Check-Up | A CURE Magazine, Issue 8

A MAGAZINE 2024 | ISSUE 8

ON THE COVER Bowed legs held them back. Surgery unleashed their joy! pg 08

INSIDE Africa needs more surgeons. Together, we're training them.

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Dr. Lubega celebrates 20 years of helping kids heal in Malawi.

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CHECK-UP A CURE MAGAZINE 2024 | ISSUE 8 Check-Up highlights the lives of CUREkids from around the world and those who serve them.

The stories capture the physical and spiritual transformation happening around the CURE children’s hospital network. This is possible by God’s grace and the generous partners and supporters dedicated to making a difference in the lives of the most vulnerable children living with disabilities.

Throughout Check-Up, some hospital references use the shortened version of their legal name.

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ABOUT CURE CURE International is a Christian nonprofit organization that operates a global network of eight pediatric hospitals providing world-class surgical and intentional ministry care for children living with treatable disabilities. CURE donors help provide services at no cost for families living in poverty.

HOW YOUR GIFTS HELP Your gifts to CURE International are making a difference in the lives of children across the globe.

Your generosity provides access to healthcare and shares the love of Jesus with children and their families. When you give to CURE, your gifts provide life-changing surgical care for children with clubfoot, cleft lip/palate, knock knees, bowed legs, hydrocephalus, and more. Thank you for your partnership and support.

WE WELCOME COMMENTS AND FEEDBACK! checkup@cure.org (616) 512-3105 cure.org

CURE International 70 Ionia Ave SW Suite 200 Grand Rapids, MI 49503

THANK YOU CURE International thanks all of our donors, including O’Neil Printing for its support in maintaining print industry standards at reduced costs, allowing God’s gifts and resources to be faithfully stewarded.

CURE International is a top-rated Christian nonprofit organization.

Copyright 2024 by CURE International. All rights reserved.

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LETTER FROM THE EDITOR Your support of CURE is life-giving!

CURE NEWS Celebrate good news: innovative surgeries, new surgeons, and more people reached with the gospel!

EVERY CHILD MATTERS

JOY UNLEASHED Twins can run free from bowed legs!

FEATURE STORY

TRAIN ONE, IMPACT THOUSANDS We’re equipping the next generation of surgeons.

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ON THE FRONTLINES

CURE IS MY MISSION FIELD Dr. Lubega celebrates 20 years at CURE Malawi.

VISION PARTNERS

REPAIRING HOPE TRIMEDX Foundation volunteers help CURE hospitals provide the highest standard of medical care.

MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT

MEETING A GLOBAL NEED Together, we’re changing the landscape of Christian healthcare for decades to come.

letter from the editor TO HEAL THE SICK & PROCLAIM THE KINGDOM OF GOD ­— Luke 9:2

With God’s leading and your generous support, we at CURE consider it an honor to serve children made vulnerable by lifelimiting but treatable disabilities. And at its heart, our mission to heal the sick and proclaim the kingdom of God is one thing: life-giving.

CURE is multiplying our life-giving impact by training new surgeons who can help many more children inside and outside our hospital walls (see page 12). This has a vitalizing ripple effect as those children return to their villages physically restored and full of Jesus’s love. They grow to be vibrant community members and witnesses to God’s amazing healing power.

Our mission is embodied through the hands of skilled doctors like Dr. Nicholas Lubega in Malawi. Because of your support, CURE was able to offer specialized training for Dr. Nicholas, who has extended that blessing to the children CURE treats so they can have the future they deserve (see page 16). And in Niger, twin brothers Eli and Elisée received life-giving surgical care for their bowed legs, renewing hope for their entire family as they enjoy a disabilityfree childhood (see page 8).

Your participation in this work is a reflection of God’s love in the lives of the kids we serve at CURE. I’m excited to share their stories with you here. Thank you for joining us in this mission by providing lifegiving surgical care and sharing the message of Jesus!

With Joy and Gratitude,

DEBBIE STOWELL, Editor-in-Chief left: Debbie supports Doreen, who is undergoing treatment at CURE Malawi.

