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!
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!
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! ... 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.
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
When this happens, it's usually because the owner only shared it with a small group of people, changed who can see it or it's been deleted.
1 month 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.
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 ... See MoreSee Less
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. ... See MoreSee Less
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
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
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 ... See MoreSee Less
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 ... See MoreSee Less
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 ... See MoreSee Less
Ticketing is live for our Pickleball Social — purchase before 7/31 to get early bird pricing!
www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/pickleball-social ... See MoreSee Less
This content isn't available right now
When this happens, it's usually because the owner only shared it with a small group of people, changed who can see it or it's been deleted.🚢 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