Pediatric Surgery for Africa Foundation

SURGERY FOR A LIFETIME

Due to COVID-19, the Foundation’s support day scheduled for August 30, 2020, will unfortunately have to be moved to August 29, 2021.

 

The Pediatric Surgery for Africa Foundation provides surgical care for hundreds of underprivileged children in West Africa where specialized surgery is not available.

 

The Pediatric Surgery for Africa Foundation mission is to help develop and ensure the future of the collaboration between the Department of Pediatric Surgery in the CHUV, Lausanne, Terre des Hommes (ONG) and the Departmental Hospital Zou-Collines in Benin.

This collaboration began in 1980 and has provided surgical care for hundreds of underprivileged children in West Africa where specialized surgery is not available.

A pediatric hospital and operating rooms have been built to facilitate on-location care and training of local health specialists who progressively have taken over basic pediatric surgical care. Yearly surgical missions provide highly specialized operations and provide ongoing training. They also offer accompanying young doctors and nurses’ precious insight into the realities of medical care outside Switzerland.

The foundation is a non-profit organization whose only costs are directly related to the surgical missions.

All donations directly benefit the surgical missions and patient consultation performed in Benin and Togo.

The story of Pibol, 9 years old

Pibol Kinha, 9 years old, lives with her family in the blacksmith’s quarter of Abomey, Benin.

Her father is a blacksmith, as were his father and grandfather. He has 4 wives and 14 children, Pibol is the youngest.

She was born with a severe malformation, not apparent at birth, and it was only when she had severe pain that her parents brought her to the hospital in Abomey. She was seen by the pediatrician onsite and referred to the consultation of the surgical team of the CHUV. Due to the complexity of the operation and post-operative care, we decided she should be transferred to Lausanne for the surgery.

Because of her medical problems, Pibol had not been able to attend school regularly and had fallen behind in her education. 

The surgical intervention at the CHUV has allowed her to return to school with the hope and motivation of  realising her dream: becoming a policewoman!

The surgerical and follow-up missions the Foundation lead, help the children not only to survive but also to reintegrate into a normal social life.

Donate online

We need your support to be able to offer surgical interventions to children in need.

Help up keep the surgical missions going!

Donate to the Pediatric Surgery for Africa Fondation / Fondation Chirurgie pour l'Enfance Africaine.

 

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