Married doctors Andrew & Sarah Hodges serve Zimbabwe's children together.
One book translated into 35 languages is reaching tens of thousands of families at CURE.
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.
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!
table of contents
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
Every life-changing surgery begins with your partnership.
CURE NEWS
Network updates include expanding hospitals, performing innovative surgeries, and connecting more hearts to Jesus!
EVERY CHILD MATTERS MAKING STRIDES
Lemmy found freedom from pain and hope for the future.
FEATURE STORY CURE UGANDA GOES GLOBAL
CURE provides life-saving neurosurgical care in Uganda and around the world.
ON THE FRONTLINES UNITED IN MISSION
checkup@cure.org CURE International 70 Ionia Ave SW Suite 200 Grand Rapids, MI 49503
(616) 512-3105 cure.org
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.
03 04 08 12 16 20 22
Drs. Andrew and Sarah Hodges are changing lives together.
VISION PARTNERS LET THEM SEE JESUS
Praise Works brings the story of Jesus to life for CUREkids.
MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT EXPANDING SERVICES, IMPROVING CARE
Together, we’re improving how we care for kids.
letter from the editor
TO HEAL THE SICK & PROCLAIM THE KINGDOM OF GOD —Luke
9:2
The life-changing and compassionate surgical care CURE offers across our hospital network starts with your faithful partnership.
Together, we are fulfilling our mission to heal the sick and proclaim the kingdom of God. It’s a joy to witness children with life-limiting disabilities get the chance to live full, productive lives—children like Lemmy, whose severe knock knees had crushed his spirit before surgery and spiritual ministry care at CURE Zambia transformed his future (see page 8).
And at our hospital in Uganda, your generosity is saving thousands of young lives. Your help provides children a fighting chance amid life-threatening neurological conditions like hydrocephalus, spina bifida, and brain tumors.
I had the privilege of visiting CURE Uganda last summer. I witnessed the nearness of God, as evidenced by the Christ-centered care staff provided for the children recovering from delicate life-saving surgeries in the intensive care unit. With overwhelming gratitude for your partnership, we share how you provide children with the surgical care they desperately need in a country where healthcare is often underresourced, inaccessible, or nonexistent (see page 12).
CURE’s hospitals are an oasis of hope for our patients and their families. They’re places made possible by Christ’s followers partnering together for the benefit of some of the world’s most vulnerable—children suffering with treatable disabilities. Thank you for opening your hearts to make Christ-centered healing possible for those precious in His sight.
With Joy and Gratitude,
DEBBIE STOWELL, Editor-in-Chief
below: Debbie greets Aloysoius after successful surgery to treat his hydrocephalus.
New Playroom Generates Big Smiles in Zimbabwe
Children with disabilities are among the most vulnerable, marginalized groups and often come to CURE feeling rejected and unloved. We’re committed to ensuring our hospitals are a place where kids can feel welcomed, cared for, and even have fun! At CURE Zimbabwe, this means a new playroom.
The innovative space called Timmy’s Playroom, developed in partnership with the Tim Tebow Foundation, features colorful art-filled walls, tables for arts and crafts, and unique play stations that provide kids with a modern interactive sensory experience.
Through play and art therapy, CURE’s trained team of compassionate counselors provides a safe environment for children to play games, make new friends, and explore God’s love for them.
CURE Kenya's building has expanded (seen in 1998 at right)—but the vision to heal the sick and proclaim the kingdom remains unchanged!
New Surgical Center Leads to Saving More Lives in Uganda
CURE Uganda recently broke ground on a new surgical center, which is expected to open next year. The center will be triple the size of the current one, treating 500 more patients each year.
CURE Uganda’s staff completes 1,900 neurosurgical procedures annually for children with life-threatening conditions like hydrocephalus, spina bifida, and brain tumors.
And the need continues to grow, as the hospital has experienced a 45 percent increase in admissions and surgeries. The new center will help us meet these growing needs and provide life-saving care to more children.
CURE Kenya Turns 25, Adds Space to Serve More Kids
What can happen in a quarter century? A lot! CURE Kenya recently celebrated 25 years of life-changing care for kids with treatable disabilities like clubfoot, cleft lip/palate, knock knees, and bowed legs. Over CURE Kenya’s 25-year history, the hospital's highly skilled doctors have performed almost 48,000 surgical procedures.
To commemorate the milestone, the hospital held an event on 17 November 2023 honoring the hospital’s history and marking the official opening of a 21-bed ward addition and 14-bed long-stay hostel.
