Consolidating Ties: LECUDEM USA Joins Heart to Heart International at 25th Anniversary

An eleven-person delegation of the Lewoh Cultural and Development Meeting in the United States of America (LECUDEM-USA) was in Overland Park,  Kansas this past weekend to attend festivities marking the 25th Anniversary of Heart-to-Heart International, the not-for-profit organization that has been supporting efforts to refurbish and render fully operational the Lewoh Subdivisional Hospital at Anya, Lewoh. The delegation was led by LECUDEM-USA’s national President Fuajiawung M.A.

The 25th anniversary celebration was held in the Cottonwood Ballroom of Sheraton Overland Park Hotel in Lenexa from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday. Dubbed a “25 Year Journey,” the celebration honored, among others, Dr. John Nkengasong (aka Nkembejanyi), Director of Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), with a “Power of One Award.” Also honored at the occasion as the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee which received the Heart for Humanity Award.

Dr. John Nkengasong (Nkembejanyi), it is worth noting has been the main brain behind the bridge-building initiative that brought Heart-to-Heart to Lewoh three years ago to change the face of the Lewoh Sub-divisional Hospital, train volunteers and lay the foundation of this partnership. Heart to Heart International strengthens communities through improving health access, providing humanitarian development and administering crisis relief worldwide. The organization also engages volunteers, collaborates with partners and deploys resources to achieve its mission.

Together with and Becton, Dickinson and Company (BD), a leading global medical technology company with a commitment to advancing the world of health, Heart to Heart embarked in 2015 and 2016 to give the Fotabong Sub-divisional Hospital a facelift which included remodeling the initial structure, building a maternity ward, a water tank, and providing a generator and an ambulance to the facility.

It is in recognition of this partnership that LECUDEM-USA responded to Heart to Heart’s invitation to celebrate the organization’s 25th anniversary. HRH Fuajiawung on behalf of the people of Lewoh in the United States presented Heart to Heart with a wood carved mask laced with bronze from Cameroon in appreciation.

Photo Gallery