"Nelvy" - Poquera Bolivia

CAPTION: I came across Nelvy while on assignment in Bolivia for FH.  She lived a humble life as the daughter of hard working campesinos 
in one of the Campo's very poor farming communities that dot the Bolivian landscape.  During our visit, while standing in the doorway, 
I noticed in the far corner of the room the shape of a small child laying down - behind a set of makeshift curtains. 

I was told that her name was "Nelvy" and with that they summoned a quiet, little waif of a girl, who came and stood quietly in front of me 
with eyes like pieces of coal, her fathers arms wrapped protectively around her tiny shoulders and when I asked about her I didn't expect 
to be told that she didn't have long to live, maybe a year, maybe less...due to a hole in her heart. I was speechless. I learned that while 
there was a doctor willing to perform the surgery they had no money for the nearly $4500 needed for post operative care which for a humble 
farmer - might as well have been a million dollars.  With this thought, I had a wave of emotion flood over me, thinking...there was no way 
on earth I was going to let this little girl die for lack of money.

So I created this image of Nelvy and her father and on my return to Arizona I met by sheer coincidence, a woman named "Carol" who is 
as loving a person that you could ever meet, a horsewoman who took particular interest in where I'd been, telling me that she'd been 
"wanting to help in some way but didn't know how". Well, at the beginning of a very long story, I told Carol that I needed help with 
$5,000 to help save a little girls life or simply, she would die. I left the horse barn that night, where I found Carol, and thought little 

more about our meeting until a week later when a check arrived in the mail for $5,000 with Nelvy's name on it for her open heart 
surgery. Years later, the memory of what Carol's generosity meant to Nelvy, to her family, still resonates with me, knowing the names 
of children who came after Nelvy, from East Africa to The Philippines, who were vulnerable and simply needed an advocate or two.

With the help of so many people, including Food for the Hungry's staff in Bolivia, Nelvy had a successful operation and has been running 
around rural Bolivia for quite a few years now, enjoying a full life with her family and I believe she has a child of her own now. But she must 
have a sense of peace, knowing that she has a strong heart to help her live out her dreams. Nelvy's story, is a truly special story, one that 
has provided the motivation behind other heart operations around the globe and the creation of the HEART fund whereby children in rural 
communities of the developing world, who are critically ill, may find help. 

A few poignant images, a woman in a barn, a bit of money and a beating heart in all of us made the difference. When asked to help 
we simply stepped up and said "yes" when we could easily have said no..we shared a vision for something good for a change and along 
the way, we managed to play a small part, in helping to give Nelvy back her life.