CURE Kenya’s Executive Director, Dr. Evelyn Mbugua, emphasizes the ripple effect of every surgery. “Every time you do a surgery, that changes a child’s life.”
Thanks to generous partners, thousands of children have been given a new chance at life through treatment at CURE Kenya in the past 25 years—and countless others will experience similar freedom from life-limiting disabilities in the years to come.
CURE Uganda staff and supporters gather to celebrate the groundbreaking of the new surgical center.
Visit cure.org/bbc to see how CURE Uganda is drawing global attention
Innovative Surgery Treats Epilepsy in Uganda
CURE Uganda is now performing an innovative surgical procedure that brings hope to children suffering from the most common neurological condition in the world: epilepsy.
The disorder is exacerbated in Uganda due to poor economic conditions and lack of access to medical resources. Partnering with neurosurgeons at the Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, CURE is expanding its services to care for Uganda’s more than 10,000 children who could potentially benefit from epilepsy surgery.
The surgery, which targets the areas of the brain where the seizures originate and the pathways along which they travel, does not always cure epilepsy. But, it can dramatically reduce the life-threatening seizures associated with the condition.
Dr. Emmanuel Wegoye, CURE Uganda’s Medical Director, says, “Surgery has the potential to prevent children from suffering devastating effects of epilepsy, and CURE is investing heavily in the needed infrastructure and equipment to serve these children.”
Comprehensive Cleft Care Comes to Zambia
CURE Zambia will officially open its Cleft Care Center this spring!
In a country where basic healthcare is often inaccessible, parents seeking specialized care for their children born with life-limiting cleft conditions quickly discover that such help is difficult to find. This leaves their children to face a lifetime of issues like poor nutrition and speech delays.
Led by Pediatric Plastic Surgeon, Dr. Meredith Workman, the center will help alleviate this burden by providing comprehensive care for children with cleft conditions until they’re completely healed. This includes plastic surgery, orthodontia and dental care, speech therapy, nutrition support, and counseling.
above: Workers put the finishing touches on the cleft center. right: Dr. Meredith examines a cleft patient at CURE Zambia.
Dr. Sandi Lam (left) of Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago consults with Dr. Emmanuel, CURE Uganda's Medical Director, on an innovative surgery to better treat patients with epilepsy.
Dr. Meredith says, “While hundreds of children born with a cleft have been healed at our hospital, this facility will allow us to reach the thousands more who eagerly await their turn to be healed.”
To learn about how you can bring new smiles, and comprehensive care, to children with cleft conditions, visit cure.org/smile
Vacation Bible School + CURE = Global Impact
What happens when kids spend their summer learning how they can bring life-changing surgeries and Jesus’s love to children suffering with treatable disabilities? Lifelong transformation for children throughout the world!
As part of their summer Vacation Bible School (VBS) programming, churches around the United States partnered with CURE. We supplied them with print and video resources to teach kids about God’s call to heal the sick and share the gospel.
In answer to that call, kids broke open their piggy banks, baked their favorite treats to sell, and flagged down customers for lemonade stands to raise money to support CURE—enough, in fact, to provide surgeries for 30 children in need!
To learn more about how your local VBS can partner with CURE, visit cure.org/vbs
By partnering with CURE for their VBS programming, Chapelstreet Church in Illinois provides kids with a handson experience to help other kids find healing worldwide.
How CURE Zambia helped lift Lemmy out of despair
Elidah’s heart broke as she watched her son Lemmy withdraw and cry because of his disability. “I slowly watched him fall into a depression. He was always sad,” she recounts.
Lemmy, the second youngest of Elidah’s four children, was healthy growing up in Zambia, where he ran around with his brother and sisters and played soccer with friends. Then, when he was 12, he noticed his legs changing.
“I could tell I was losing balance as I walked,” he remembers. “I started to experience pain in my legs, which further affected my balance.”
Soon Lemmy noticed his knees curving inward. He had a condition called knock knees, which forced his knees to rub together. Because no hospital was equipped to provide the surgical care he needed, Lemmy thought he would spend the rest of his life with the condition. And the pain in his legs only worsened.
HOPE AMID ISOLATION
Lemmy, a faithful Christian and active churchgoer, could no longer attend services because walking was too painful and difficult. Soon he also stopped going to school and socializing with peers.
As is common for those with disabilities in his community, he was mocked and stigmatized, driving him into a deep depression—until he found CURE.
