Team Heart is a volunteer organization based in Boston, founded in 2007 to provide a comprehensive approach to the burden of cardiac disease in Rwanda.  Providing  surgical intervention for young adults and adolescents suffering from critical rheumatic heart disease in annual trips to address the lack of access. Rheumatic heart disease, caused by untreated strep throat is totally preventable. Rwanda, a country of 12 million people is currently trying to rebuild the health care system and currently has no access to cardiac surgical care. From the beginning, we wished to be a catalyst to support and stimulate a program to provide prevention and early intervention , as well as surgical intervention to reach more individuals and earlier in the disease process. Our program evolved into a more comprehensive program to address all aspects of rheumatic heart disease in partnership with our Rwandan colleagues.