Panama orphanage with HIV/Aids program gets $20,000 gift

An Arraijan orphanage which provides a home for180 children and includes a special program for those with HIV/Aids has received a major donation from Canadian owned Minera Panama.

The Build a Bridge Foundation has announced that the San Jose de Malambo Orphanage  has received $20,000 from Minera Panama in support of the orphanage’s program for 30 children with HIV/Aids. 

“Donations such as this really encourage the Build a Bridge Foundation to continue its efforts in helping Malambo find the funds necessary each year to sustain their programs,” said Amanda Heapes, foundation director.

Sister Lourdes Reiss, director of Malambo said: “Minera’s donation will allow Malambo’s HIV-positive orphans to receive the medical care and nutritional supplements they need to help them survive and thrive.”
For the Malambo children who are living with HIV/AIDS, proper nutrition is as important to their survival as the medicines themselves. Food and nutritional supplements help critical medications to be absorbed by the body effectively, strengthen the immune system and allow a child infected by HIV to experience the transformative effects of the drugs.
Malambo Orphanage, founded in 1890, depends almost exclusively on the donations of individuals and organizations to care for and educate its children, Many of whom have been abandoned, come from abusive homes, are malnourished, or have severe medical issues including HIV, cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, and debilitating physical deformities. {jathumbnail off}