I remember struggling to walk to church camp. Little did I know, I would find my answer there.” —Lemmy “
Lemmy made it to church camp, where someone shared that CURE Zambia had helped their child with a similar condition and was holding
a mobile clinic nearby. Elidah and Lemmy visited the clinic, where CURE’s highly skilled medical staff assured him they could fix his knees. Then, they booked him for surgery. For the first time in years, Lemmy had hope.
A BRIGHT FUTURE
At CURE Zambia, Lemmy was warmly cared for by the hospital’s compassionate staff. “I love the people here,” he says. “They’re so welcoming!”
First, Orthopedic Surgeon Dr. Cyril Ilho Moyo surgically corrected Lemmy’s right leg. Then, three months later, he operated on his left leg. Both surgeries were provided at no cost to Lemmy’s family, thanks to the faithful support and generosity of people like you.
continued
below: Dr. Moyo (right) and OR Nurse Malembeka (left) surgically correct Lemmy’s knock knees.
While recovering at CURE, Lemmy made friends in the playroom and learned about God’s faithfulness and love, thanks to Bible studies and the spiritual ministry team’s support.
CURE Zambia’s Child Mentor, Lillian, encouraged him with stories of Jesus’s miracles when he expressed doubt about walking or playing soccer again. “I was overjoyed the day he testified about his healing journey to the other children in the playroom when he came for his last check-in,” she said.
To ensure his complete physical healing, he did intense physical therapy and practiced walking with the crutches CURE provided.
Today, Lemmy walks pain-free on straight legs! “My legs have healed. Praise God!” he exclaims.
Elidah loves seeing her son happy again. He can socialize and play soccer with friends and is currently a referee for his community soccer team. He also consistently attends church, where he sings bass in the choir.
Lemmy dreams of becoming a truck driver and pursuing a career as a gospel music artist—dreams made possible by you! .
top left: CURE Zambia’s Physical Therapist, Mweembe, helps Lemmy learn to walk on his newly straightened legs.
top right: Dr. Shawa changes the cast on Lemmy’s leg at a follow-up appointment.
bottom right: After surgery, Lemmy recovers in the ward.
Lemmy was inspired to write a worship song. Scan here to listen!
“MY LEGS HAVE HEALED. PRAISE GOD!"
From the heart of Africa, a center of neurosurgical excellence is reaching the world.
n any given weekday, the waiting room at CURE Uganda is full of moms and dads—their arms cradling some of the world’s most fragile and vulnerable: babies in need of life-saving neurosurgical care.
The types of brain surgeries these children require are so specialized that desperate parents travel thousands of miles to the hospital in Eastern Uganda—often from surrounding countries—in hopes of saving their children. For those who reach CURE, their child will be treated immediately.
Yet, there are thousands more children who will never receive the care they need due to the very limited number of neurosurgeons in sub-Saharan Africa. There is currently just one neurosurgeon for every 6 million people (compared to 66 for every 6 million in the US).
CURE Uganda is working to ensure that every child living in Africa has access to the neurosurgical care they need.
GROWING A CENTER OF NEUROSURGICAL EXCELLENCE
Since opening in 2001, CURE Uganda has emerged as one of the world’s leading pediatric neurosurgical hospitals and currently provides close to 2,000 surgical procedures per year for
children with life-threatening conditions like hydrocephalus and spina bifida. In addition to life-saving care, every patient and family served by CURE Uganda has the opportunity to learn about the love of Jesus.
We want to heal as many children as possible,” says Tim Erickson, Executive Director of CURE Uganda. But we’re just one hospital, so that’s why we are investing in training neurosurgeons to improve the quality and accessibility of specialized pediatric neurosurgical care in underserved countries across the continent.”
CURE Uganda partners with the College of Surgeons of East, Central, and Southern Africa (COSECSA) on a residency program to train the next generation of neurosurgeons in sub-Saharan Africa. In addition, the internationally recognized CURE Neuro Fellowship Program draws neurosurgeons from around the world who come to learn a minimally invasive technique to treat spina bifida and hydrocephalus developed by CURE Uganda’s founding Medical Director, Dr. Benjamin Warf.
To date, these programs have equipped 78 neurosurgeons from 28 countries—and each one trained goes on to reduce barriers to lifesaving care for thousands more children.
CURE UGANDA’S GLOBAL REACH CURE UGANDA’S GLOBAL REACH
number of CURE Uganda–trained surgeons by nation
CURE Uganda has helped train now serving in around the world.
Despite Uganda’s rank as 166th out of 191 countries on the United Nations’s Human Development Index, it is influencing the world in the practice of pediatric neurosurgery through CURE Uganda.
source: United Nations Development Programme 2021 DID YOU KNOW?
