You could describe Team Heart’s founding as a “perfect storm” of tragedy and restoration and North American volunteers answering a call for help from the Rwandan government and severely understaffed medical community.

Team Cardiac life’s dedicated and expert caregivers have saved many (though hardly all) who are gravely ill and need surgical intervention. Without sufficient medical staffing, without preventative education and medication, without the appropriate health care facilities, the struggle is ongoing.

After traveling to Rwanda as a volunteer, Ceeya Patton Bolman returned to Boston, recruited her husband Chip (a heart surgeon), and joined a group of ICU nurses at Brigham and Women’s Hospital to form Team Heart. They registered the organization as a 501c3 in 2009. What began as a single volunteer trip, became a life long journey.

This trip grew into a commitment to developing a sustainable program to increase prevention, education, and early intervention. The team would also build a foundation for offering life-saving care to Rwanda’s RHD patients. The co-founders have continued to seek ways to provide more care with help from a team of dedicated volunteers—those who are involved in raising donations at home, offering on-the-ground support in Africa, and are committed to keep the program robust and growing.

Charlotte, a mother of four, proudly proclaims,

“My children now have hope.”

Learn more about Charlotte and how a successful cardiac surgery saved her life—with many thanks to Team Heart. Read her stories and others to see the impact we can have.