I received an email this week from Mina Ayoub, our Program Director in Cairo, Egypt. CURE has been offering care to disabled children in Egypt for the past eighteen months.  In his email, Mina wrote:

Thanks also for all [CURE]  has done for CURE Egypt, your idea in establishing a program in Egypt and all your instructions helped about 100 patients up till now. Without [CURE's] idea those children were going to grow up and live their lives as disabled people.

Even with all the political troubles occurring in this country (almost since our program started), CURE has been able to offer the hope of healing to these children and their families. Thanks to our Egypt staff for their commitment to our mission despite the daily challenges of a transitioning government.

We are very excited that CURE Egypt was recently featured in an article in Watani, a newspaper published in Cairo.  The staff of CURE Egypt, who were interviewed for the article, report that this is a sign of the good reputation that CURE has developed in the country as a professional organization. The article, originally written in Arabic, is translated below.

We Support You: CURE Helps in the Treatment of Children’s Congenital Deformities
by Madlen Nader

A lot of children suffer from congenital deformities in their bones, which lead to movement disabilities and difficulty doing the same daily activities as their peers. Many of these deformities can be treated by operating on the child, but most of the time these surgeries are very expensive. Many families can not afford it. In this “We Support You” column, we will talk about CURE International, an organization that cooperates with the families of these children, providing free medical services and free surgeries for their children.

We first talked to Dr. Mina Georgy about what CURE is providing to disabled children and children with congenital deformities, and about the procedure by which a family may request an operation for their child. Dr. Georgy, the program coordinator, said, “CURE International began activities in Egypt a year ago, working with children who need surgery for their birth defects, particularly in the field of motor impairment. During this year, the organization has done about 50 operations to fix the bones of these children.” Dr. Georgy added, “CURE International performs all surgeries and all medical care for children from ages 2 to 18 at Good Shepherd Hospital in Cairo. The child comes to us with one or both parents or the person responsible for them, and after we verify national ID card of the person responsible, we schedule a clinical examination with the specialized doctor. The specialist is the one who determines the child’s need for surgery.  We follow up with the child, ensuring he or she gets necessary procedures, like x-rays.  We provide the child with good care before and after any surgeries.  We follow up after surgery, guiding them where to go for physiotherapy.  We have centers in Cairo, upper Egypt, and the coast side where they can have their physiotherapy sessions.”

Dr. Edwar Ayoub, the national representative of CURE in Egypt and a member of the Egyptian Society of Surgeons, said, “The organization was established and licensed in Egypt in July 2006, and the goal of the organization is to treat physically disabled children and those injured in accidents for free by offering orthopedics surgeries, prosthetic devices, all pre-surgery investigations, and post-surgery follow up for free. 50 surgeries were done last year, and about 220 clinical examination and follow up sessions were done, too. Our wish and goal is for CURE to provide about 150 surgeries and offer prosthetic devices for 50 children in the next year.”

Dr. Ayoub went on, “The main goal for CURE is changing the life of the child who suffers from congenital deformities that make him or her disabled and unable to live a normal life like other children.  We want this child to have a good, active life in his or her community.”

CURE International has about 15 branches in African and Asian countries.

With the world events in Japan and Libya, the recent political upheaval in Egypt has taken a backseat. However, all of Egypt continues to recover from the disruption of the protests in January and February, including CURE’s medical outreach to the disabled children of that country. I am happy to report that we restarted our medical activities at the end of February, and children are again being seen in clinic.

Last December, CURE began a program at two hospitals in Cairo that provides charity medical care to disabled children whose families have limited means to pay for treatment. The program is focused in Cairo, but has already reached towns several hours by road from the city. CURE has partnered with the Good Shepherd and Angelo American Hospitals to provide the care and medical treatment of these beautiful children. We are working with two of the better pediatric orthopedic surgeons in Cairo, who welcomed the opportunity to heal these children in need.

Our program coordinator, Mina, is a young Egyptian pharmacist, passionate for the overall mission of CURE. He not only oversees the medical clinics and hospital treatment activities, but he becomes a care giver to each child seen in the program. He reduces their anxieties with chocolates and his warm smile, and he prays with their parents throughout the medical process. It has been a joy to see lives being changed, even in this politically volatile area of the world.