To give an example of how the impact ripples out, not long ago CURE trained two Kenyan neurosurgeons who took what they learned back to western Kenya, where they’ve already performed more than 200 hydrocephalus surgeries,” explains Dr. Emmanuel Wegoye, CURE Uganda’s Medical Director. “Now, children in Kenya have a place to get this kind of life-saving surgery.”
BUILDING HOSPITAL CAPACITY TO SERVE MORE CHILDREN
Over the past five years, CURE Uganda has experienced a 45 percent increase in admissions and surgeries. In response, the hospital is in the middle of a multiyear expansion to grow its facilities and medical and ministry teams to meet the increasing need for expert neurosurgical care in the country and across the continent.
In 2023, the hospital opened a new intensive care unit to help more children and broke ground on a surgical center that will allow doctors to serve 500 more patients—and train more neurosurgeons— each year.
Dr. Emmanuel expresses his gratitude for generous partners like you who help expand care for the world’s most fragile babies. “I am more than convinced that the mission of CURE Uganda is serving the least in this world,” he says. “Together, we are helping the most vulnerable and ignored children to experience God’s love and healing. It’s a privilege to know our donors and partners are standing beside us in this work. We could not do it without you.”.
below: Dr. Emmanuel Wegoye (right), CURE Uganda’s Medical Director, trains Dr. Ahmed Omar (left), a CURE Neuro fellow from Kenya.
“The mission of CURE Uganda is We are helping the most vulnerable, the most ignored, to experience God’s love and healing."
Dr. Emmanuel Wegoye CURE Uganda Medical Director
united in mission
Drs. Sarah and Andrew Hodges met as junior doctors in England, married shortly after, and have been serving the world’s most vulnerable children together ever since.
By the time Drs. Sarah and Andrew Hodges met as junior doctors in England, they were both already committed to using their God-given skills to serve the world’s poor and needy.
“When I became a Christian, God opened my eyes to a huge world of need. I knew I wanted to use my gifts, talents, and training to help people I knew had no means of getting help,” Dr. Andrew says. “When I met Sarah, I was grateful she shared a similar commitment.”
Shortly after marrying, this shared commitment took them to Uganda, where they spent nearly seven years serving in a missions hospital—Andrew as a General Surgeon and Sarah as an Anesthetist. God used this time to open Andrew’s eyes to the urgent demand for more specialized surgeons to meet the growing needs in sub-Saharan Africa.
Drs. Sarah and Andrew with their three children, whom they raised in Uganda.
The doctors took a six-year hiatus from Uganda to receive advanced training. Andrew trained at the Royal College of Surgeons of England in plastic and reconstructive surgery, and Sarah at the Royal College of Anesthetists in anesthesiology.
Dr. Andrew and Nurse Tsitsidzashe encourage Blessed, who is receiving care for a limb condition.
They returned to Uganda in 2005, where Dr. Andrew established a plastic surgery unit and postgraduate training program at CoRSU Rehabilitation Hospital in Kampala. There, Dr. Sarah helped develop anesthesia training and standardize anesthesia care, eventually becoming Medical Director.
TRAINING THE NEXT GENERATION OF MEDICAL WORKERS
In 2020, just before the strict COVID-19 lockdown, the Hodges joined the staff at Tebow CURE Children's Hospital of the Philippines. Over the next three years, Dr. Sarah trained and strengthened the anesthesia team, and Dr. Andrew established and grew the hospital’s plastic and reconstructive surgery team, which today consists of four surgeons who perform more than 1,200 reconstructive plastic surgical procedures annually.
In 2023, the Hodges began practicing at CURE Children's Hospital of Zimbabwe, where they serve in leadership roles for CURE’s hospital network—Sarah as Lead Anesthesiologist and Andrew as Lead Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeon. Sarah also serves
“
“The Hodges have given their lives—and their exceptional surgical talents—to help care for children in need."
—Justin Narducci President/CEO of CURE International
Drs.
Sarah and Andrew prepare to perform surgery at CURE Zimbabwe.
The Hodges are helping standardize care across CURE’s hospital network, ensuring more children like Zane from the Philippines can receive the life-changing surgeries they need.
CHANGING LIVES AT CURE ZIMBABWE
At CURE Zimbabwe, Dr. Andrew is establishing, training, and growing the hospital’s plastic and reconstructive surgery team—with the goal of serving more children suffering with conditions like burn contractures and cleft lip/palate each year.
