 Name: Marco Polo Taco Cáceres
Location: Quito, Ecuador
Organization: Fundación Hemofilica Ecuatoriana
Birth date: December 12, 1975
Interests: Watching the movie Finding Nemo with his daughter
Favorite Music: Boleros, Romanticos
Favorite Quote: “The problem is not the problem itself. The problem is knowing how to stand up.”
Where do you see yourself in five years?
“Walking,” Marco Polo Taco Cáceres immediately responds.
Until two years ago, Marco was bound to his wheelchair. Hemophilia had ravaged his knee and hip, resulting in his inability to walk for the past seventeen years. That didn’t deter him from pursuing studies in social administration at Pontificia Universidad Católica de Ecuador, where he graduated in 2005.
Where do you see yourself in five years?
“Walking,” Marco Polo Taco Cáceres
immediately responds.
Facing the option of remaining in a wheelchair for the rest of his life, Marco researched possible alternatives. The World Federation of Hemophilia (WFH) provided information about the risks associated with the delicate knee and hip surgery he needed and the lengthy post surgical care. He took the risk, and his gamble paid off. Marco declares that he is reborn.
Today, Marco is actively involved in Ecuador’s national hemophilia organization, the Fundación Hemofilica Ecuatoriana. He spends several hours a day volunteering, and acts as an advocate, lobbying the Ecuadorian government to include hemophilia treatment as part of the healthcare program. His goal is to ensure that other Ecuadorians with bleeding disorders can live life to their fullest.
Tools from WFH’s twinning program help Marco fight
for sustainable treatment in Ecuador.
Knowledge gained from WFH’s twinning program has given Marco the tools to fight for his long-term vision of a sustainable healthcare system that provides plasma and cryoprecipitate treatment throughout the country. His organization has recently increased involvement with children with hemophilia, yet the lack of youth participation continues to be one of their biggest problems. At the 2006 World Hemophilia Congress in Vancouver, Canada, Marco learned how others are motivating youth, providing fresh ideas and strategies to get youth in his country involved. His experience at the international event reinforced his belief that “we can be better and achieve more.”
Last Updated July 2007
|
