Dr. Tesfaye Grew Up Without Doctors—Now, He Trains Them

CURE Children’s Hospital of Ethiopia (CURE Ethiopia) is not simply a workplace for Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeon Dr. Tesfaye Mulat—it’s like home. And the doctors, nurses, facilities workers, and dozens of other staff members he works with? They’re family.

“All surgical work needs very good teamwork . . . any surgeon alone cannot do much,” he says. “We are family. We help each other.”

Raised in a Christian home in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Dr. Tesfaye has this serving-as-one-community spirit woven into his soul. And he’s always had a heart for those in need. In fact, it led him to study medicine and has guided his career ever since.

Meeting Vast Needs in a Healthcare Desert

Growing up, Dr. Tesfaye never visited a doctor. Neither did his family, friends, or neighbors. Healthcare simply wasn’t accessible or affordable. (Ethiopia has a population of over 130 million and 1.4 doctors for every 10,000 people, compared to 36.8 per 10,000 in the United States.)

But after learning about doctors from books as a child and witnessing a family member’s death from a lack of care, Dr. Tesfaye became determined to help. So, he set his sights on medical school.

After earning a medical degree from Addis Ababa University, his experiences serving at rural clinics and hospitals burdened by extreme poverty, a lack of resources, and few trained specialists (at one clinic, he was the only doctor for a population of almost 1 million) inspired him to become a general surgeon, then a plastic and reconstructive surgeon.

“So many people would return home and they would die,” he says. “I saw so many people who were suffering, so I planned to specialize in surgical practices so that I could help people.”

Dr. Tesfaye accepted the job at CURE Ethiopia in 2016, eager to use his skills to serve the most vulnerable—children. He quickly realized he had found the perfect home in CURE’s Christ-centered environment.

“We have our Savior Jesus Christ with us, and He helps us to do all the cases. He gave us all the knowledge and all the love among each other. That is the thing I love the most,” he says.

A Passion for Patient Care

Dr. Tesfaye also appreciates CURE Ethiopia’s dedication as a teaching hospital, which has allowed him to learn new skills, like complex microsurgery, that expand treatment options for the country’s 2.81 million children with life-limiting disabilities.

This is knowledge he can pass on to the surgical residents he helps train. But even more than his operating room skills, he believes spiritual discipleship and modeling loving, compassionate care for patients—a pillar of CURE’s mission—are the most important things he can offer these junior doctors.

“You see patients . . . their hearts are broken. Socially they are abandoned,” he says. “There are so many issues besides their medical conditions.”

Medical Director Dr. Tim Nunn says Dr. Tesfaye’s humility, joy in service, and strong work ethic mean he delivers the highest-quality care to every child. “He frequently goes the extra mile in reviewing his patients out of hours. And despite the high volume of work, he gives patients time and attention.”

With a new surgical center and patient ward under construction at CURE Ethiopia, Dr. Tesfaye’s influence will be essential as the hospital strives to reach more children, up to 5,000 surgeries each year, with surgical and spiritual care that transforms lives beyond the operating room.

CURE is grateful for the support of generous partners and donors around the world who make it possible for surgeons like Dr. Tesfaye to serve as the hands and feet of Jesus at CURE.

Changing Lives for Kids like Ketora

Seven-year-old Ketora was born with a malformed thumb. Dr. Tesfaye helped perform a complex pollicization microsurgery, carefully turning her index finger—along with its tendons, nerves, arteries, veins, and bones—into a thumb to grasp things like food, toys, and paintbrushes!