Trip Stories

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Surgery day #2 is wrapping up in Ethiopia - its been a special day full of collaboration, training and familiar faces.  Read more from CSI volunteer operating room nurse, Wendy Vaughan: 

It’s difficult to put into words the range of emotions I feel returning to Bahir Dar for the third time. There is so much poverty here—this city struggles deeply—but it is also filled with so much beauty. The hugs and smiles from familiar faces, from colleagues I’ve worked with on previous trips, mean the world. They top everything. And the children are so beautiful - they are both curious and cautious around us. Can you imagine what it must feel like for them to meet strangers like me?

This fellowship trip is a little different from our typical ones. We’re a smaller team with a very specific focus on surgical teaching. Truthfully, we learn almost as much from them as they do from us. 

So much planning, time, energy, and resources go into even a small a trip like this. But if we can help change a child’s life—and build relationships in a world so full of conflict and hate—then these trips are worth every ounce of effort we put into them.

Thank you to everyone who supports us in any way—you make this life changing work possible!

#pediatricsurgery #nonprofit #changinglives #globalsurgery #earnosethroat #globalhealth College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Bahir Dar University, Ethiopia. 
Taitu Tour and Travel Ethiopia

Surgery day #2 is wrapping up in Ethiopia - it's been a special day full of collaboration, training and familiar faces. Read more from CSI volunteer operating room nurse, Wendy Vaughan:

It’s difficult to put into words the range of emotions I feel returning to Bahir Dar for the third time. There is so much poverty here—this city struggles deeply—but it is also filled with so much beauty. The hugs and smiles from familiar faces, from colleagues I’ve worked with on previous trips, mean the world. They top everything. And the children are so beautiful - they are both curious and cautious around us. Can you imagine what it must feel like for them to meet strangers like me?

This fellowship trip is a little different from our typical ones. We’re a smaller team with a very specific focus on surgical teaching. Truthfully, we learn almost as much from them as they do from us.

So much planning, time, energy, and resources go into even a small a trip like this. But if we can help change a child’s life—and build relationships in a world so full of conflict and hate—then these trips are worth every ounce of effort we put into them.

Thank you to everyone who supports us in any way—you make this life changing work possible!

#pediatricsurgery #nonprofit #changinglives #globalsurgery #earnosethroat #globalhealth College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Bahir Dar University, Ethiopia.
Taitu Tour and Travel Ethiopia
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7 hours ago
The Pediatric ENT and Facial Plastic Surgery Fellowship training trip is off to a strong start. 35 patients screened today and scheduled for surgery. Incredible collaboration and efficiency from our volunteers and local partners — more to come as the week unfolds!

#pediatricsurgery #nonprofit #changinglives #globalsurgery #earnosethroat 
College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Bahir Dar University, Ethiopia.

The Pediatric ENT and Facial Plastic Surgery Fellowship training trip is off to a strong start. 35 patients screened today and scheduled for surgery. Incredible collaboration and efficiency from our volunteers and local partners — more to come as the week unfolds!

#pediatricsurgery #nonprofit #changinglives #globalsurgery #earnosethroat
College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Bahir Dar University, Ethiopia.
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1 day ago
And theyre off!  Wait, what?  Thats right, a small team is headed to Ethiopia today. Thanks to CSI volunteers, Drs. Siva Chinnadurai, Jesse Hennum, Raj Peterson and rock star OR nurse Wendy Vaughan for blazing the trail for our first of its kind, focused fellowship training trip. Soon the team will be with Dr. Kassaw Ketemaw and our colleagues at College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Bahir Dar University, Ethiopia. Stay tuned for more updates this week!

And they're off! Wait, what? That's right, a small team is headed to Ethiopia today. Thanks to CSI volunteers, Drs. Siva Chinnadurai, Jesse Hennum, Raj Peterson and rock star OR nurse Wendy Vaughan for blazing the trail for our first of its kind, focused fellowship training trip. Soon the team will be with Dr. Kassaw Ketemaw and our colleagues at College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Bahir Dar University, Ethiopia. Stay tuned for more updates this week! ... See MoreSee Less

3 days ago
Our amazing CSI volunteers prepared the first round of supplies to ship to Firestone, Harbel, Liberia - 4 pallets out the door! Special thanks to our partners at Murphy Logistics Solutions and Firestone for making it possible to ship these vital medical supplies for the 2026 surgical and community health outreach trip in January!

