Nurses in Teaneck, New Jersey and near Monrovia, Liberia have found partnership despite being an ocean apart. Our Lady of Fatima Pediatric Rehabilitation Center in Africa was founded by Sister Sponsa Beltran, a member of the Epsilon Rho chapter of Sigma Theta Tau International, in 1961 to provide care, housing, and schooling for hundreds of children and young adults. The patients who
come to the Center often suffer from debilitating diseases such as polio or cystic fibrosis, or they are victims of the long years of civil war of 1989-1997 and 2000-2003. Many of the refugees who arrive at the facility are blind, deaf, and/or have one leg. In January 2008, Epsilon Rho members raised $1100 to fund surgeries for two children who would not otherwise be able to walk. The children will remain at the Center afterwards for physical rehabilitation.
Our Lady of Fatima Pediatric Rehabilitation Center not only physically improves the health of young Liberians, but the nurses also teach self-respect. At 83 years old, Sister Sponsa still manages the facility, despite being legally blind and wheelchair-bound; she describes the rehab center a Miracle of Love because of the generosity it has seen from partners in the Europe and the United States. One child at a time, Epsilon Rho contributed to the well-being of the world’s population.