From PERRYSBURG ROTARY CLUB
PERRYSBURG—At just 30 years old, Dr. Mirela Mihaly has lived through more challenges in her native Romania than many face in a lifetime — and emerged with resilience and compassion that now define her work as a doctor. Mihaly will be the featured guest and speaker at the Perrysburg Rotary Club’s meeting on Friday, May 2, at noon at the Carranor Hunt & Polo Club in Perrysburg.
Her ties to the Perrysburg Rotary Club stem from the club’s long-standing involvement and support of the Deborah House, a home for abused girls in Timisoara, Romania. The Deborah House provides programs to assess and treat physical abuse, sexual abuse and related behavioral disorders for severely abused girls rescued from appalling circumstances. Mihaly grew up in a home marked by instability with frequent moves and parents who struggled with alcohol addiction. She escaped her abusive home at age 13 and moved into the Deborah House.
The Perrysburg Rotary Club began its support of the Deborah House in 2004 by partnering with two Romanian Rotary Clubs using the Perrysburg club’s first Rotary International Grant. The funds provided food for a year and the purchase of a passenger van to transport the girls to school.
In the ensuing years, the Perrysburg Rotary Club and Perrysburg Rotary Community Foundation have supported the Deborah House with contributions totaling $100,000.
In addition, contributions provided by the club and its foundation were supplemented with Rotary District and Rotary International grants. Individual financial and in-kind contributions have also been made directly to the Deborah House from Perrysburg Rotarians or their businesses. Several Perrysburg Rotarians have traveled to Romania to oversee grants and offer help.
Through the years, the funds have been used to purchase and install four greenhouse poly tunnels to grow vegetables; plant a fruit tree orchard; drill an irrigation well; purchase computers and internet equipment; and upgrade plumbing. Most recently, the club and its foundation approved an emergency measure to provide $25,000 to the Deborah House for critical upgrades to the sanitary plumbing systems as required by Romanian authorities. These authorities had threatened to shut down the Deborah House and move the girls to state-run facilities.
In addition to Mihaly’s visit to the Perrysburg Rotary Club on May 2, she will also tour Mercy Health-Perrysburg Hospital prior to the club meeting and visit Perrysburg Grace Church, which has partnered with Perrysburg Rotary on Deborah House grants.
