Donation in Memory of Edie L. Hodge Funds WiRED’s CHW Program in Peru
By: Allison Kozicharow; Edited by Elizabeth Fine
WiRED International is pleased to announce that WiRED’s recent Community Health Worker (CHW) Training Program in Peru was underwritten by Board member Anthony Hodge and his family in loving memory of Edie L. Hodge, his beloved wife, and mother of Dick, Jane and Kate.
Mrs. Hodge’s daughter, Jane Athanasakos, said, “Mom modeled the perfect blend of generosity and service and instilled in us a desire to give back. Starting with candy-striping at Oakland Children’s hospital in my high school years up to my current volunteer endeavors in Oregon, I have always had the complete support and enthusiastic encouragement from both of my parents that is so typical of her spirit.”
In addition to a particular interest in WiRED, Mrs. Hodge was a great supporter and donor to many charitable causes. Daughter Kate Hodge said, “I will always credit my mother’s love of the Arts for inspiring me towards a career in theater. As children, she exposed us to the opera, the symphony, theater and countless museum trips. She was a true lover of all aspects of life.”
The Hodge donation allows WiRED to train 18 CHWs living in isolated areas along the Peruvian Amazon. WiRED’s 140-hour course of computer-based modules — taught in real-time by physicians and nurses — covers health basics, patient assessment, clinical issues, health teaching and surveillance. Thanks to the Hodge family’s benevolence, graduating CHWs can work to improve the health of underserved populations in remote communities where doctors and nurses are scarce.
Mrs. Hodge’s generous spirit inspired her family to be good and giving citizens. Her family believes that her thoughts on giving can best be epitomized by a poem by Mary Lee Hall, “Turn Again to Life”:
If I should die, and leave you here awhile
Be not like others sore undone, who keep
Long vigils by the silent dust and weep.
For my sake, turn again to life, and smile,
Nerving thy heart and trembling hand to do
Something to comfort weaker hearts than thine.
Complete these dear unfinished tasks of mine,
And I, perchance, may therein comfort you!
Mr. Hodge said, “The phrase ‘to do something to comfort weaker hearts than thine’ is why we decided to support WiRED’s Peruvian CHW project in Edie’s name.”
Note: WiRED International worked collaboratively
on the training program with its partner, Project Amazonas.
Edie L. Hodge
March 4, 1936-March 6, 2013
Edie Lunde Hodge grew up in Mill Valley, California, at the base of Mt. Tamalpais. She attended the University of Oregon and UC Berkeley from which she graduated with a degree in English.
Mrs. Hodge was a devoted and compassionate wife, mother, grandmother and friend. She avidly supported and participated in the arts and charitable organizations. Mrs. Hodge loved attending operas, ballets, symphonies and dog shows. Her busy life encompassed activities such as gardening, visiting museums and traveling near and far, from short drives to Lake Tahoe to river tours of Russia. Cat Olive and dog Dusty were her constant companions.