Through the miracle of social media and the caring and collaboration of at least 4 global non-profits (including A Promise to Peru) and a medical device company, a teenaged boy in Nicaragua was able to undergo sight-saving surgery last month to address congenital glaucoma in his remaining eye. The case was initially identified by an ophthalmologist in northern Nicaragua and it was determined that a procedure to implant a pediatric Ahmed valve was the only hope for saving his sight. While a surgeon was available to perform the procedure 3 hours away in the capital of Managua, there was not a single Ahmed valve available in the country for the procedure.

The local doctor reached out to a nearby American missionary (Cross Mountain Mission, crossmountainmission.org ) for assistance and they, in turn, posted the plea for help to social media. Through Facebook connections with other missionaries in Nicaragua (Enrich Missions, enrichmissions.org ) the plight came to the attention of members of the Promise to Peru team.  Outreach to the manufacturer (New World Medical, newworldmedical.com ) and additional networking with other organizations (FNE International, fneinternational.org ) then resulted in the delivery of the needed valve to Managua, and the boy underwent successful surgery soon thereafter.