African Mission Healthcare Gerson L’Chaim Prize Laureate – 2016
Kibuye Hospital, Burundi
Dr. Jason Fader and a group of dedicated medical missionary families moved to Kibuye Hope Hospital in central Burundi in 2013. Burundi is consistently one of the world’s poorest and “hungriest” countries. Kibuye had not had a fully-trained consultant doctor for many years.
Jason’s vision was to expand surgical capacity and medical education at Kibuye. To support these goals, he applied for and won the inaugural Gerson L’Chaim Prize for Outstanding Christian Medical Missionary Service. This annual $500,000 award—the largest annual gift in Africa supporting direct medical care—goes to the winner’s hospital to support transformative projects.
Treating Patient Today
Trauma is a major cause of death and disability in Africa, especially because of unsafe roads. The L’Chaim Prize purchased orthopedic supplies to allow Dr. Fader and his team to treat major fractures. Jason taught junior Burundian doctors how to use “SIGN” nails, an American product well-suited to caring for patients in resource-limited settings.
Once, a patient broke his leg in neighboring Tanzania. He got in a taxi and told the driver, “Take me to Kibuye Hospital in Burundi”—which was six hours away. When he arrived at Kibuye, Dr. Fader asked him why he had come so far. “Everyone in western Tanzania knows this is the best place to come if you break your leg!” replied the patient.
Training Doctors for Tomorrow
Historically, Burundian medical students graduated and immediately started practicing. There was no internship, and certainly no residency. The L’Chaim Prize helped changed that. The Prize allowed the first interns ever in the country of Burundi to learn under supervision at Kibuye. The extra help allowed the hospital to care for many more patients. The program was so popular that it has been expanded under African Mission Healthcare’s Mission Hospital Teaching Network grant to Kibuye. The internship helped lay the groundwork for the surgical residency and the planned family physician training program.
Transforming Hospitals for the Future
The L’Chaim Prize funded construction of a large surgical ward at Kibuye. The old wards were poorly lit and overcrowded. The surgical ward is not only where patients are cared for but also where medical students, interns, and surgical residents learn.
The inaugural L’Chaim Prize paved the way for African Mission Healthcare awarding a 10-year “signature” grant to Kibuye as part of our L’Chaim Mission Hospital Teaching Network. Other donor partners have joined the effort with financial and educational resources.