By Janet C. Wetzel
Enquirer contributor

HYDE PARK - Since she was a teenager, Alana Faith Rothman dreamed of traveling abroad. She also dreamed of finding ways to help others. It took just one trip overseas to know she'd found her calling in life, and it involved both those dreams.

Alana Rothman's latest effort is "Project Hope" (Enquirer photo/TONY JONES)

During a 2001 church ministry trip to Minsk, Belarus, part of the former Soviet Union, her grandmother's homeland, Rothman visited the elderly, sick and orphans. The shocking poverty and alcoholism rate, neglected children, and lack of medical training and supplies broke her heart.

It also gave her resolve to help. She came home fired up to get started with her humanitarian aid ministry. She's never stopped.

Rothman, 29, of Hyde Park, a business systems analyst at Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, launched a mission to provide life-changing, life-saving help.

She founded Adopt A Doc in 2001, working with pediatrician Robert Schanengold, a member of her synagogue, Beth Messiah Messianic in Loveland. They set up a program with Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center that brings Minsk doctors to Cincinnati for three weeks of intense training, which they share with other doctors back home.

"They also needed the tools to put their knowledge to work," Rothman said. In 2002 she learned of MedShare International in Atlanta, which will send a 40-foot container with about $120,000 worth of medical supplies from area hospitals to anywhere for $5,000. Donations, including from co-workers, her synagogue and a Messianic group in Atlanta, have paid for four containers to be sent to Minsk. And that has made a huge difference, said Rothman, who runs the program almost single-handedly.

"Alana has dedicated her life to fulfilling God's purpose," said her rabbi, Michael Wolf. "When she sees a need, she doesn't easily take no for an answer, even when it comes to seeming impossibilities."

Her new program, Project Hope, is aimed at getting more members of her congregation involved in helping. They plan to send a 20-foot container of clothing, food, medical supplies and personal care items to Belarus in October.

"I want this to spread like wildfire," Rothman said. "I feel this is a lifelong calling for me. ... My ultimate goal is to start a nonprofit international aid organization."

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To donate or for information, contact Alana Rothman, c/o Beth Messiah, 9054 Columbia Road, Loveland, OH 45140.

Do you know a Hometown Hero - someone in your community dedicated to making it a better place to live and helping others? E-mail Janet Wetzel at jjwetzel@siscom.net or fax to (513) 755-4150.