I'd like to tell you about my service project. I'm Lloyd Standish, your TOS-USA webmaster.
PS This is an update of an article originally published Jan. 15, 2008.

My family has a small business in Costa Rica producing pure carao fruit extract. Carao is a wild tropical fruit that has shown amazing properties as a natural remedy for anemia in both humans and animals, with no side effects.

In 2005, through donations of carao fruit to Dr. Attahiru Sokoto (a Nigerian pediatrician), we discovered that carao fruit is extremely effective at eliminating the symptoms of Sickle Cell anemia in both children and adults.  Sickle Cell Disease is very common in Africa and India, and the symptoms are both painful and debilitating.

From 2005 through late 2009, we sent regular donations of carao fruit to Dr. Sokoto.  Also, beginning in 2007 we started making similar donations to Rudradevananda, an Ánanda Márga Indian social worker. Rudradevananda is building a clinic for treating sickle cell disease with carao in Orissa State, India.  The plan is to produce carao on the clinic's property in India for use at the clinic.  Some trees are already growing.

Our donations of carao fruit for patients in Nigeria and India were sent by airmail, and we paid for all shipping.  However, in January 2009, the cost of shipping the product to both Africa and India increased by about 100%:  to USD $36 for each 2 bottle package.

This increase in shipping cost caused us to look for alternate methods of shipping.  Through the skillful assistance of Dada Tiirthananda, the supervisor of  of Ananda Marga's projects in South and Central America, we have arranged for hand-carrying of donated bottles of carao fruit to Rudradevananda's new sickle cell clinic in India.  Also, we are planning to send a relatively large quantity by sea, which will be much less expensive than airmail (see below).

Unfortunately, we do not have any similar arrangement for hand-carrying of carao to Dr. Sokoto in Nigeria.  Plus, Dr. Sokoto appears to have broken off email contact with me.  Therefore, donations of carao fruit to Dr. Sokoto have been suspended indefinitely.

Results of carao fruit therapy for sickle cell disease

Most of the information we have on the use of carao fruit for sickle cell disease has been provided by Dr. A. Sokoto of Nigeria.  Children are relieved of painful sickle cell crisis, the need for transfusions is usually eliminated, and the patients report a feeling of well-being.  The beneficial effects remain for months after the initial 5-week period of carao fruit therapy is over.  Carao fruit has no side effects.

Dr. Sokoto writes:

As a Physician( Paediatrics), I have never come across a syrup so powerful and give a wonderful results to our sicklers/Anaemic  patients like CARAO.  For this reason I think its high time your Medical community in the United States, to ... start administering Carao for their sickler/Anaemic patients.They will never regret it and more so there is conservative treatment in modern Medicine,if that's the case why can't [they] give room to CARAO for their community? 9/2005 more information

Rudradevananda of India (Ananda Marga) also reports excellent results.  He sent me the following letter from one of his patients:

Hello LIoyd Standish,
First of all I would like to thanks so much for your kind help. I am staying in Orissa. Since childhood i have been suffering sickle cell. I checked my blood, it was 90% sickle cell. Since 10 days I have been taking carao. I am feeling better. Here there are many patient of sickle cell. Dada Rudradevananda is working very hard to help the patient, hope you will help him by sending more carao for other patient.
Again and again so much thanks
Yours
Swarnamayee 1/14/2008

For more information on carao fruit as a natural therapy for anemia, visit my website http://www.naturalbloodhealth.com.

In addition to the carao hand-carried to Rudradevananda in India (Ananda Marga), we are also planning a bulk donation shipment by sea.  I would like to ask for help to pay for shipping and customs fees.  If interested, please contact me at lloyd at crnatural.net (replace 'at' with '@' and remove spaces).  Or, I can be contacted through this website, or you can comment on this article.