Denise and Homero before surgery. Homero's right hand and arm were burned in a fire fusing his hand to his forearm. He had lost the use of his hand.
Homero after surgery. Homero's arm is straight & his fingers are saved. He now has use of his hand.
Denise Cucurny, President and Co-Founder of Women for World Health, is trip coordinator and international liaison for international medical missions. She is an anthropologist whose background includes biological, cultural and medical anthropology. Denise has worked with numerous volunteer medical organizations in the U.S., Europe, Asia and Latin America. From 1999-2006 she was Director of Operations for Plasticos Foundation, a volunteer group of plastic/reconstructive surgeons who travel to developing nations performing free surgeries on children with birth defects or other traumatic injuries. She currently serves as Director of Trip Development for Plasticos Foundation and has made invaluable international contacts through her tenure with them. Denise is also working with the Himalayan Health Exchange in an effort to improve the health options to remote peoples in the Himalayan region of India. Denise's research focus is on merging traditional and occidental medicine to improve patient care in developing nations. Toward this goal, she has been working with Edgar Rodas, former Minister of Health for Ecuador. She has been on multiple missions with Dr. Rodas' foundation, Cinterandes in their mobile O.R. traveling to remote areas of Ecuador performing free surgeries on people in need and interviewing traditional healers in these regions.
As a Professor of Anthropology Denise has lived and taught all over the world. She has been coordinating medical missions and anthropological field schools since 1994. She has a special talent for seeking out and developing strong relationships with those she works with around the world, regardless of their cultural or socioeconomic backgrounds. She is the liaison between the host country, Women for World Health, medical teams, patients, family members and local community leaders.
With her field partner, Salvador Franco, also a graduate of CSULB, Denise has recently completed a documentary film that follows two volunteer plastic surgery teams, one from Ecuador and another from the U.S., as they become part of a joint surgical mission in the Ecuadorian Andes. The film also follows three families who have been affected by conditions such as cleft-lips, cleft-palates and other deformities. Their stories are not just medical histories or success stories, but rather small glimpses into the realities of families overcoming physical misfortune. Simultaneously, they profile the medical volunteers who make these life-changing surgeries possible.
Denise continues her work with Tibetan refugees in northern India, shamans in the Amazon, traditional healers in the Andes and occidental medical practitioners in the third world as well as the U.S. and Europe. When asked why she dedicates so much of her time to these projects, Denise responds, "I'm passionate about helping the underprivileged and enjoy the human connection that crosses all cultural differences. The medical needs in the third world are critical and diverse. I want to offer a variety of medical options to improve the lives of individuals in poor nations. To see the face of a mother as you hand over her child after surgery is worth all the time and effort. To give someone hope is the best gift I can offer. It makes my heart swell."
Denise with her field partner, Sal Franco (also a graduate of CSULB Dept. of Anthropology) after filming an interview with a patient family. Andes
Denise taking patient info during patient selection. This is the first meeting but the baby, Daisy, became Denise's Goddaughter two weeks after this picture was taken. Andes
Denise with "curandera," a traditional woman healer. Andes
This "housecall" literally was where the dirt road ended and we then had to hike straight up for 20 minutes.
Denise with well-respected Shaman. Amazon
Denise with the Himalayan villagers who adopted her. Northern India
Denise working with an "amchi," a traditional Tibetan healer, Himalayas
