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Brave Heart

Global ARCH / Our Member Orgs / Brave Heart

Brave Heart is a registered NGO in Lebanon, founded in 2003. It provides grassroots financial assistance for life-saving surgeries to underprivileged children diagnosed with congenital heart disease (CHD). One hundred percent of all donations are used to cover the cost of surgeries and medical interventions. This is done without any form of discrimination, regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, nationality or religious affiliation.

To date, Brave Heart has funded over 4,000 surgeries for children in Lebanon diagnosed with life-threatening heart conditions, at an average of 250 patients annually.

Brave Heart is the first patient fund in the country dedicated to pediatric cardiac care. It is affiliated with the Children’s Heart Center (CHC) at the American University of Beirut Medical (AUBMC) Center, the most comprehensive pediatric cardiac center in Lebanon and a leader in the region. The AUBMC performs over 75% of the surgical and interventional pediatric cardiology cases. As the only functioning pediatric heart center in the country during the Covid-19 pandemic, the CHC performed 44 urgent lifesaving procedures funded by Brave Heart during the lockdown.

Over 88% of the patients treated at the CHC receive financial assistance from Brave Heart. Without Brave Heart financial aid (which averages up to over 40% of the total bill), the surgeries would not be possible.

To view their video please click HERE.

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Nahimeh Jaffar 

Nahimeh Jaffar has worked as a certified Project Manager (PMP) in various fields, including Public Health, Biotech, and Pharmaceuticals, working within clinical settings such as hospitals and clinics. In addition, she worked with global communities in Africa, the Caribbean, and the Middle East, supporting various social impact projects. Ms. Jaffar has been involved in preventive health initiatives in collaboration with the Center for Disease Control (CDC, USA) and the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS, USA).

 

Ms. Jaffar holds an MBA in Business Development from the Swiss Institute of Higher Management, Vevey, Switzerland, and a bachelor’s degree in Consumer Affairs from California State University, Northridge, USA.

Amy Verstappen, President

Amy Verstappen has been a patient advocate and health educator since 1996, when her own challenges living with a complex heart defect led her to the Adult Congenital Heart Association, where she served as president from 2001 to 2013. She has served as an advisor to the Centers for Disease Control the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute; and the International Society for Adult Congenital Cardiac Disease, and worked with congenital heart patient and professional groups throughout the USA and the world.  Ms. Verstappen received a Masters in Education in 1990 and a Masters in Global Health in 2019.