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Peru – Our new partner NGO??

November 24, 2008 - Peru

by Steve Henrichon

We were really hoping that the Dominican Sisters would want to partner with us. We thought they would do an outstanding job managing our project once we return to the US. Nina Zully was the sister that was lobbying on our behalf but we had to rely on her to present our case to her superiors. She took a trip to Cusco to meet with her superiors and we waited patiently for her return. When she did return, she did not have good news. They ultimately decided that they did not want to attach their name directly to the project because they feared they would not be able to dedicate the amount of time and resources to really do an effective job. We tried to assure them that the clinic would run itself. Ultimately if they are not eager to take responsibility then we would be shooting ourselves in the foot by convincing them otherwise.

So…he we are. We have a functioning clinic. We have a clinic staff. We are scouring the area for the right building to move into. Yet we still do not have a partner organization to take responsibility for the project. We werent about to settle either. We have no intentions of leaving the clinic with an organization that we dont trust 100% to effectively represent our best interests. We will not leave the clinic with an organization that does not share the same vision, ideals and values, and work ethic.

As it turned out, the answer was staring us in the face. Lets start our own Peruvian NGO which is composed by our friends who want to take ownership of the project…friends we know and trust to represent our best interests…friends who already have an invested interest in the project…friends who have been with us since day one. I am talking about Doctor David. The Good Doctor has already taken ownership of this project. It is reasonable to assume that he will one day leave the clinic to pursue other endeavors. When that time comes, he will still be associated with the clinic as a member of the Board of Directors and he will continue to oversee the direction of the clinic even if he is not physically there. We presented our idea to David and he was very receptive and excited. So we put the plan into effect. The NGO would consist of David, Guillermo, Luis (David’s brother who is a lawyer), and Edgar (An orthodontist; David’s best friend). This is a very strategic union of professionals in the community. Luis is a lawyer and he has experience setting up NGOs. He handled the majority of the paperwork and provided us direction on the proper steps to take. We also presented the idea to Guillermo who was also very receptive. Guillermo will actually serve as the President of the NGO as he is the clinical director. He is responsible for preparing the monthly and quarterly reports in the first place so it is only natural that he will serve as the president.

Well, one less thing to worry about. We have our partner organization!! We just had to step back and think of an out-of-the-box solution. In hindsight, I am somewhat thankful that things didnt work out with the Dominican Sisters. We are now in a much better position moving forward. We suggested some names for the NGO but Guillermo and David settled on "Real Medicine Peru" and I couldnt be happier 🙂

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