CURE International is a phenomenal charity working from the US and UK to fund private hospitals in 9 developing countries including Malawi, where Ruth volunteered for 6 months.  Ruth was one of a team of four (led by a UK Anaesthetic consultant), providing anaesthetics for the children.

The premise behind the Beit CURE International Hospital in Blantyre, Malawi is that 'Adults pay a fee so that kids can walk free' (ie the richer patients pay for their joint replacements and cover the costs of the kids' operations).  It's an amazing facility with enthusiastic staff (80% local and 20% ex-pats) and great practice - using donated equipment and medicines (conditions and funds allowing), to provide a safe quality service.

Orthopaedic and fundraising staff travel all round the country doing clinics, scooping up kids who've never walked (whose pathology in the UK would have been corrected at 6months old), up to 18years old.   They profile the kids on the website to encourage direct donations to specific causes, then arrange group transport (for the child and one guardian) to the hospital, where a group of 20 will have their operations scheduled over one week.

The service is expemplary and the work ethic of the staff is what makes this all function to the highest standard.  Can you imagine that on my first day Ruth got hugs from all the theatre team - the best welcome of any placement she's ever done!

Malawi is the second poorest country in the world with average wage (of the one wage earner in the house), of less than $1/day.  It is also an incredibly peaceful, very christian country - it's completely humbling and awe-inspiring seeing these local poverty striken people, the happiest and most grateful you've ever met, singing and praising every morning before ward rounds, so grateful for receiving what they perceive as a gift from God, where we would assume the treatment as a right on the NHS.  AMAZING!

Lucy came out for 3 weeks and worked in the physio department of the hospital - and even Mum and Dad Tighe visited - they experienced a similar welcome and overwhelming  sense of seeing at grass roots a charity project that IS working, currently, day by day, changing lives.  Sounds cheesy but its true....

so family tighe are dressing ridiculously and running paris marathon this weekend (think as a bumblebee/ladybird/the queen - zut alhors)!  Please help us give something back to this wonderful cause - because we know that we got more from working for them than they got from us, the experience was unforgetable.