COVID-19 Update and PPE Donation

We wanted to give you an update on ‘things’ Operation Walk Canada and take the opportunity to express the sincere hope that you are all keeping well as we make our way through this pandemic.

Many of you will know that our April mission to Ecuador has been cancelled – the right decision, of course – but nonetheless difficult when we consider the extensive amount of work to prepare for the trip, and our patient’s disappointment of a delayed surgery, for yet another year. The donations that we received for this trip will be directed to the April 2021 mission.

The empty square in front of our host hospital in Antigua, Guatemala. This space is typically teeming with people – patients, their families, vendors – from all over the country. Closed to all medical services, the hospital is expected to re-open on August 1.

The scheduled triage trip to Guatemala to assess patients for the October mission has also been cancelled. As of today, plans for the Guatemala trip are unsettled and a decision will be made by the end of May.

We have been in contact with our colleagues and friends in both Ecuador and Guatemala. We will continue this communication and move forward with the knowledge that we will be able to resume our work when the time is right – that is, when the threat of COVID-19 to our patients and team members no longer exists.

We are pleased to report that in the early days of the pandemic, we were able to donate PPE originally obtained for our Ecuador mission to the Thames Valley Family Health Centre, in London. While the quantity we had available was relatively small - the gift was very much appreciated.

Our donation of PPE to the Thames Valley Family Health Team

We look forward to our annual fundraising concert tentatively scheduled for Wednesday, October 7 at Aeolian Hall in London and will have more details in the coming months.

In the meantime, do take care. Also, a heartfelt thank you to our donors for your continued support and to our team members for your ongoing commitment.

Kind regards

Anna Hales, on behalf of the Operation Walk Canada Board of Directors