Cure International Pediatric Hospital, Addis Abba, Ethiopia
We met with Adey Abate, Executive Director and Nahom Gezahegn, Communications Officer.
Adey was born and raised in Ethiopia, she completed her studies in the U.S. and worked in aerospace and business consulting until she felt the pull to return to Ethiopia. With a staff of 175 and an annual budget exceeding $3.5M they are deeply committed.
The 70+ bed hospital is located within the metropolitan area of Addis Ababa and shares a property line with the US embassy. The facility is roughly 75000 sq. ft., was founded 17 years ago and is in the early stages of a fully funded $10M expansion plan that will add about 15,000 sq ft with new operating, treatment, and recovery rooms.
Each year the hospital welcomes over 10,000 patients and provides surgeries for about 3500 children and young patients.
Through a heart breaking process they can only treat a small portion of the children with bowed legs, clubfoot, spinal curvatures and cleft lip/palate and burn contractures, club foot and spinal curvatures. Some of these children have traveled hundreds of miles and stay at the hospital for months of treatment. By treating these young ones the corrective procedure is more effective, the recovery shorter and prospects of living a normal life dramatically increased. The hospital operates at no cost to these families.
What could they do with a $200 gift?
Expand nutrition counselling, purchase toys and learning material for the children and even subsidize a surgery!
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