Yesterday was one of the most thrilling, exciting, and exhilarating days that CURE Zambia has ever had. Why, you ask? Because the President of the Republic of Zambia, Rupiah Banda, decided to pay us a visit. Yes, you read that right. THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF ZAMBIA. Wednesday afternoon at about 3pm, the president’s convoy showed up at CURE Zambia to have the president tour our facilities.

Things kicked off with a little girl by the name of Susan who suffered from a cleft lip. She had traveled to CURE Zambia to have her upper lip corrected by our visiting plastic surgeon, Dr. Joseph Clawson. Susan was asked to present flowers to the president upon his entrance to the hospital. He graciously accepted the flowers and went on to greet staff members of the hospital.

Following the flower presentation, President Banda was ushered into the boardroom for a quick chat and presentation about the mission of CURE Zambia. He was very, very impressed. “Many of these people are poor and there is no way they could have found themselves in South Africa and to imagine that we can attend to them here in country is a good thing,” said the president.

President Banda was then given a guided tour of the entire hospital. He passed the children’s ward where he greeted and joked with mothers and their children. The tour was capped off by a trip to CURE Zambia’s operating theatre where President Banda put on some scrubs and got to witness the visiting plastic surgeon repair little Susan’s cleft lip. Interestingly enough, President Banda became acquainted with Dr. Clawson’s work through a CNN documentary that he and his wife were watching one evening. President Banda was so impressed by Dr. Clawson’s work that he invited him to Zambia and the rest, as they say, is history.

Just before leaving the hospital to head back to his residence, President Banda made a surprising pledge. He pledged to have the Zambian government begin to financially support CURE Zambia. The crowd of people gathered at the event made a collective gasp when President Banda made the announcement. (I nearly dropped my camera!)

President Banda was so thrilled with what he saw at CURE Zambia that he invited staff members of the hospital to come and have lunch with him at State House tomorrow, Good Friday. “I think this really shows just how much compassion the president has for his people,” said Peter Kyalo, executive director of CURE Zambia. Compassion and respect for what we do at CURE Zambia everyday!

We at CURE Zambia were honored to receive the president, and we look forward to the continued support of the Zambian government – both in favor and finances – in the months and years to come.