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CURE NEWS

New Playgrounds Make Healing Fun If laughter is the best medicine, the new playgrounds installed at CURE’s hospitals in Zimbabwe and Malawi are just what the doctor ordered. Even better, these play spaces are accessible for children with disabilities, which is rare in countries where we serve.

Our patients often spend several days, weeks, or even months at our hospitals waiting for, receiving, and recovering from life-changing surgical care. These new playgrounds are an important—and fun—part of the healing process and provide children with a safe place to practice moving and gain confidence.

We are grateful for our partnership with Kids Around the World, which installs the play structures and ensures they are welcoming and accessible for children of all abilities.

Playground equipment helps kids strengthen their muscles and practice their fine and gross motor skills—all while having fun!

Jodi and her goldendoodle, Mica, are hiking the Appalachian Trail to help kids heal with CURE.

Spine Surgeries Offer Hope to Ethiopian Children CURE Ethiopia’s new Tebow Spine Center is open and providing children with scoliosis something they never thought they’d have—the opportunity to run, play, and stand tall.

Scoliosis is characterized by an abnormal curve in the spine, with a twist causing a distortion of the rib cage. In the US, scoliosis is often caught and treated early. In Ethiopia, where there are no in-country pediatric spine services, this condition can worsen, affecting vital organs like the heart and lungs and limiting a child’s life expectancy.

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Hiking 2,000+ Miles to Help Kids Heal Dr. Jodi Klein is a former volunteer with CURE who owns and operates a physical therapy center in Massachusetts.

But for the next several months, every step she takes will be dedicated to helping kids heal.

Jodi is fulfilling her lifelong dream of hiking the entire Appalachian Trail, a 7-month trek that will take her more than 2,197 miles through 14 states, from Georgia to Maine. When she decided she wanted her steps to impact others and support a good cause, she chose CURE. She set up a YouTube channel

so others can follow her journey and even give to support the children so near to her heart.

“At CURE, it was wonderful to see the changes that children experienced after they had their surgeries,” Jodi shares. “My prayer is that God will allow me to take steps for these children who continue to need surgical care so that they, too, can walk, hike, run, smile, and talk!”

Scan to follow Jodi's journey and make a gift that helps her help kids heal!

The new spine service aims to complete more than 250 surgeries annually and develop a robust training program to equip surgeons across Ethiopia to provide spinal care for the nation’s tens of thousands of children with scoliosis. We are grateful for the partnership from African Mission Healthcare, the Tim Tebow Foundation, and generous supporters like you who make this possible!

Sixteen-year-old Haniel was the first to receive surgery through CURE Ethiopia’s new spine service.

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CURE NEWS

Reaching Schools, Transforming Communities In many countries where CURE serves, false and harmful beliefs about disability are deeply entrenched within local cultures. These pervasive beliefs say disability is a result of a curse or a sin. As a result, children with disabilities are often marginalized within their communities, vulnerable to abuse, and viewed as expendable.

top: CURE Kenya’s Patient Relations Officer, Livingstone Koech (left), visits a local school and shares CURE’s mission with students.

This is why in Malawi and Kenya, CURE’s ministry teams visit schools to educate students and staff on the inherent value of all people, countering false and harmful beliefs about disability. While there, they present the gospel message, identify patients in need of surgery, and help students better advocate and care for those with disabilities. Since July 2023, ministry teams in these countries have reached an estimated 38,000+ students with the message of the gospel!

bottom: CURE's school outreach programs bring the gospel message to children, combating inaccurate beliefs about disability.

Visit cure.org/ministry-outreach to learn how we reach children, families, and communities with God's Word.

New Prosthetics & Orthotics Service Restores Mobility in Zambia CURE Zambia’s recently launched prosthetics and orthotics service means more children can navigate and explore their worlds! The service, which will eventually extend network-wide, enables the skilled team at CURE Zambia to manufacture and fit kids with prosthetics and orthotics at an onsite workshop. With Joshua visited the new workshop at CURE Zambia for the first fitting of his new tailor-made prosthetic legs—and he could not hide his joy!

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More Surgeons Will Serve Thousands More Kids CURE recently added three new surgeons to our hospitals in Uganda, Zimbabwe, and Niger.

