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Out of the Waiting Room
Madagascar

Out of the Waiting Room

RESOURCES:

In Madagascar, accessing surgical care when it is needed is next to impossible. There are less than 100 surgeons serving the country’s 30 million people. On top of that, surgeons work in a context where resources we take for granted, such as oxygen, ICU care, electricity, and water, are lacking. With surgical care essentially inaccessible, sick and injured people (or their families) desperately in need of surgical intervention are forced to spend what little money they have on whatever care they can find. The “doctors” that are most accessible have little to no training in medicine, let alone surgical treatment. Their treatments are often ineffective and, as a result, patients and their families are often left still sick, but now without their savings.

Fellowship International missionaries Dr. Jesh and Julie Thiessen have been serving with the Good News Hospital (GNH) in Mandritsara, Madagascar since 2021. This 60-bed hospital is the medical facility able to provide surgical care for the 250,000 people in city and surrounding rural area. Through partnership with the Pan African Academy of Christian Surgeons (PAACS), a new surgical residency program has been established at the GNH to train local doctors to international standards in order to provide urgent surgical care for the people of Madagascar. The vision for this team is to train Malagasy mission-minded doctors to be skilled and compassionate surgeons who know Jesus and love to share the Gospel with their patients.

In the Fall of 2021, FAIR launched the Out of the Waiting Room special appeal raising $260,000 to help in establishing a five-year surgical residency program. The program was successfully launched in 2022 and the first graduates will complete their training in 2027. To ensure that the necessary funds are available to complete the five-year commitment, FAIR is seeking to raise an additional $50,000. Funds raised through FAIR’s Out of the Waiting Room project are being used to cover the salary, housing, educational, and associated costs related to surgical training and biblical discipleship while assisting with surgical care at the GNH.

Pray that the surgical residents will grow equally in their enthusiasm and ability to care for the surgical and spiritual needs of their patients.

 

 

[Note, for those wishing to contribute monthly to this need, enter the monthly commitment you wish to give in the “Add to gift basket” box below and click “Go”. You will be redirected to a new page where, in the “Frequency” drop-down menu you will select “Monthly”.]