in Iraq and the First Lady’s Kurdistan Save the Children. The great doctors at Anadolu Medical Center (Anadolu Sağlık Merkezi) do believe that the impact of this surgery on Meer and his quality of life will be sustantial thanks to your generous donations and Buy Shoes. Save Lives. purchases. The doctors currently plan to take Meer to surgery without any serious diagnostic testing.

Unlike many of the 44 other children we’ve sent to surgery, Meer is old enough to fully understand what is happening to him and what is at stake if things do not go according to plan. As such, Meer is understandably apprehensive about his time in Turkey, his surgery, and being away from his family. Undoubtedly Meer has heard some grand stories about the ethnic tensions between Turks and Kurds in Turkey. This can negatively affect perceptions and make the anxiety of the first few hours in the country very palpable. But it’s a joy to see those fears melt away at the hands of loving, caring nurses and medical staff.

Your donations and your efforts are always about more than the single life involved. These medical moments are writing new narratives of peace and cooperation between communities at odds. Tonight, it’s Meer’s turn.

Follow 15-year-old Meer on Twitter: @meermustaffa and through the Twitter campaign associated with meeting his urgent need #SaveMeer. Subscribe to Meer’s updates via RSS here. Follow Meer’s thread of longer stories (with pictures) on the PLC blog here.

NOTE: In accordance with PLC’s desire to lend a hand-up by avoiding strict hand-outs (when possible), Meer’s family has paid $2,500 towards PLC’s highly-discounted diagnostic testing and surgery prices.

Joshua is a PLC Summer Intern who spends a majority of his time with PLC taking exceptional photos of children in Iraq in an effort to humanize Iraqis and portray them as people full of dreams and hope. When his camera is not in-hand, Josh is often found in local tea houses with friends and also enjoys traversing the great outdoors.

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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 children in pursuit of peace between communities at odds. We offer the untold thousands of Iraqi kids 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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