Goodwill Ambassadors

Thank you for visiting the Goodwill Ambassador section of our web site. You will soon be meeting two children and learning more about them and what has happened in their lives and the lives of their families and communities over the last two years. From the President’s Message on the web site, you will read about why these “starfish children” are the reason for the work we have done and will continue to do.  Our Goodwill Ambassadors will take you to places that you may never have been and they will be your hosts to their countries and their lives. It is our honor to introduce you to our young friends, Elkin and Maria Jose. Many more children from around the world will be featured on this web site in the coming months so please stay in touch with us in innerCHANGE.

Goodwill Ambassador Elkin: The Elkin Starfish Story
In a remote school in the countryside of Nicaragua three people experience a chance encounter that changes each of their lives in inexplicable and immeasurable ways. A little boy of 9 years old named Elkin and his grandmother, Miriam, and a US woman, Janet were introduced to each other in October of 2006. The little boy needed help because of his tracheal injury of 2 years ago. 

Could we of the CHESS project help him in any way? 

Click here to read more about Elkin Zapata.

Goodwill Ambassador Maria Jose: The Maria Jose Starfish Story
A second serendipitous meeting happened on a dirt road in Nicaragua with a large group of US nursing students from Robert Morris University in Pittsburgh and their professor, Dr. Carl Ross and the CHESS staff during our work in our school in Osneida. A strong and determined grandmother and matriarch of the community brought a little girl of 4 years old to our volunteer health clinic in a nearby church in the fall of 2007.  Little Marie Jose had a serious bone deformation condition with her legs and she needed to be assessed and treated, if possible. 

We were there with CHESS and medical professionals from the US, could we help this child and how? 

Click here to read more about Maria Jose.