In early October BethanyKids is beginning work at a hospital in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and Touch the Nations will be supporting this very important work. Ethiopia has 85 million people, yet fewer than a handful of pediatric surgeons. The children need us!
Clinical Director, Dr. Dan Poenaru, will accompany Dr. Frehun Ayele, Bethany’s most recent graduate pediatric surgeon, as he returns to his home country of Ethiopia to provide children’s surgeries. These two surgeons will be working at the Myungsung Christian Medical Centre in Addis Ababa, where they plan to open a small pediatric surgical unit. They will also be involved in training other Ethiopian surgeons.
Dr. Frehun Ayele is an Ethiopian doctor who worked at the Soddo Hospital in southern Ethiopia. He joined the PAACS training program and graduated as a surgeon in early 2009. He joined the BethanyKids fellowship training program in mid-2009. He spent his first two years at BethayKids at Kijabe Hospital and the last year at Red Cross Children’s Hospital in Cape Town, South Africa. Along with Robert Baird and Dr. Dan Poenaru, Frehun presented “A Tale of Two Fellowships” at several conferences, including the Canadian Association of Pediatric Surgeons.
We are honored to help to support this hospital and these surgeons as they impact the lives of needy children in Ethiopia. The logistics of the transition are very complex, and the cultural challenges will be intense as the surgeons will interact not only with Ethiopians but also with the Korean leadership of the hospital.
For more information on how YOU can be a part of this work in Ethiopia, email info@touchthenations.com.
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- NICU at the hospital in Ethiopia
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- Dr. Dan with a patient
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- Ethiopia’s newest surgeon – Dr. Frehun Ayele
