About HALO Missions, Inc.
Medical Care and Education Missions for Orphans
HALO Missions (Health and Learning for Orphans), Inc., is an international non-profit charity created to provide medical care and educational assistance to orphans in developing countries.
The charity was formed by Christopher P. McGuire and James T. Bopp. Mr. McGuire is a practicing attorney in New York. He is a former prosecutor, a former judge, and he has worked for the US Congress and US State Department. He taught and studied in Beijing China, later travelling as a trade mission to Xian, China. He has travelled extensively in developing countries. Dr. Bopp is an emergency room and internal medicine physician in New York. He is the former Director of Brookhaven Hospital’s Emergency Room and is currently a partner and treating physician at Stat Health located in Sayville, New York. He is also a licensed attorney.
The two met under unusual circumstances. “Dr. Bopp was one of the doctors who saved my life when I was brought to Brookhaven Hospital in 2006 with a life-threatening medical condition,” said McGuire. “When I fully recovered, against all odds, I was so grateful for another chance at life. I’ve been waiting for the right opportunity to repay that debt ever since, and the way this came about left me no doubt the time is now.”
Mr. McGuire came up with the idea to create the charity in January, 2015, after performing a wedding ceremony. He recalls that the bride’s sister handed him a book written by the Director of Worldvision© calling people to action to address the plight of orphans and the extreme poor worldwide. “All she said was ‘You were meant to have this’,” McGuire said. It was a strange coincidence because McGuire and his wife have long supported Worldvision© and had planned mission work for retirement. McGuire said he feels so lucky to have grown up in a middle class neighborhood in the United States, to have had great parents, and a good education. “That’s why my wife and I have always supported charities that help people in developing countries, particularly the children who haven’t been given the opportunities we’ve had,” he said.
After the encounter, McGuire called an international charity to volunteer for a short term mission. He was advised none were available. The representative he spoke to told him to ‘pray on it’ and promised a revelation. McGuire was skeptical until two weeks later he received a personal and uninvited email asking him to help Teen Missions International put together a short term medical mission. “I was blown away by the whole set of coincidences. My mother had just died and it hit me hard that life is short so we shouldn’t wait any longer to act.” HALO is named after Chris’ parents Harold and Loretta.
McGuire had the experience to form and manage the non-profit, but he needed doctors and nurses to treat the patients. He turned to his friend, the doctor who helped save his life, to be the medical director. Bopp was on board right away because he had always wanted to volunteer for medical missions, but was unable to do so because most require a leave of absence. Bopp said, “That’s tough when you have a practice and a family. Having our own charity gives us the flexibility to determine the location and duration of each mission. Dr. Bopp is enthusiastic when he talks about the mission work. “We can’t save them all, but we are going to save as many as we can. These kids belong to all of us,” said Bopp.
HALO Missions founders and participants fund their own travel costs and the charity is operated by volunteers. All donations go to help provide medical care and educational opportunities to the children. “These kids need antibiotics, anti-malarial, eye drops, and other life saving medicines and treatments. We can give these kids a second chance,” said Bopp. Mr. McGuire added, “I know from experience about second chances. That’s what this charity is about,” he said.