Greta Backer, age 13, of Casper, Wyo., for her question:

WHAT IS PROJECT HOPE?

Project HOPE is a program that teaches modern medical techniques to doctors, dentists, nurses and other health personnel of developing nations. The letters in its name stand for Health Opportunity for People Everywhere.

Project HOPE was established in 1958 by a Washington, D.C., physician named William Walsh. The project is administered by the People to People Health Foundation, Inc., an independent, nonprofit corporation.

Project HOPE sponsors health care training programs in many countries including Brazil, Colombia, Ethiopia, Peru, Tunisia and certain Caribbean nations.

It also operates medical training facilities for Navajo Indians in Arizona and Mexican Americans in Texas.

From 1960 to 1973 Project HOPE sponsored a hospital ship, the S.S. Hope, that conducted medical training missions in Africa, Asia, South America and the West Indies.

Headquarters for Project HOPE is at 2233 Wisconsin Avenue N.W., Washington, D.C. 20007.