Heart to Heart

The ICHA Blog

It’s finally here by Nikka Rapkin on August 10, 2009 | 2 comments

Wow. It’s finally here.

January 2008 certainly seems like a long time ago. Back when the recession was merely an apocalyptic prediction and Obama appeared to be in a losing struggle for the democratic primary. Things change quickly.

January 2008 was also the month Sujatha and I launched ICHA. She had a brilliant idea, I had a passion for nonprofit management, just add water and a 501(c)(3) application and there you go. Ok. Not exactly. We certainly knew that kicking off a nonprofit from scratch would be toil incarnate and unimaginable and that we would have to search high and low to create a team with the expertise to pull it all off. We also knew that we were in for an uphill battle, since cardiovascular disease in the developing world is such a shockingly under-appreciated crisis. (The fact that CVD costs developing nations billions of dollars annually seems truly to be one of the best kept public health secrets around.)

What we didn’t anticipate was that, a year and a half later, ICHA would possess one of the most talented and diverse teams in the Bay Area – 30+ volunteers from all walks of life working to create an organization with a culture and values they could call their own. The investment of creative energy and sheer brute time, work and devotion that has gone into making ICHA what it is has been amazing to behold and it’s our team of believers – i.e., you – that inspires us and keeps us going in the midst of competing demands from our personal lives and “other” jobs (also known as “the jobs that pay us”). Through ICHA we’ve forged a living breathing community of amazing individuals, rallying around a truly urgent and underserved cause and sacrificing countless, countless hours to make a difference in the developing world. If that’s not inspiring, I don’t know what is.

So what’s my story? I’d say it started the first time I saw genuine poverty. In the form of a shanty town in central Mexico, comprised of row on row of corrugated metal, burlap sacked, rotting wooded, windowless single room shacks housing three or four generations worth of a family. There’s lots of reasons to go into public health. But, for me, it’s because public health is a rock solid, guaranteed means of directly alleviating poverty. It’s a simple truth, like: There are certain ways that human beings should not have to live.

So, back to ICHA. The fact that ICHA exists is a crazy story. The fact that it is successful is even more wild. Of course, we have a long way to go before we can feel confident that we’ve even begun to achieve our mission. But in the meantime, it is nice to take stock of what we have accomplished to date – to revel in it (a little) and to learn from it (a lot). Lessons we’ve learned: Value our people and our resources. Use everything. Don’t waste opportunities. Acknowledge that the world is a mosaic of need and come to understand how and where you fit into the solution.

What we’ve accomplished so far? ICHA has developed, and is continuing to refine, a unique and powerful product (our health care worker teaching curriculum) that can be implemented on a widespread basis with widespread impact. We have facilitated the enthusiasm and nurtured the professional development of a large group of ambitious, dedicated volunteers, some of whom are unquestionably the public health leaders of tomorrow. We have created an organizational model that is efficient and relatively (still working on it) far-seeing – a small miracle given our all-volunteer operations. We have asked for help when we need it and are working – hard – to build a network of allies and supporters for the cause of eliminating preventable cardiovascular disease in the developing world.  Most importantly, we have created an organization founded on a medley of diverse perspectives and reflecting a culture of humility and collaboration. By way of example, Sujatha and I (as a doctor and lawyer, respectively) see the world through very different lenses. We work together through mutual accommodation and respect – and this is the tenor for the entire organization. This is how ICHA works together on the inside, and how we operate in our communities on the outside. I’m proud of that.

And now we’re off to Ghana. Six weeks and counting.

This outreach is a big step for ICHA. We aren’t saying that we’re going to overcome the CVD crisis overnight. But what we do know is that if something isn’t done – now – CVD is going to turn back the clock on decades of public health advances in infectious disease and malnutrition. We’re starting with this one outreach, but this is just the beginning. Over the next years, with the support of friends, family, and ICHA’s contingent of believers, ICHA is going to become a frontline crusader in the struggle to save lives and improve the health and quality of life of millions.

And so with this blog, we’re inviting you to join our community and come with us for the ride. Thanks for your support and welcome to the team.