NewCanaanite.com recently received the following letter to the editor. Send letters to editor@newcanaanite.com.
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For more than 20 years, the New Canaan Library has partnered with the UN Committee of New Canaan to bring world-class speakers to our community for a free annual public lecture that supports our mission to be a center of lifelong learning in our community.
L-R: Ellie Moore (Manager of Development & Communications), Steve Orteig (Treasurer of the UN Committee of NC), Shekaiba Bennett (Co-Chair of the UN Committee of NC), Miki Porta (Exhibitions & Community Engagement Coordinator).
In light of the successful long-term partnership the library has enjoyed with the UN Committee, and in order to ensure the lasting impact of the committee’s work in New Canaan, the library has agreed to serve as the steward of an annual New Canaan Library UN Lecture to further the knowledge and awareness of international issues confronting the UN and the United States. The United Nations Committee of New Canaan was formed more than 60 years ago by a group of community members to build awareness and provide opportunities to learn about topics of geo-political interest that align with the broad objectives of the United Nations.
This year marks the inaugural lecture in our United Nations Series, endowed by the United Nations Committee of New Canaan. The lecture is “From Ukraine to Gaza: Providing Pediatric Critical Care in Conflict Areas” 7 to 8 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 10 at New Canaan Library (register here). The program will begin with a special recorded message from the United Nations Development Program’s Head of Office for Gaza, followed by a powerful presentation by Dr. Maija Cheung, Assistant Professor of Surgery at Yale University and Chief Medical Officer for KidsOR.
As nearly 2 billion children around the world are needlessly dying and in crisis, KidsOR is pushing through the conflict to save lives and bring healing amid the strife—not only in Gaza and Ukraine but in over 35 countries including Somalia, Haiti, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Uganda. With almost one-third of global disease is due to surgically treatable conditions, the absence of pediatric surgical capacity is a growing crisis, exacerbated by war, climate change, and migration, as well as from lesser-reported rising cancer rates, road traffic injuries, and trauma morbidity. Dr. Cheung will shed light on the extent and consequences of these healthcare disparities, and share solutions for even the most challenging, underserved areas. We are grateful to Dr. Mark DeWaele, Board Chairman/President of KidsOR, for making this presentation possible.
Shekaiba Bennett