Xurmo daraxtlari

THE CHAIN OF HOPE

The children who are cared for by the Chain of Hope come from countries which

are stricken by poverty or torn by conflict. They are children who have been injured by a mine or an exploding shell, who have been born with deformities, who have caught diseases or who suffer from the after-effects of injuries. A very simple operation can often save them. But there is usually no prospect of such surgery in their own countries, owing to the lack of specialized expertise and technical resources. "Faced with this terrible fact," says Professor Alain Deloche, a heart surgeon, "a simple idea took root: to bring these children to France, to provide them with operations, and then send them home, cured, to their families."

To achieve this, continues Professor Deloche, "one simply needs to bring into action a series of links in a chain of skills, asking people with all types of expertise to join in. This project has a powerful appeal. Everyone can participate and become a link in the chain." And so, well-known surgeons, the most highly skilled in their fields, operate free of charge in their hospitals throughout France.

Similarly, ambulances provide the children with free transport, and the airlines Air

France and UTA offer complimentary tickets. At the end of the chain, one finds a network of families who take the children in free of charge during their recovery.