"300 Lives in 30 Days" campaign raises $50k

Firuza Nurahunova, a 13-year-old Kyrgyz girl pictured on a fundraising campaign advertisement, was the 150th child to receive life-saving surgery funded by Airmen at the Transit Center at Manas, Kyrgyzstan. A recent "300 Lives in 30 Days" fundraiser at the Transit Center raised another $50,000 for the children's heart surgery fund - enough to fund almost 90 more surgeries for children. (U.S. Air Force photo illustration/Senior Airman Nichelle Anderson/ released)

"300 Lives in 30 Days" campaign raises $50k

Maj. Shawn McKelvy, an Airman from the Transit Center at Manas, Kyrgyzstan, completes his first hour of biking during a "Bike Your Heart Out" bike-a-thon here May 18-19, 2010. The "300 Lives in 30 Days" fundraiser, which lasted for a month, culminated with the ride and resulted in $50,000 for the children's heart surgery fund -enough to fund almost 90 more surgeries for children. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Nichelle Anderson/ released)

"300 Lives in 30 Days" campaign raises $50k

Staff Sgt. Tasha Silveira, an Airman from the Transit Center at Manas, Kyrgyzstan, completes her first hour of biking during a "Bike Your Heart Out" bike-a-thon here May 18-19, 2010. The "300 Lives in 30 Days" fundraiser, which lasted for a month, culminated with the ride and resulted in $50,000 for the children's heart surgery fund -enough to fund almost 90 more surgeries for children. (U.S. Air Force photo/ Senior Airman Nichelle Anderson/ released)

"300 Lives in 30 Days" campaign raises $50k

Ch. (Lt. Col.) James Kinsey, 376th Air Expeditionary Wing head chaplain, speaks to Firuza Nurahunova, a 13-year-old Kyrgyz girl, pictured here March 21, 2010, with her mother, Shakura, and Ch. (Lt. Col.) James Kinsey, was the 150th child to receive life-saving surgery funded by Airmen at the Transit Center at Manas, Kyrgyzstan. A recent “300 Lives in 30 Days” fundraiser at the Transit Center raised another $50,000 for the children’s heart surgery fund – enough to fund almost 90 more surgeries for children. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Carolyn Viss)

"300 Lives in 30 Days" campaign raises $50k

Airmen at the Transit Center at Manas, Kyrgyzstan, fill out pledge forms for the ?300 Lives in 30 Days? fundraiser, which resulted in $50,000 for the children?s heart surgery fund ? enough to fund almost 90 more surgeries for children. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Nichelle Anderson/ released)

"300 Lives in 30 Days" campaign raises $50k

Published May 24, 2010
By Staff Sgt. Carolyn Viss
376th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs

TRANSIT CENTER AT MANAS, Kyrgyzstan -- An idea that started out as just a bike-a-thon to raise money for children's heart surgeries in Kyrgyzstan turned into a 30-day campaign culminating in the 24-hour "Bike Your Heart Out" event May 18 and 19, 2010.

During the bike-a-thon, more than 81 Airmen from the Transit Center at Manas biked more than 3,400 miles, and altogether, throughout the month, they raised more than $50,000 - enough to fund approximately 90 more surgeries.

"The bike-a-thon was the culminating event," said Master Sgt. James Gagner, 376th Expeditionary Mission Support Group first sergeant. "The biggest thing we did was our worldwide e-mail campaign to try to raise money, but we also raised money at the National Prayer Luncheon, a 'Heart Hop' at Pete's Place, a Cinco de Mayo celebration, and donation boxes throughout the installation."

About 40 percent of that $50,000 was donated directly from the pockets of Airmen on the Transit Center, especially those who are a part of Manas Area Benefit Outreach society, the installation's biggest non-profit private organization. The rest was donated by the friends and family they contacted to get on board with this life-saving cause, he said.

The MABOS heart surgery program began in 2005 by Mr. Jim Carney, a retired Army first sergeant with a passion for helping Kyrgyz children, according to a wing-wide e-mail by Lt. Col. Jason Janaros, the 376th Expeditionary Force Support Squadron commander.

"Mr. Carney established a tremendous partnership with a local surgeon, Dr. Samidin Shabraliev," according to the e-mail. "As a result, Dr. Shabraliev agreed to donate his services for free if others would pay for a device called an oxygenator (mechanical lung), which costs $560. Since then, through charitable donations, MABOS has paid for 152 life-saving surgeries for Kyrgyz families."

The surgeries are performed at the Heart Surgery and Organ Transplant Research Institute in Bishkek. They are able to operate on approximately 15 children a week and are only restricted from doing more surgeries by the space, equipment, and beds in the intensive care unit, where children spend their first two days after surgery.

"The most common condition these children are born with is called Patent Foramen Ovale (PFO)," according to Colonel Janaros. "All babies have a hole in their heart septum during development, but it closes in 80 percent of people before birth. For babies with PFO, the hole does not close and blood flows directly from the right side of the heart to the left side of the heart without ever going to the lungs for oxygen. The un-oxygenated blood is then pushed out to the body, resulting in a condition called hypoxia. Because the blood is not oxygenated, the body's cells are not receiving the oxygen they need to properly function. PFO is a birth defect, not a disease. Its cause is not yet fully understood, but it's known to be a congenital problem (genetic) and believed to be caused by prenatal living at high altitudes (such as Kyrgyzstan)."

It is estimated that more than 600 children in Kyrgyzstan need this operation, and the number is growing every day.

"Through your generous donations, each family will receive $1,000 to pay for the surgery and critical post-surgical medications," Colonel Janaros said.

Like many other Americans, Sergeant Gagner was amazed by how little it takes to save a life here.

"When I heard it only cost $560, I thought somebody was wrong, that there should have been at least another zero added," he said. Of course, one major reason the expense is so small is that the doctor does it pro-bono, but even so, "I never thought it would be that low," he said.

He was also amazed by how generous some of the lowest-ranking Airmen here were. One individual who stood out in his mind is an E-4 who anonymously made a pledge of $1,000, and the kick-off campaign last month was started by a staff sergeant and senior airman in the 376th Expeditionary Logistics Readiness Squadron.

Sergeant Gagner attributed the outpouring of generosity during the campaign to the fact that Airmen have been able to get out into the community and physically see and hear the needs.

"It hits home," he said. "They're not just reading a brochure or reading it in the newspaper. We put together and worked on this fundraiser for the sole purpose of saving these kids' lives."