Our amazing CSI volunteers prepared the first round of supplies to ship to Firestone, Harbel, Liberia - 4 pallets out the door! Special thanks to our partners at Murphy Logistics Solutions and Firestone for making it possible to ship these vital medical supplies for the 2026 surgical and community health outreach trip in January! ... See MoreSee Less

5 days ago
July is Cleft and Craniofacial Awareness and Prevention Month

While awareness grows in the U.S., children with cleft and facial differences in many other parts of the world still face overwhelming barriers to care.

In resource-limited countries, access to safe, timely cleft surgery is challenging — and delays in care can have lifelong impacts on a child’s physical, emotional and social well-being.

That’s why CSI goes beyond short-term surgical missions. We partner with hospitals to build sustainable systems of care, empowering local teams to continue providing life-changing services long after we’ve gone.

Because every child — everywhere — deserves the chance to thrive.

#CleftAwarenessMonth #CraniofacialAwareness #GlobalSurgery #PediatricSurgery

July is Cleft and Craniofacial Awareness and Prevention Month

While awareness grows in the U.S., children with cleft and facial differences in many other parts of the world still face overwhelming barriers to care.

In resource-limited countries, access to safe, timely cleft surgery is challenging — and delays in care can have lifelong impacts on a child’s physical, emotional and social well-being.

That’s why CSI goes beyond short-term surgical missions. We partner with hospitals to build sustainable systems of care, empowering local teams to continue providing life-changing services long after we’ve gone.

Because every child — everywhere — deserves the chance to thrive.

#CleftAwarenessMonth #CraniofacialAwareness #GlobalSurgery #PediatricSurgery
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2 weeks ago
DONT MISS THE FUN — OR THE DISCOUNT!

Game on for good! 🏓 Purchase your tickets today for CSIs Pickleball Social at Lucky Shots Pickleball Club in Minneapolis on Sunday, September 14, from 3–6 p.m. 

🎟️ Early bird pricing ends Thursday, July 31 — grab your tickets now and help bring life-changing surgical care to children around the world. Go to https://www.zeffy.com/ticketing/pickleball-social

#twincitiesevents #twincitiespickleball #fundraiser #nonprofit

DON'T MISS THE FUN — OR THE DISCOUNT!

Game on for good! 🏓 Purchase your tickets today for CSI's Pickleball Social at Lucky Shots Pickleball Club in Minneapolis on Sunday, September 14, from 3–6 p.m.

🎟️ Early bird pricing ends Thursday, July 31 — grab your tickets now and help bring life-changing surgical care to children around the world. Go to www.zeffy.com/ticketing/pickleball-social

#twincitiesevents #twincitiespickleball #fundraiser #nonprofit
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3 weeks ago
Our latest newsletter is out!
🔗 Read the 2025 Summer Newsletter at https://childrenssurgeryintl.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Summer2025Newsletter_DIGITAL.pdf

#newsletter #nonprofit #pediatricsurgery  #globalhealth #changinglives

Our latest newsletter is out!
🔗 Read the 2025 Summer Newsletter at childrenssurgeryintl.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Summer2025Newsletter_DIGITAL.pdf

#newsletter #nonprofit #pediatricsurgery #globalhealth #changinglives
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4 weeks ago
🚢 Supplies on the move!

Huge thanks to our partner Impact Health The Gambia for collecting 20 boxes of CSI supplies — including child life items, blankets, hospital gowns, OR supplies, and medical equipment for Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital.

These will be part of a container shipment that will arrive in Banjul this October — just in time for our trip!

We’re proud to collaborate in expanding healthcare access in The Gambia. Impact Health The Gambia is helping us deliver these critical supplies and saving us costs in doing so. This allows us to focus on what matters most: life-changing surgery and medical training. 

#GlobalHealth #HealthcareAccess #Partnership #PediatricSurgery #TheGambia

🚢 Supplies on the move!

Huge thanks to our partner Impact Health The Gambia for collecting 20 boxes of CSI supplies — including child life items, blankets, hospital gowns, OR supplies, and medical equipment for Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital.

These will be part of a container shipment that will arrive in Banjul this October — just in time for our trip!

We’re proud to collaborate in expanding healthcare access in The Gambia. Impact Health The Gambia is helping us deliver these critical supplies and saving us costs in doing so. This allows us to focus on what matters most: life-changing surgery and medical training.

#GlobalHealth #HealthcareAccess #Partnership #PediatricSurgery #TheGambia
... See MoreSee Less

1 month ago
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