Youth-driven nonprofit Neura Hope spreads ‘Hope For All’

More than 30 students from 12 countries have taken on the mission to spread awareness of neural tube defects and ways to mitigate the risks for those who are or will soon be pregnant. Natalie Osorio, a rising senior at H. Frank Carey High School in Franklin Square, has been a crucial part of organizing the effort, as a cofounder of a nonprofit called Neura Hope.

Neural tube defects are severe defects of the brain and spine that form when a neural tube does not close all the way. The upper part of the tubes help form a baby’s brain and skull, while the bottom part help form its spinal cord and bones. The most common types of NTDs are spina bifida, anencephaly and encephalocele, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

These defects form early in a pregnancy, sometimes before a woman knows she is pregnant, according to the CDC. One way to mitigate the risk is for a pregnant women to take in at least 400 milligrams of folic acid per day before and during her early pregnancy, by eating foods high in folic acid, such as broccoli and peas, or by taking dietary supplements.

Osorio, who lives in Franklin Square, learned about NTDs when she attended a virtual CDC camp last summer. She learned that they disproportionately affect Hispanic women, particularly those of Central American descent, because their diets typically lack sufficient levels of folic acid.

As a Latina herself, Osorio thought of her friends and family members who may never have heard of the risk of such defects. “What caught me the most was that I had never heard of this, and I had no idea how it could be prevented,” she said.

She met Jasmine Liu, an incoming senior from Shrewsbury, Massachusetts — Neura Hope’s other cofounder — at a virtual Code with Klossy coding camp last summer. The two, and other camp participants who were also interested in health care, created data visualizations of NTDs for their final project.

Neura Hope was born shortly afterward, last October, as Osorio and Liu created the Instagram @Neura.Hope to spread awareness about NTDs.

“I thought it would be a great idea to spread awareness of this initiative to really help out people in my community, and to be able to spread awareness about these rarely spoken defects,” Liu said.

The organization’s 35 members are from around the United States, as well as Africa, Australia, Canada, China, Egypt, India, Korea, Mexico, Nigeria, Spain and Taiwan. The majority are high school juniors and seniors or college freshmen.

“I just really want to engage the youth in the community,” Osorio said.

Spreading awareness is the organization’s main goal, but members also host fundraisers for maternity care and collect donations for children’s hospitals that help children with NTDs. Osorio, Liu and others host educational presentations in their communities and schools, and the organization hosts virtual events as well to spread awareness.

Last month, Neura Hope began raising funds for Children’s Surgery International, an organization that provides free surgical services to children in need, with a Hope For All fundraiser. The campaign will run through the end of the summer, and Liu hopes to raise $12,000 for the organization, which would help more than 120 families from underdeveloped countries and provide training for more than 2,400 medical professionals.

“We just want to use this campaign to truly raise awareness about this issue and spread our organization’s mission,” Liu said.

Neura Hope will host virtual sessions over the next month as part of Hope For All. The first session will take place on Saturday, at 1 p.m., and will focus on the basics of NTDs. The subject of the second session, on July 20 at 1 p.m., will be NTD occurrence disparity. The last session, on Aug. 3 at 1 p.m., will focus on the importance of folic acid intake. To find out more about these webinars, visit @Neura.Hope on Instagram.

“Hope For All is kind of a play on Neura Hope’s name, as we hope to provide hope for all children,” Osorio said.

To learn more about the organization and its mission, visit the Instagram page. To get involved with the organization’s fundraising initiatives, visit @HopeForAllFundraiser on Instagram.