Dr. Kaleab Tesfaye Moges, a Neurosurgeon originally from Ethiopia, was awarded the gold medal for best neurosurgery candidate at the College of Surgeons of East, Central, and Southern Africa. At CURE Uganda, he will help meet the growing need for neurosurgical care.

Dr. Sam Weston-Simons, a fellowship-trained Pediatric Orthopedic Surgeon from the UK who specializes in limb reconstruction, volunteered at CURE Malawi as part of his training. Now, he and his family call Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, home—where he will help kids run, walk, and play again!

Dr. Anthony Olasinde, a fellowship-trained Pediatric Orthopedic Surgeon, brings years of experience to CURE Niger and will be instrumental in treating children with limb deformities.

the proper assistive devices, children with amputations and other physical impairments live healthier, more independent lives where they can attend school, participate in their communities, and play as kids should.

Dr. Sam (left), Dr. Anthony (top right), & Dr. Kaleab (bottom right)

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The workshop is an answered prayer for children like 11-yearold Joshua, who needed proper-fitting prosthetics after having his legs amputated.

Joshua was fitted with tailormade prosthetic legs at CURE Zambia, and his confidence and hope for the future were renewed. Thank you for making this new service, and Joshua’s smile, possible!

Collectively, these surgeons will allow CURE to perform 1,100+ surgeries for children each year. We’re grateful for your support that brings Christ-centered surgical specialists to our hospital network.

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EVERY CHILD MATTERS

joy unleashed:

Surgery Gives Twins Freedom to Run Twins Eli and Elisée always had playful spirits. After surgery at CURE, now their legs can keep up!

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fter seeing twin brothers Eli and Elisée, it’s clear that joy is more than a feeling—it’s an attitude, a gift from God that’s not necessarily reflective of our circumstances. And both boys have a lot of it!

The boys’ mother, Viviane, was naturally concerned when she noticed their legs bowing

out when they were two years old. Although people in their home country of Togo, West Africa, told her their legs would straighten eventually, their knees only bent out farther as they grew.

sight for their condition, they kept bright smiles on their faces. All evidence of their joy-filled spirits.

“People ridiculed my kids whenever we went for a walk or when I would send them out to play,” Viviane shared.

The twins begged to have their legs fixed, but Viviane knew surgery was financially impossible. A single mom to four kids—including the twins’ younger brothers, Godwin and Richmond— Viviane struggled to support them.

But despite stumbling due to their bowed legs, these boys never stopped trying to run.

Enduring cruel taunts from their peers, they still played outside. With no help in

HOPE IN A NEW LAND

“ We continued to pray to God to give us a chance to heal them,” she said.

Because the twins’ bowed legs were so severe, walking and running were difficult. It broke Viviane’s heart to see her boys ridiculed and unable to do what they loved: play football and attend school.

Trusting God, one day she packed up her family and

After care from CURE, Viviane (center) and her children are walking foward with hope!

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After treatment at CURE Niger, Eli (right) and Elisée can race each other with nothing holding them back.

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EVERY CHILD MATTERS

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Eli (left) and Elisée's bowed legs condition made it difficult for them to walk and caused their peers to mock them.

journeyed hundreds of miles north of the Togo border to Niger, hoping for better employment and more opportunities for their futures.

Viviane soon met a nurse from CURE Niger who said the hospital’s highly skilled surgeons could fix Eli’s and Elisée’s bowed legs—at no cost to her! This was a huge relief, and the boys were scheduled for life-changing surgery.

Eli and Elisée, of course, were thrilled. “I want both legs to be straightened,” Eli said. “The idea of that makes me happy, and I will be nice like other kids.”

FINDING HEALING AT CURE At CURE Niger, the family felt welcomed and well cared for. Eli, the more communicative and boisterous twin, embraced the experience quickly. “I love this place!” Eli told CURE’s staff. “And I can play a lot.”

Elisée, quieter and more reserved, was a little shy and nervous at first—but that didn’t last long. “We will play soccer when we are fully healed. Our mom said she will buy a ball for us!” he shared.

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CURE Niger's Medical Director, Dr. Fasto Ladu (right), was among the surgeons who repaired the twins' legs.

