Q Life Magazine Q Magazine (US) December 2015 | Page 60
| Issue 1
A safe, cozy place
| Rosa Bustamante-Forest
After the storm, Rosa Bustamante-Forest left her teaching
post at the Louisiana State University Health Sciences
Center to become a nurse and program manager with
the March of Dimes. The program, funded through
a grant from the Qatar Katrina Fund, provided mobile
medical units offering free prenatal and postpartum care
to any mother who came to their doors. If the patient
had no insurance—and many didn’t—a clinic and
money from the grant paid the costs. “The program was
essential at that point,” Bustamante-Forest says.
“I also got to meet the [Father] Amir of Qatar!” she
adds, remembering when His Highness visited the city
in April 2008 and met one of her patients. “She was so
excited. She explained how grateful she was for the help
she got during her pregnancy. It was really moving.”
“The unit became a safe, cozy place for women
to congregate and tell their stories.”
Thousands of people were impacted by
this generous gift from the people of Qatar.
To learn more about their lives and
hear their stories, visit the website at
qatarkatrina.com. You can also download
the book Qatar Katrina Fund: 10 Years
After the Storm from the homepage.
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