Ruel Foundation USA

In 1999, David Cowie, the International Director of Marine Reach, visited Eastern Samar in the Philippine Islands. There he met Ruel, whose small, an emaciated body lay on a simple steel bed frame, in the corner of an ill-equipped medical facility, and whose face was scarred with a double cleft lip and palate. Ruel was dying. This situation touched David’s heart. He embarked on a mission to raise funds for Ruel’s medical care. 

Ruel was just one of the thousands of children around the world struggling for survival. In 2000, the “Ruel Foundation” was established for the express purpose of finding and treating the medical needs of these children. Targeting those living in poverty and isolated areas of developing nations, the Foundation is finding and working with individual children, many of whom have been rejected by their families and communities because of their physical deformities.

An extension of this service to disadvantaged children was identified that addresses the needs of infants and children who are malnourished, orphaned, or abandoned. To meet this need, ‘Ruel House’ has been established to accommodate and care for children in this category for either short- or long-term periods, depending on their circumstances.