Our missions have lasted over 40 years due to a solid partnership between:

1. The Department of Pediatric Surgery CHUV (Lausanne, Switzerland), who:

  • Provides surgical and nursing staff for the yearly surgical missions
  • Organizes the orders of equipment and medicine necessary for the missions
  • Provides the database for our patients with complete long-term follow-up

2. The Pediatric Department of the Hospital Zou-Collines (Abomey, Benin), who:

  • Prepares the consultations and surgical missions
  • Screens the potential candidates for surgery and does laboratory work-ups
  • Provides living accommodations for children and accompanying parents
  • Provides consultation rooms, prepares the operating rooms and personnel
  • Provides laboratory personnel for pre and post-op evaluation
  • Provides support for the permanent pediatric surgical resident
  • Is responsible for the surgical and medical equipment

3. The “Terres des hommes” Fondation (TDH)

  • Coordinates contacts with the government of Benin and the Ministry of Health
  • Organizes transportation of the patients and surgical team
  • Takes care of transport of equipment sent to Benin from Switzerland
  • Provides logistic support of the missions
  • Participates financially to help families who need it
  • Provides the social workers who find children who could potentially benefit
    from the program and provide support and follow-up.

We also would like to thank the following important benefactors:

  • BBraun for their generous donation over the years of surgical sutures and materials
  • MEPHA for their generous donations of antibiotics
  • ASANUS for their donation in 2015 of surgical instruments to equip the new operating theatre
  • MMM for their donation in 2015 of the sterilization material for our instruments
  • The CHUV (and Celine Vicario, head of the humanitarian fund of the CHUV) who provided funds to acquire the two anesthesia machines for the operating rooms and support for a surgical resident from Benin training in Lausanne for a year.
  • All the private donors who through their donations provide the necessary financial support to continue and expand our work.