'Hope Rwanda' Recruits Medical Specialists to Join Massive Effort
A team of 35 surgeons, nurses, anesthetists, as well as a cardiologist, pathologist, biomedical engineer and lab technician will be part of Hope Rwanda: 100 Days of Hope.
A team of Christian heart surgeons from across Australia will travel to Rwanda next month as part of a global missions project that aims to bring hope to Rwanda through one-hundred days of global compassion.
The “Operation Open Heart” team of 35 surgeons, intensive care unit nurses, ward nurses, anesthetists, as well as a cardiologist, pathologist, biomedical engineer and lab technician will be part of Hope Rwanda: 100 Days of Hope. The team will perform life-saving surgery on children and adults with rheumatic and congenital heart disease and reconstructive surgery on children and adults with cleft lip and/or palate deformities.
“We still need the services of four cardiothoracic pediatric intensive care nurses,” said Operation Open Heart’s Russell Lee in a news release on Mar. 8. “The team will perform closed cardiac surgery and teach local medical professionals how to conduct this type of surgery so that they can do it on their own when we leave.
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“We’ll also conduct open heart surgery using the heart lung machines and will teach local professionals how to do this, but this type of surgery takes many years to learn.”
Hope Rwanda, founded by Mark and Darlene Zschech of Hillsong Church in Australia, is a project that helps bring together Christian churches and ministries – such as Book of Hope International, Hillsong Australia, Joyce Meyer Ministries, Saddleback Church, Willow Creek Church, Operation Open Heart, and the Rwanda for Jesus Revival Centre – to bring hope back to the country through construction projects, medical assistance, and educational aids among other efforts.
Between Apr. 7 and Jul. 15 this year, Hope Rwanda will cover the same 100 days as the 1994 genocide in which almost one million Rwandans were murdered. Hope Rwanda is aimed at reminding the world of this year’s 12th anniversary of the genocide.
Over three tons of medical equipment and drugs will be shipped to King Faisal Hospital in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda, including heart lung machines, ventilators, heart monitors, disposable equipment and drugs worth a total of about $500,000.
The team will be in Rwanda between Apr. 6 and Apr. 16.
“Hope Rwanda gives the western world an opportunity to help the Rwandan people rebuild their nation,” said Darlene Zschech.
“We want to help restore this nation to its full potential and to transform the future and hope of an entire generation.”
