wfn.org | NCCCUSA/CWS Staffer Helps Bosnian Boy Save His Leg

[CAROL_FOUKE.parti@ecunet.org]

National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A.
Contact: Wendy McDowell, NCC, 212-870-2227
Internet: carol_fouke.parti@ecunet.org

NCC1/16/97                    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CWS STAFFER HELPS BOSNIAN BOY NAMED ELVIS SAVE HIS
LEG;
POINTS TO POTENTIAL OF INTERNET FOR GOOD

 NEW YORK, Jan. 16 ---- When National Council of
Churches (NCC) / Church World Service (CWS) Regional
Director for the Balkans Peter Mikuliak was "surfing
the net" one afternoon last April, he never
suspected something so important and good was about
to happen.

 Mr. Mikuliak was sitting at his office computer
in Metkovic, Croatia, searching for news about
Bosnia and Herzegovina.  He came across the web site
of Pacific Interactive Media - Berserkistan - and
thought it looked promising.  "Its menu presented a
thorough collection of news stories about Bosnia
that I had not seen elsewhere, and even suggested
'interactive' ways to get involved," Mikuliak said.

 Then, Mr. Mikuliak noticed the face of a child
in the right-hand corner of the screen with the
question "Can this child's leg be saved?"  Milukiak
clicked on the image and was linked to a story by
Cynthia Lee, a freelance photographer, about a 12-
year-old Bosnian boy named Elvis from a village near
Bihac.  A year earlier, Elvis and his older brother
Edis discovered a grenade while playing.  The
grenade exploded, killing Edis instantly and
severely wounding Elvis's right leg.

 The local physician did what he could with
limited equipment, but Elvis needed sophisticated,
orthopedic micro-surgery to save his leg.  The story
was a cry for help.

 "My mind replayed a conversation I had had only
a few days before," Mr. Mikuliak remembered.  "We
were celebrating Easter back in my home town of
Mayfield, Pennsylvania.  I was introduced to a young
orthopedic intern, Dr. Anna Marie Chwastiak.  When
she learned that I was doing relief and development
work in Bosnia, she told me that she and other
colleagues were interested in helping out in some
way.  She asked me to let them know of any
possibilities. 'Sure,' I said, and filed it away."

 "Now her offer was ringing in my ears,"
Mikuliak said.  The next step was quite simple.  A
few clicks took him into the e-mail program where he
wrote a brief note to both Cynthia Lee (the
photographer) and Anna Marie Chwastiak, the surgeon.
"That's all I did," Mr. Mikuliak said.

 A month later, things were miraculously falling
into place.  Medical records were sent, examined,
and the physicians of Janet Weis Children's Hospital
at Geisinger Medical Center in Danville, Pa. offered
to donate the operation and post-op therapy.  A
local TV station, WNEP Television of Scranton, Pa.,
publicized the story.  Local support was given by
the Kiwanis Foundation and the Ronald McDonald House
provided lodging for Elvis and his father.  Cynthia
Lee coordinated things internationally, arranging
round-trip airfare for Elvis and his father through
Macedonian Outreach.  Peter Maxwell of the charity
"Terre des Hommes" provided logistical support in
Bosnia and Croatia and a host of other people
contributed ideas, energies and resources.

 In late June, Mikuliak, Lee and Maxwell visited
with Elvis and his family in their village.  On July
1, Elvis, his father, and Lee boarded the plane in
Zagreb and flew to Pennsylvania.  Since then, Elvis
has had several successful major operations,
including bone and skin grafts.  Elvis has taken his
first, tentative steps.  He and his father are still
the U.S., with one more medical procedure to go.
There will be a Jan. 24 party for Elvis and his
father before they return home which Mr. Mikuliak
will attend.

 "The success of this single story amid so much
pain and suffering poses an immense challenge to
us," Mr. Mikuliak stressed.  "What do we really need
to do with this new technology?"  Although there is
evil and stupidity on the Internet, wise people can
utilize this tool for initiating humanitarian
actions, he said.

 "The Elvis story proves that thoughtful use of
the Internet can encourage projects to take on a
life of their own.  Innovative use of the Internet
can not only 'identify' new resources, it can help
create them where they did not exist them before,"
he said.

 As the person who helped Elvis get the medical
attention he needed, Mr. Mikuliak prays that "God
might be with Elvis and his family as they struggle
to build a new life together."

-end-

Notes: This and other stories may be viewed
directly on the Internet, on Mr. Mikuliak's personal
Home Page: <http://www.icontech.com/baldeagle>.
  Photos of Elvis will be available after Jan.  24.  -0-