News & Events

Chris Oppong lead a joint UK-German team with Ralph Lorenz to Remera hospital, Rwanda in February. They were received by a representative of the Minister of Health, the Mayor and the Medical Director of the hospital. 

Farafenni hospital (one of only 3 in Gambia) has had no surgeon for 3 years. Operation Hernia operated on children that had waited up to 5 years to have an inguinal hernia repair.

The people of this hospital will never forget your team for the good work, cordial working relationship and generosity we experienced from you within a short period of one week which we worked together. The community will ever remember the visit of 28^th October – 3^rd November, 2012, mostly the 123 patients you operated

This was my 2nd visit to Thyolo as part of Operation Hernia following a successful trip last year. On this occasion I went on my own but I had the assistance of Francis, one of the clinical officers who was on the course last year. Eight new clinical officers from Thyolo and adjacent District Hospitals attended the course. They already had basic surgical skills and were providing the obstetric service under the supervision of the Senior Clinical Officer Steady Vinkhumbo.

Rwanda was a very pleasant surprise. The country has recovered from the genocide that ravaged the country 20 years ago. The people are very welcoming. The capital Kigali has been rebuilt. It is a very clean city. Commerce is booming. French used to be the lingua franca until after the genocide. English is now taught in schools. We were so embraced by the city I have already started planning a return in 2013. A visit to the Genocide Memorial was both emotionally challenging and hugely instructive. From Chris Oppong