Twice a year, a team of American Plastic Surgeons join the team at Arusha Lutheran Medical Centre in Arusha, donating their time to help the children of The Plaster House and northern Tanzania.
Arusha, Tanzania. The children are brought here with a variety of injuries and disabilities: from cleft palates to burn scar contractures after burns sustained most usually from falling into cooking fires. Without the doctors help, it is likely that these largely operable conditions, would never be fixed.
Many of the children have never been in a hospital before, or even a large town. Grace was undergoing surgery to have a large and painful burn scar contracture on her neck and upper torso released allowing her neck free movement. At first she was terrified, but the doctors and nurses talked to her and gently restrained her until she was under anesthetic. Justin, aged 14, fell into a cooking fire after suffering an epileptic seizure, sustaining 3rd degree burns to one arm which later had to be amputated, was having surgery to repair and widen his nostrils. Dr Bill Brown, plastic surgeon, has been coming to Selian Hospital for over 20 years and has been very much involved in Justin’s recovery in the 4 years since his accident.
With thanks to the teams at The Plaster House and the Arusha Lutheran Medical Centre.
To see more of the work of The Plaster House, view the documentary film - The Conservation Conundrum, Episode One, Health HERE
