From 1992 until my retirement in 1996, I spent considerable time in Ukraine working for United Technologies, Pratt & Whitney and the Ukrainian Academy of Science and the Paton Electric Welding Institute to establish a Joint Research Center for aerospace materials. When I first arrived in Kyiv, I established a relief fund on behalf of Pratt & Whitney for the Ukraine Children's Hospitals.
After retirement in Florida, my wife Patricia and I decided to continue this work by establishing a corporation called D"Rockinghorse Fund, Inc." Our help is focused on supplying surgical equipment, medications, and follow-up support for children afflicted with maxillo-facial malformations. Patients have ranged in age from 3 months to 14 years. For some of these children, maxillo-facial malformations are congenital, others acquired their malformations from inflammations, tumors, or trauma.
We have several reasons for concentrating on the Center for Surgical Treatment of Children With Maxillo-Facial Malformations:
* Malformation is correctable and no child should have to bear the burden of facial deformity.
* The children being treated, in many cases, are in life or death situations -- if you can't eat/ingest because of an impediment, chances of survival are slim.
* The surgery used to correct these deformities is done with great care on the part of the surgical staff but the available tools (hammer and chisel) and concomitant procedures would bring tears to anyone's eyes, knowing the extent of pain and suffering endured by the child during the operation and post-op. No significant modernization has taken place since the Center was constructed in the 1950s; furthermore, with the economic crisis following independence, the Ukrainian government was forced to reduce its normal support.
* To my knowledge there is no concentrated effort for helping maxillo-facial malformations nor is there any US aid directed specifically for this purpose.
Rockinghorse Foundation has six directors, three in the United States and three in Ukraine. All directors serve with no compensation and all the money goes directly to the Children's Hospitals sanctioned by the Ukrainian State Medical University. In July 1997, it was recognized by the US government as a non- profit organization, meaning that donations are tax deductible. To date, we raised about US $60,000.
Our first endeavor was to provide a modern surgical saw, something you and I take for granted. We also provided portable life monitoring equipment, which track patients in critical condition.
In September 1997, we returned to Kyiv to enlist aid from US companies working there. We installed a computer with a printer, scanner, fax, and all software in the hospital and brought in computer experts to teach the hospital staff basic computer functions and how to use Internet. This will enable the surgeons to communicate with doctors and hospitals in the US as well as in other countries.
The US Embassy is working with us to register with the government of Ukraine as a non-profit organization.
Rockinghorse Foundation hopes to expand its efforts to include other Ukraine Children's Hospitals. We would like to raise about $250,000 per year and maintain a trust to perpetuate the activity. We seek support from US interests working in Ukraine that share a similar interest in helping the children of Ukraine.
For more information, please e-mail me at
PARC@aol.com
Arthur R. Cox
Rockinghorse Foundation
6300 Rockinghorse Road
Jupiter, Florida 33458