Some have given up on them, but others are obsessed with them. Many resolutions relate to regret over the past: the diet or exercise program that failed, the relationships that needed to be mended―but were not, or that project that was never finished. But for nearly everyone, the New Year is an opportunity for a new beginning.

Maybe it is just my personality that leads me to forget the past, but for me new beginnings are more about the forward-looking promise that a new year holds based on achievements of the past rather than regrets from the past.

For REI, one of the bright promises for 2013 is the potential of influencing the course of pediatric medicine for an entire nation. In mid-November a team of five American doctors from Colorado Springs, Colorado joined our existing team in Laos and trained in Basic Pediatric Life Support and performed a training assessment at the new, state-of-the-Asian-art Lao-Korea Children’s Hospital in Vientiane, Laos. Since REI’s earliest days in Laos it has been clear that a new beginning in pediatrics was critical to the future health of the nation’s children. From the American side the team was led by Dr. Mark Duster, Medical Director of Children’s Hospital Colorado at Memorial Hospital in Colorado Springs.

For the 22 Lao doctors and nurses the success of the weeklong program cannot be overstated. The Lao-Korea Children’s Hospital desperately needs and wants REI’s help. As Dr. B, the former deputy director of the hospital said, “We have a beautiful hospital that no one knows how to use. We need REI’s help to train the staff to be worthy of such a great facility.” The hospital’s goals are also impressive: (1) to provide high-level medical care; (2) to lead the nation in prevention of childhood diseases; (3) to be the leader in pediatric policy implementation; and (4) to become the pediatric research and training center for Laos. As we begin 2013 we are grateful for your help in bringing the “promise” of 2013 to fruition in Laos―and everywhere REI works.

Gratefully yours,

Roderick K. Beidler
President and CEO