Hike supports Healing Hands

150 150 Worldwide Healing Hands
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KELSEYVILLE >> “How far would you walk for health care?” With that question, Worldwide Healing Hands (WHH) invites individuals of all ages to take part in the second “Hike 4 Healing” on April 25.

In addition, WHH seeks sponsors for the event and for hikers. Sponsors will be recognized in print and broadcast releases about the event as well as acknowledged on information available at the hike. All donations will help support the WHH’s goals and missions to provide quality healthcare to women and children, especially those who do not have access to such care.

Hike participants will traverse the Wright Summit Trail on Mount Konocti, a little more than six miles round-trip and an elevation gain of 1,600 feet. Entrance fee for the hike is $25 per person. There is no charge for children under the age of 12 to participate. Participants may register on EventBrite (https://eventbrite.com/event/15794115625/)

The Hike 4 Healing was launched last year as a fundraiser for Worldwide Healing Hands’ missions, according to Hike 4 Healing coordinator Anthy O’Brien, a WHH board member and supporter.

Led by Dr. Paula Dhanda, an obstetrician and gynecologist based in Kelseyville, WHH provides healthcare services to women and children in underserved areas of the world. WHH teams have traveled to Nepal, Chad and Haiti to deliver health services. WHH volunteer medical teams have also provided free health screenings to homeless in Lake County.

WHH recently sent a team of volunteers to Haiti for a week-long mission in conjunction with Project Medishare. While in Port-au-Prince, the WHH doctors and nurses conducted cervical cancer screenings and treatment for dozens of Haitian women and provided training to Haitian physicians and midwives.

The WHH Board of Directors is considering the next mission and is proposing Uganda as the location.

“We will need funds to acquire equipment and supplies for a clinic in Uganda,” said Dhanda. Doctors, nurses and staff who accompany Dhanda on the WHH missions are not paid for their time; they donate their services to WHH. However, there are other costs incurred, mainly for much-needed supplies and medicine, according to Dhanda.

“Please join us on our Hike 4 Healing this year so that we may help many more women and children with the healthcare they need and deserve,” O’Brien says. The hike is not a race nor competition, she added. “Your prize is the satisfaction of completing the hike and helping a worthy cause.”

For more information about the Hike 4 Healing, call (707) 279-8733. Visit WHH’s website, www.worldwidehealinghands.org, to read more about the organization.

by Susan Stout

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Published in the Lake County Record Bee:

Hike supports Healing Hands