February 22, 2023
A generous gift from Hyman and Marietta Bielsky will fund a new clinic in Malawi for reproductive health and sexually transmitted infections. The new clinic will replace a 50-year-old infrastructure for sexually transmitted disease research and care, the place where UNC’s global health work began.
Long-lived friendships are special connections with those who knew you back when. But even more special is the rare friendship that extends beyond college and adulthood, and even rarer leaves a trail of good that can impact generations to come.
When Professor Irving Hoffman, PA, MPH, Director of International Operations for the Institute for Global Health & Infectious Diseases (IGHID), and International Director of UNC Project Malawi, called up his long-time friend Hyman Bielsky (‘76) in Sunny Isles, Florida, he wanted to talk about fundraising for a new reproductive health clinic in Malawi. He hoped he might tap into Hyman’s business expertise to get ideas about fundraising. He never imagined Hyman and his wife Marietta (’77) would donate all of the funding needed—full stop.
“We were sitting in our living room, looking at the clinic proposal Irving sent us, and we immediately understood the good the clinic would deliver,” said Hyman. “In this world, there are not many things that are black and white like that.”