While the Hodges could work anywhere in the world, they feel called by God to serve in areas of need. They view their work at CURE as more than a job. It’s a mission they share—and one that brings them joy.
“What makes CURE special for me is that it’s a place where we remember that the patient is not just a body to be operated on, but a person to be loved and cared for,” Dr. Sarah shares.
“Seeing children transformed is so rewarding,” Dr. Andrew adds. “The generous partners and supporters of CURE make it possible.” .
—DR. SARAH HODGES “
What makes CURE special for me is that it’s a place where we remember that the patient is not just a body to be operated on, but a person to be loved and cared for.”
them see
How do you introduce Jesus’s love to children who have never experienced it before? With Praise Works, you show it to them.
SCAN HERE to explore The Jesus Story book with Praise Works!
VISION PARTNERS
Highlighting CURE partners who help heal the sick and proclaim the kingdom of God
When the late Don Hammatt’s grandchildren were little, he frequently shared the story of Jesus with them. Witnessing even his youngest grandchild understand the gospel through simple stories inspired him to create The Jesus Story book and launch Praise Works—a ministry dedicated to sending the books around the world. Today, this powerful little book, with its multicultural illustrations, has been translated into 35 languages and reached over 1 million children in 50 countries.
A PARTNERSHIP THAT MULTIPLIES DISCIPLES
Praise Works and CURE began partnering in 2020 to bring these books to the children we serve. Using storyboards, hospital chaplains guide the children through the book, which introduces them to the love of Jesus in a way they can understand. So far, 90,000 children have been reached, and the feedback has been so positive that plans are in place to reach another 150,000 over the next several years.
Don’s daughter, Leslie Bartel, now leads Praise Works and carries on her dad’s vision to see more people love Jesus and experience His transformation in their lives. She says, “What I love about partnering with CURE is that we can offer children and families the gospel at a time when their hearts are maybe more open and they can experience physical healing and God’s love. They bring the book home with them. They take the impact into their families and their communities.”
Earnest Kioko, Chief Ministry Officer at CURE, says the books help CURE introduce patients to the love of Jesus in a tangible, practical way. “Praise Works provides a simplified but comprehensive way to tell the Jesus story to the children we serve.”
HELPING CHILDREN SEE JESUS
Through The Jesus Story, patients like Elvis (pictured below) find more than physical healing at CURE hospitals. While Elvis recovered from surgery to correct his clubfoot at CURE Kenya, he was introduced to Jesus through the book. He told us, “The booklet said Jesus came to forgive my sins and to live with those who believe in Him, and I want to choose Him today!”
From 2022 to 2023, CURE saw a 31 percent increase in the number of people making decisions for Christ. It’s partners like Praise Works—and an abundance of God’s grace—that help make this possible..
While undergoing treatment for his clubfoot, Elvis met Jesus through The Jesus Story.
expanding services, improving care
Your support helps CURE expand and improve care everywhere we serve
BY JUSTIN NARDUCCI, President/CEO
What’s one of the best parts of my job? It’s traveling to our eight hospitals across the world and looking into the hopeful eyes of the kids we serve. It’s witnessing their eager smiles as they share how, thanks to God’s grace and highquality surgical care, they broke free from lifelimiting disabilities that stole bits—sometimes years—of their childhoods. Seeing these faces firsthand is motivation to do more, to do better.
Since 1998, generous partners like you have provided more than 333,000 surgical procedures to help children with treatable disabilities walk, run, smile, play, and reach their full potential—all in a gospelcentered environment. And in 2024, we are committed to providing more children than ever before with the specialized medical care they need.
In addition to serving more kids, we will offer more comprehensive and ongoing care that extends long after a child leaves the operating room. We’re expanding physical therapy facilities, increasing patient space, and adding staff at all our hospitals. We’re also addressing every aspect of treatment required by patients with cleft lip and palate, including surgery, speech therapy,
nutritional support, orthodontia, and ENT (ear, nose, and throat) care.
Throughout the network, we are enhancing our efforts to treat more children with new or expanded surgical centers. In Uganda, Malawi, and Niger, construction is already underway, while Kenya and Ethiopia are soon to follow. These facilities will significantly advance CURE’s capacity to deliver the highest quality of specialized care to our vulnerable patients for decades to come.
There are many incredible improvements to look forward to across the CURE network. I encourage you to celebrate the impact you’re having on this life-changing mission.
Thank you!.
more kids!
At CURE Malawi, breaking ground on a new surgical center means building capacity to serve