CURE’s doctors corrected one leg at a time, so each boy underwent two surgeries. While they were in casts recovering, they spent time doing crafts, listening to Bible stories, and exploring the toys in the hospital’s playroom.

Despite their post-operative pain and long recovery, the boys’ playful natures shone through. “[Eli] doesn’t care about food or anything else. When he sees toys, even at home, it’s game over,” Viviane said with a laugh.

During their treatment at CURE, which took about eight months, Viviane’s faith grew stronger, thanks to the hospital’s compassionate and supportive staff.

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Through the care of my children, I have realized that God has not let me down and He always opens a new door when you think there is no hope.” ­­— VIVIANE

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Their long recovery included a series of castings to ensure their legs healed correctly.

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Today, their legs are straight and can carry them wherever they need to go!

The twins’ physical recovery took time, and their personalities were evident as they competed to reach each healing milestone.

Who would stand up first? Who could go the farthest without the walker?

Viviane is overjoyed to see the twins walking with straight legs and living their best lives.

“Thanks to CURE Niger and all its partners, God has renewed the life of my children and my whole family.”

Perhaps the competition between the boys helped their healing. Either way, soon they were able to walk and run on straight legs— with no issues.

Thank you for keeping Eli’s and Elisée’s joy alive by making their life-changing surgeries possible!

A FUTURE FULL OF POSSIBILITY

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below: Eli (left), Richmond (center), and Elisée (right) show off their artwork during a follow-up visit at CURE Niger.

When their treatment was finished, Viviane found a job, rented a small house, and enrolled her kids in a local school.

Today, the boys are looking toward the future and all they will be able to do now that their bowed legs are a thing of the past.

“Now I can play football and be a doctor!” Eli said. “I will be a soldier who works on the airplanes!” Elisée declared.

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Scan to watch a video of Eli and Elisée running after their incredible tranformation.

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FEATURE STORY

TRAIN ONE SURGEON,

IMPACT TH Each CURE hospital is a teaching hospital that equips the next generation of surgeons to serve more kids and bring medical care where it’s needed most.

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n 1998, when CURE Kenya was preparing to open its doors, there were only a handful of orthopedic surgeons for the country’s 30 million people. Africa, the continent with the world’s fastest growing population, has the fewest number of surgical specialists per capita due in part to limited training capacity and lack of resources (The Lancet Commission on Global Surgery).

CURE’s founders recognized the best way to serve the growing number of children

HOUSANDS OF CHILDREN

to become the hospital’s first surgical trainee. CURE sponsored his training at Makerere University in Uganda, where the region’s only orthopedic training program was at that time. continued

As CURE Kenya was preparing to open, a local Kenyan with dreams of becoming an orthopedic surgeon was finishing his medical internship at the neighboring Kijabe Hospital. His name was Dr. Joseph Theuri, and he accepted CURE’s invitation

above: Dr. Theuri (far left), CURE's first surgical trainee, mentors surgeons like Dr. Nguku, Dr. Mang'oli, and Dr. Nyambati, who in turn equip others!

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needing treatment for conditions like clubfoot, bowed legs, and knock knees would be to invest in training national surgeons to perform surgeries and help train others.

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FEATURE STORY

IMPACT MULTIPLIED

Today, partnering with recognized accreditation organizations like the College of Surgeons for East, Central, and Southern Africa (COSECSA), CURE has established surgical residency and fellowship programs in our hospitals in Kenya, Uganda, and

Orthopedic Surgeon Dr. Cyril Moyo (center) was mentored at CURE Kenya by Dr. Theuri.

Now, he helps train surgeons in his work at CURE Zambia.

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“Our desire is to train surgeons who can train others so that no child with a life-limiting disability will have to wait for the surgical care they need,” Dr. Theuri says. “It’s a sustainable approach that will help meet the long-term spiritual and physical needs in the countries where we work.”

Unfold to learn more about the next generation of CURE surgeons

Twenty-six years later, Dr. Theuri is now CURE Kenya’s Medical Director. He has been integral in growing the hospital into a regional training hub that has trained—or sponsored training for—468 more surgeons who not only serve within CURE’s network but also take their medical expertise to villages and communities across the continent.

