Federal grants will help a Christian group in their ministry in Africa

By June 12, 2006

USA (MNN/CURE) — C. Scott Harrison, M.D., CEO and founder of CURE International , announced today that CURE International received grants from USAID ASHA to expand the neurological training center in east and central Africa and the orthopedic residency program in Kenya. USAID ASHA (American Schools and Hospitals Abroad) provides grants to private, non-profit schools and medical centers abroad. Their goal is to help pass on the benefits of American practices in education and medicine to foreign nationals to foster favorable relations with the U.S. and promote civil societies.

While 86 medical and teaching institutions world wide applied for funds, only 40 grants were awarded through this competitive process. Awards were made based on the need in countries and the organizations demonstrated capacity to meet those needs.

CURE’s Executive Vice President Craig Hammon says $450,000 was award to their program in Kenya. “It’s essentially a construction grant. The construction is toward the end of establishing a comprehensive orthopedic surgery residency program at our hospital in Kijabe, Kenya.”

According to Hammon, this is a great need. “There currently is not really any kind of effective residency program in east or central Africa for orthopedic surgeons. And, we’re committed to training programs on site, not training programs that will send these doctors to the U-S or the U-K for training.”

The grant will allow them to add four new operating rooms and they’ll double the patient ward at the hospital, but it will do more than that. “The increased number of patients that are coming, the increased number of trainees that are coming to the hospital will give us a much broader field for Christian and spiritual outreach.”

The second grant of $350, 000 was awarded to CURE International Children’s Hospital of Uganda in Mbale. This grant will be used to expand the only neurological training research center of its kind in sub-Saharan (not including South Africa). CURE Uganda was established in 2000 and has seen 17,650 outpatients and performed 4,233 surgeries.

While the funding is important for growth at the hospitals, support for children they’re trying to help is even more important, says Hammon. “We’re not in the business of building hospitals, we’re in the business of helping children. We’re currently performing operations on disabled kids in all of our hospitals, but particularly in Kenya. The total cost (for the surgery is about) $1,000.”

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