We travelled to Vietnam in September 2009 as part of the Facing the World team to working to help develop a multidisciplinary Facial Reconstruction Centre at the Danang General Hospital in Central Vietnam. (OK Sarah didn't but she will be joining is this August 2010 !!)
This four year programme will include both training in Vietnam and fellowships in the UK.
We were struck by the enthusiasm and passion of our partners at the Danang General and amazed by what they had acheived with so little support. One of the things that stuck us particularly as medical professionals was how they were able to acheive as much as they were able to with such limited instruments. They were performing neurosurgery with drills that would occasionally stop working half way through proceedures - leaving them to finish proceedures with only hand drills.
We know that despite the best will in the world no level of skills that we can impart that without the right instruments - instruments we all take for granted in the UK - that they will never be able to perform the surgeries that we know they are capable of ... and as a result hundreds if not thousands of people will not receive the treatment that they need.
We are willing to put our feet where our hearts and minds are and are asking for your support to help us make a real difference in the lives of those living with facial disfigurement in Central Vietnam.
Please support us as generously as you can.
