Planning and preparations are underway for this continued collaboration that will bring life-changing care to children in The Gambia. CSI is grateful to all the stakeholders making this impactful mission possible!His Excellency Momodou Lamin Bah, Ambassador of the Republic of The Gambia to the United States, on Thursday August 21, 2025 attended a stakeholder virtual meeting that the Embassy organized between the Minnesota based Non-profit Organisations - Children’s Surgery International (CSI) and Impact Health The Gambia with the Ministries of Health, Basic and Secondary Education, Gender, Children, and Social Welfare, and Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital (EFSTH). These institutions were represented by Permanent Secretaries at the meeting.
Impact Health-The Gambia is a Non-profit Organisation based in Minnesota and it was founded by a Gambian with the objective of supporting the healthcare system in The Gambia. It is also worth noting that Children’s Surgery International (CSI) is a voluntary Non-government organization that provides free pediatric medical and surgical services as well as professional education and training to health professionals, children and families across the globe.
A team of 16 doctors from CSI are supposed to travel to The Gambia in November 2025 to provide services with a view to reduce healthcare disparities and increase access to life-changing surgical care by helping communities obtain the knowledge, skills and tools to provide life-changing surgical and medical care for children. The team is expected to engage key stakeholders and are expected to teach parents how to take care of kids with special healthcare needs.
The objective of the meeting was to come up with measures that would help the doctors have a hitch-free medical mission to The Gambia. The meeting also provided the opportunity to find out ways of better aligning CSI Action Plan for The Gambia with that of the Ministry of Health.
Remember baby Yamlak? In February, she weighed just 8.5 pounds at 8 months old and was too fragile for cleft surgery. Her mother walked 4+ hours barefoot to bring her to our team.
Fast forward to last week: We stood beside Dr. Kassaw — CSI’s first ENT fellow — as he performed Yamlak's complex cleft palate repair at Felege Hiwot Hospital in Bahir Dar. This was her second procedure, following her successful cleft lip repair by Dr. Kassaw in May.
Yamlak's transformation from a critically malnourished baby to a thriving child represents everything CSI stands for: sustainable care, local training, collaboration, and never giving up on a child in need.
During this trip, the team met several other children who, like Yamlak once was, are too small and malnourished for surgery. CSI is already collaborating with our partners to help them grow stronger so that they can receive the specialized surgeries they need — and have endings like Yamlak's.
#pediatricsurgery #nonprofit #partnership #changinglives #globalhealth
College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Bahir Dar University, Ethiopia.
A wonderful summary of our first ever ENT fellowship training trip from CSI Academic Director, Dr. Siva Chinnadurai — Bravo team! The first of many more!
Our volunteer team of four is heading home after an incredible week in Bahir Dar, working side-by-side with Dr. Kassaw — Pediatric ENT & Facial Plastic Surgery Fellow — and an outstanding team of local colleagues.
Dr. Kassaw shared this reflection: “This week at Felege Hiwot Comprehensive Specialized Hospital, we performed 19 critical surgeries. CSI doctors who came from America deserve great thanks for their cooperation. Thank you for teaching us so much professional knowledge and skills.”
We are deeply grateful to everyone who made this trip possible — especially our partners at the College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Bahir Dar University, Ethiopia. and Felege Hiwot Hospital.
Together, we not only changed lives this week, but also strengthened skills that will help countless more children for years to come. 💙🌍
#GlobalHealth #SurgicalTraining #BahirDar #PediatricSurgery #Collaboration
“We were very shameful about the baby's cleft before surgery, now we are proud and we feel very happy about the surgery. We would like to thank you very much.” Parent, Ethiopia