Ethiopia. And universities and hospitals across the continent, and around the world, send students and surgical fellows to CURE for specialty training. In partnership with the Pan-African Academy of Christian Surgeons (PAACS), we equip local surgeons to both meet medical needs and share the love of Jesus.

TRAINING TO MEET A GLOBAL NEED

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Dr. Chelsea Shikuku, Dr. Toffa Barnabé, and Dr. Micheal Ogwal are just a few of the 468 surgeons CURE has trained to serve Africa and beyond.

(Open the pullout to learn more about these next-generation surgeons!)

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I became a Christian after experiencing the love and care of God’s people. I am excited to share the same love of Christ with the children and families I serve at CURE Niger.” ­­— DR. TOFFA BARNABÉ

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The way I see it, you plant a seed. The seed becomes a tree and feeds a lot more people.

Even if you sponsor a small group of surgeons, they have a huge ripple effect.”

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Neurosurgeons in Africa need comprehensive training. I could not afford it on my own, but partners come alongside to make it possible.

[Being a neurosurgeon] is more than a job. It’s a calling God has given me.” —DR. MICHEAL OGWAL

—DR. CHELSEA SHIKUKU

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THE NEXT GENERATION OF CURE DOCTORS Learn more about three surgeons who, through generous support from partners like you, are currently in training to bring life-transforming surgeries and the love of Jesus into the lives of children.

Plastic & Reconstructive

Neurosurgery

Dr. Toffa Barnabé

Since 2021, Dr. Toffa has been a General Practitioner at CURE Niger, where currently only one part-time Plastic Surgeon is on staff. There are no plastic/ reconstructive training programs in Niger, so Dr. Toffa is in his first year of a five-year surgical residency program at Cheikh Anta Diop University in Senegal.

FUTURE PLANS: Dr. Toffa will return to CURE Niger as a Pediatric Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeon, where he will perform hundreds of surgeries each year for children with conditions like cleft lip/palate and untreated burns.

While working as a Medical Officer at CURE Uganda, Dr. Micheal witnessed the physical and spiritual impact CURE’s neurosurgeons have on the children they serve. Today, with sponsorship from CURE, he’s midway through a five-year neurosurgical training program at the University of Cape Town in South Africa.

CURE NIGER Niamey CURE UGANDA Mbale CURE KENYA Kijabe

Orthopedic

Dr. Micheal Ogwal

FUTURE PLANS: After graduation, Dr. Micheal will return to CURE Uganda as a Pediatric Neurosurgeon, where he will perform hundreds of surgeries each year to help more children suffering from neurological conditions.

Dr. Chelsea Shikuku

Dr. Chelsea was inspired to become a doctor after volunteering at a home for children with disabilities and seeing Kenya's need for national orthopedic surgeons to provide services yearround. She has been awarded the first-ever CURE pediatric orthopedic fellowship.

FUTURE PLANS: After the two-year program, which is a joint effort between CURE Ethiopia and CURE Kenya, Dr. Chelsea will return to CURE Kenya, where she will perform hundreds of surgeries each year for children with orthopedic conditions.

ON THE FRONTLINES

Highlighting healthcare workers serving CURE patients around the world

CURE IS MY MISSION FIELD Orthopedic Surgeon Dr. Nicholas Lubega celebrates 20 years of impact at CURE Malawi.

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r. Nicholas Lubega starts most days at CURE Malawi with an early morning walk through the children’s ward.

During one of these rounds, he encountered a group of moms and dads who’d gathered to worship—some with babies strapped to their backs. As their children waited for or recovered from surgeries, these parents were lifting their voices in praise and thanksgiving to God.

These are the days Dr. Lubega thinks he has the best job in the world.

first in his generation to attend university, going on to become a teacher himself.

A FAMILY LEGACY LEADS TO CURE

“My dad was my mentor; he knew education was important,” Dr. Lubega shares. “In Uganda, if you do well in high school, you can attend university on a government scholarship. Dad told us kids to work hard, and we did. That’s how I got to medical school.”

Dr. Lubega’s journey to becoming an Orthopedic Surgeon began with his father’s footsteps in Uganda, where the family is from.

