The Paul Chester Children's Hope Foundation

Our Mission

The Paul Chester Children's Hope Foundation (PCCHF) is a registered 501(c)(3) charity that provides medical assistance to children and families in developing countries, giving them a chance to live productive lives through well-conceived medical interventions. We perform reconstructive surgery (i.e. club foot and cleft palate repair, burn scar revision, ear tubes, eye surgery, etc.) and work to arrest preventable, curable diseases (e.g. trachoma, glaucoma).

The foundation provides highly specialized medical assistance to individuals and families in developing countries where such services are unavailable due to logistics or economic circumstances. The foundation harnesses the expertise of medical professionals and local agencies to identify opportunities for maximum social impact, and then funds and completes the medical or surgical interventions deemed most viable.

The PCCHF core base is made up of volunteers - both medical and administrative, which vary from 50-200 in any given year. On the organizational side, the small group is made up of 5-7 dedicated individuals who meet regularly to discuss, plan and pilot missions. Our medical volunteers coordinate, and execute the missions with the assistance of logistics volunteers and in-country counterparts who have requested our assistance.

A typical mission takes place over ten days with a team of medical professionals and organizers in collaboration with officials from the host country. The number of surgeries performed is directly linked to funding, number of volunteers and the capacity of the local hospital. For example, a 2003 mission to Ecuador resulted in 110 successful surgeries, with a team of 20 foreign medical volunteers. Safe passage for supplies and staff was provided by the consul general and the first lady of Ecuador. The medical procedures provided largely addressed disfiguring conditions that have a tremendously negative impact on the livelihood of the afflicted individual.