Church News: Two Humanitarian Aid Donations

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LDS Church News
March 24, 2007

      SOFIA, Bulgaria -- Two humanitarian aid donations by the Church in
February will ease suffering in Bulgaria and add to the care provided by
doctors.
      On Feb. 27, humanitarian missionaries, with President Blair Bennett of the
Bulgaria Sofia Mission, presented officials of the Saint George University
Hospital in Plovdiv, one of the largest in Bulgaria, with equipment to diagnose
brain and cranial problems.
      The equipment will greatly reduce the infant mortality rate.
      "We are enormously thankful for the generous and extremely humane
gesture," said Dr. Iliya Batashki, director of the hospital. "Your Church was
the first to respond to our specific needs. This is hard to forget both by the
doctors and the patients."
      Elder David Carter, humanitarian missionary, told of the Church's
worldwide welfare effort made possible by the donation of Church members.
      President Bennett, a dentist of 32 years, said equipment is important, but
nothing can replace the loving and compassionate hand of the doctor.
      To show their appreciation, the hospital staff spoke of the "infinite
gratitude of the parents" and presented a painting of a fall landscape by a
well-known Plovdiv painter.
      A week earlier, on Feb. 20, a humanitarian donation of ultrasonic dental
equipment was presented to the pediatric and dental department of the Sofia
Medical Academy in the capital city.
      The equipment will be used in the weekly care of about 200 patients.