Dr. Cynthia Horner, a family practice doctor from Herndon, Virginia, is committed to saving the lives of women and children in Sierra Leone, one of the poorest countries in the world. A long time volunteer with Helping Children Worldwide, Dr. Horner was the first chairperson for the Child Rescue Centre Partnership, she helped launch Mercy Hospital in Sierra Leone, and she advocated for a nonprofit center in Virginia to serve families in need.

Dr. Cynthia Horner always knew she wanted to start a free medical clinic, she just didn’t know that it would be 5,000 miles away. In 2002, Dr. Horner, a family practice doctor from Herndon, Virginia, joined a mission trip to the Child Rescue Centre in Bo, Sierra Leone, which was established to care for children orphaned by the long civil war. The desperate need for medical care, nutrition and education inspired Dr. Horner to deepen her commitment to children affected by poverty. “How can you just walk away from a child who has wrapped his arms around you and say, ‘Whether you eat tomorrow is not my problem’?” she says. Helping Children Worldwide received funding that enabled Dr. Horner and a dedicated group of volunteers to launch Mercy Hospital in 2007, a 25 bed hospital adjoining the Child Rescue Centre. Today, Mercy Hospital and the Child Rescue Centre are reversing the impact of poverty in this corner of the world by providing hope and healing to people who were afraid the world had forgotten about them. Nearly ¼ of toddlers in Sierra Leone suffer from muscle wasting and stunted growth because their families lack access to low-cost, protein-rich foods.

Dr. Horner and her committee envisioned a mobile nutrition program, which is effectively preventing and treating malnutrition in the community surrounding Bo. Mercy, lauded as one of the best medical facilities in Sierra Leone, treats around 800 patients monthly, regardless of their ability to pay. “What we do in Africa is tremendously powerful, but I can walk out my front door and run into people in need,” Dr. Horner says. She was an advocate for Helping Children Worldwide’s vision to open a non-profit center to provide free medical care and other services to needy children and families in Northern Virginia. Dr. Horner has contributed unstoppable energy, deep wisdom and unfailing compassion to Helping Children Worldwide’s mission to transform the lives of impoverished children.

More About This Charity

 
 

Neighborhood:

Herndon, VA

Mission:

Our mission is to transform the lives of impoverished children through partnerships and programs of excellence.
 

 

Learn More:

www.helpingchildrenworldwide.org