Message From the Founder
Since 2005, I have had the opportunity to work with different groups of orphans from the former Soviet Union. These encounters have unveiled to me the atrocity of the combined effects of illness, mistreatment, and malnourishment. A personal realization of these children's health needs led me to do something about it. In 2006, I took steps necessary to get approval from Duke Raleigh Hospital to develop a program called "Preserving a Nation" (PAN). The goal of this international, preventive, healthcare-education program is to teach a generation of orphans the habits and skills of healthy living.
My first PAN project focused on Russian orphans suffering from primary and secondary immunodeficiencies directly resulting from the Chernobyl nuclear plant disaster of 1986. International philanthropic organizations sponsor them to come to the U.S. for three months, to undergo physical exams and minor treatment. Close contact with these children, made it clear to me that all of them, without exception, struggle with forms of physical and emotional distress, and suffer from feelings of vulnerability. I became convinced that a holistic approach to healing grounded in establishing a relationship of trust would be vital to any successful public health intervention.
The few children who return each year provide inspiring testimonies about how consistent implementation of the hand washing and tooth-brushing techniques they had learned in the PAN program helped them stay free of colds and infections through the year. Older kids tell me stories about times they mustered the courage to resist peer pressure to engage in drug use or underage binge drinking, and how they are telling younger peers to do the same. Others ask me to race or arm-wrestle with them so that they can show me how much stronger they got after a year of living an active lifestyle. As children completed the program, their words indicated that they felt uplifted physically, spiritually, and emotionally. Their laughter promised the possibility of a newfound resilience and self-assurance. My interaction with them has spurred my passion to serve other people, and reinforced my commitment to carrying out the principles of this public health program throughout my career.
Sincerely,
Slavvy Petrov, DHSc, MS, MPH
Founder & President
P.A.N. International
