WiRED International Celebrates 18th Anniversary

BY ALLISON KOZICHAROW AND BERNICE BORN

WiRED International hosted a reception at Scala’s Bistro in San Francisco, California, this October to mark another year of providing medical and health information programs to underserved communities around the world. Eighty-five people attended the event and talked about WiRED’s programs and mission with WiRED Board members and volunteers, many from the Bay Area.

WiRED Board Chair Anthony Hodge announced the launch of the Community Health Education Initiative in Honor of U.S. Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens. Anne Stevens, M.D., Ph.D., sister of the late ambassador, was present and joined Mr. Hodge at the podium. WiRED has established a special fund to underwrite this program, which was begun with generous contributions from Mr. Hodge and Dr. Stevens. This initiative will enable WiRED to provide its entire training library, computer and display hardware and train-the-trainer programs to doctors and organizations in low resource areas, and it will enable them to run community health education sessions.

WiRED Director Gary Selnow gave a brief review of WiRED’s work. He discussed WiRED’s partnerships and programs in the field and showed WiRED’s official video and animation about rheumatic heart disease.

Mr. Hodge said, “It was heartwarming to see the audience applaud WiRED’s work. Our continuing mission is to empower impoverished and isolated people to improve their own well-being and the overall health of their communities. We also wish to educate and support physicians, nurses, health workers and family caregivers.”

Dr. Selnow paid tribute to Tatjana Grgich for her support of WiRED since its beginning. Ms. Grgich was WiRED’s first board member, and Dr. Selnow showed the gathering her gift of a framed batik art piece created 18 years ago by Croatian children living in a war zone in the place where WiRED started its first projects.

WIRED Thanks Tatjana Čizmić Grgich

 

As WiRED’s first board member, Ms. Grgich helped develop the mission philosophy of the organization. A Croatian by birth, she wanted WiRED’s programs to help improve the lives of all people in need in her native Croatia, in Serbia, Bosnia or in any other country.

 

Ms. Grgich is President of the Tatjana Grgich Family Foundation which is dedicated to projects, programs and services that assist youth from strife-torn areas of the world. Her foundation, based in California's Sonoma Valley, supports local and national charitable organizations which provide educational, medical, and spiritual sustenance to families and individuals.

 

Ms. Grgich is a member of the Board of Regents of the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., and is a benefactor and board member of the Pacem in Terris (Peace on Earth Institute) at LaRoche College in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.