His dad grew up in a rural village and was among the

continued

Dr. Lubega (right) helps train surgical fellows like Dr. McFerson Mahara, who now serves at a neighboring hospital.

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“

Stepping into CURE is like stepping into my mission field.

I know this is what I was created to do.

”

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Dr. Lubega celebrates 20 years of making a life-changing impact on children like Sophlet, who is receiving treatment for brittle bone disease.

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ON THE FRONTLINES

It was during high school that Dr. Lubega gave his life to Christ. “I instantly knew I wanted to minister to people’s physical and spiritual needs,” he says. “I always wanted to serve in a Christian hospital.”

Lubega joined the team at CURE Malawi, where he was needed most.

After graduating with his medical degree from Uganda’s Makerere University in Kampala and completing an internship at a regional hospital in Mbale, Dr. Lubega served for two years at Kiwoko Hospital, a mission hospital in central Uganda. As he observed the growing need for orthopedic surgeons, he learned that CURE International was offering scholarships for postgraduate surgical training.

This September marks Dr. Lubega’s 20th year as an Orthopedic Surgeon with CURE Malawi, where he’s performed thousands of surgeries for children with conditions like clubfoot and bowed legs. He’s also contributed to medical research that has advanced pediatric orthopedics. Like his father, Dr. Lubega loves teaching. He’s been able to help train hundreds of surgeons at CURE Malawi and the local medical college where he teaches. They in turn have gone on to serve in places like Tanzania, Rwanda, South Sudan, and Zimbabwe.

“I applied, was accepted, and completed my postgraduate studies in orthopedics back at Makerere University with CURE’s support,” Dr. Lubega recounts. After he graduated, Dr.

Dr. Lubega multiplies his impact by training and mentoring other surgeons.

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20+ YEARS OF SERVICE . . .

AND STILL COUNTING!

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Because of CURE, I understand what Jesus went through for me.” ­­— NATASHA

Natasha before and after surgery at CURE Malawi.

“Stepping into CURE is like stepping into my mission field. I know this is what I was created to do,” he says.

When asked why he stays at CURE Malawi, Dr. Lubega points to children like Natasha (pictured above). He was part of the surgical team that corrected Natasha’s severely bowed legs and drew her closer to Jesus. She tells us, “Because of CURE, I understand what Jesus went through for me.” Today Natasha is back in school and pursuing her dream of becoming a nurse!

take away the satisfaction of helping change children’s lives. It’s not a job, it’s a ministry.”

Thank you for your generous partnership that makes it possible for surgeons like Dr. Lubega to follow God’s call to serve as the hands and feet of Christ with CURE.

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Of Dr. Lubega’s impact, Dr. Sam Maina, CURE Malawi’s Medical Director, says, “Dr. Lubega is the longest-serving member of CURE Malawi’s medical team, and he’s at the forefront of limb reconstruction surgical techniques. He’s a servant leader who brings the love of Christ into everything he does.” above: Families worship in CURE Malawi’s children’s ward.

Scan to listen.

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Thinking back to that early morning worship service he witnessed in the children’s ward, Dr. Lubega says, “Honestly, I have the best job in the world. There’s nothing that can

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VISION PARTNERS

Highlighting CURE partners who help heal the sick and proclaim the kingdom of God

repairing hope The TRIMEDX Foundation helps volunteers from one of the world's largest clinical asset management companies raise the standard of care for the children we serve.

Jake Greene (left), a TRIMEDX Biomedical Engineer, trains CURE Zimbabwe’s Senior Biomedical Engineer, Bagcini Nyoni.

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hen Jimmie Norman, a Clinical Engineering Site Manager for TRIMEDX, a leading clinical asset management company, visited CURE Zambia to repair and maintain medical equipment, he didn’t realize one of the most impactful tools he carried would be a handmade teddy bear.

Volunteers like Jimmie are key to the partnership between CURE and the TRIMEDX Foundation.

Since 2013, the foundation has supported CURE with medical equipment and facility maintenance and repair—a partnership that benefits patients in many ways, both big (like repairing a broken x-ray machine) and small (like giving a stuffed bear to a nervous child awaiting surgery). Jimmie recalls, “As I was in the patient ward working on equipment throughout the week . . . [this child] was clutching that teddy bear tight every time.”

PROVIDING ESSENTIAL TRAINING AND SUPPORT The TRIMEDX Foundation is committed to strengthening healthcare organizations in underserved communities by performing repairs and maintenance on equipment critical to delivering the highest level of care, such as ventilators and x-ray machines.

In addition to providing hands-on training for CURE’s in-house biomedical technicians and problem-solving maintenance challenges, volunteers can offer ongoing remote assistance via call, text, or video chat.

CHANGING LIVES Since the partnership with CURE began, approximately 120 volunteers have worked closely with hospital staff during more than 40 short-term service trips.

health outcomes has given me a clearer focus on what we’re doing at the foundation.”

TRIMEDX Product Manager and foundation volunteer Amanda Armstrong has visited CURE Malawi twice and helped the nursing and reception staff streamline their data management processes. The trips have had a lasting impact on her.

“That changes your whole perspective on life,” she says. “I think when you see the conditions these little kiddos are in every day, yet they keep truckin’. They haven’t given up. They’re just so grateful . . . and that’s amazing.”

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CURE is grateful for partners who help us raise the standard of care for the children we serve.

ABOUT THE TRIMEDX FOUNDATION

The TRIMEDX Foundation works to improve healthcare in underserved communities. TRIMEDX, an industryleading clinical asset management company with 3,000+ employees, is their largest donor.

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The foundation’s Chairman, Tim McGeath, says the volunteers are changing lives. “Seeing the kids . . . and the impact we have on their

TRIMEDX Clinical Engineering Site Manager and foundation volunteer Jimmie Norman spreads joy to kids at CURE Zambia.

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MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT

Meeting the Need for More Christ-like Surgeons

BY JUSTIN NARDUCCI President/CEO

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artnering with CURE transforms the lives of children with life-limiting yet treatable disabilities. As you’ve seen in this edition of Check-Up, your impact reaches outside our hospital walls to strengthen and uplift entire communities.

In the countries where we serve, CURE invests in training national surgeons who provide specialized surgical care within our hospitals and beyond, equipping them to treat more than just conditions, but to treat the whole person. This work is foundational to CURE’s mission because it is a sustainable, cost-effective way to equip more doctors and expand medical care to more patients—especially children with treatable disabilities.

in residency training programs at CURE hospitals. Your generosity makes their training possible, and this investment is multiplied as one trained surgeon will go on to perform as many as 350 surgeries each year. These local surgeons who understand the unique needs within their communities will go on to serve thousands of children in CURE’s hospitals and in other places of great need.

While investments in national healthcare workers are significant, we remain committed to growing our own surgical team. In the coming year, our plans include adding seven surgeons and expanding our formalized surgical training programs across at least one more hospital in our network.

With your help, we are creating a pipeline of specialized Christian surgeons who will bring more life-changing surgical and spiritual care into the lives of the children we serve. Thank you!

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This year, there are 13 surgeons 5 billion people worldwide lack access to surgical or anesthetic care

Together, we are training the hands of surgeons like Dr. Eva Langat at CURE Kenya.

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leave a legacy Non-cash giving offers powerful ways to increase your giving and save on taxes.

To get started, email legacy@cure.org or visit cure.org/planned-giving

Stock and Mutual Funds IRA Funds (age 70½+) Assets like Real Estate and Jewelry

“

Giving stock has been a great way for us to donate. When we give to CURE, they get the full appreciated value, not the reduced amount after taxes like if we sold the stock ourselves. This means more kids receive surgeries and hear about Jesus!”

­­— MARK AND ANDREA SPEARS, CURE SUPPORTERS

70 Ionia Ave SW, Suite 200 Grand Rapids, MI 49503

HEAL THE SICK & PROCLAIM THE KINGDOM OF GOD Luke 9:2 CURE International is a Christian nonprofit organization that operates a global network of eight pediatric hospitals in Africa and the Philippines, providing worldclass surgical and intentional ministry care for children living with treatable disabilities.

(616) 512-3105 cure.org