It was a breadth of hope and relief to some 200 patients when a team of 20 medical professionals from Restore Worldwide Inc. touched down at Agogo in the Asante Akim North Municipality of the Ashanti Region, to conduct free surgeries for 200 beneficiaries requiring corrective, reconstructive and restorative surgeries.
The medical mission hosted by the Agogo Presbyterian Hospital was made possible by the Brogya Foundation and the kind benevolence of Renowned Beverly Hills plastic surgeon, Dr. Michael K. Obeng who founded Restore Inc.
The beneficiaries many of whom traveled from as far as the Upper East and Volta Regions of Ghana comprised underprivileged persons with congenital deformities and others who had suffered deformities as a result of medical conditions, burns and accidents.
Describing the importance of such interventions; Head of Plastic Surgery at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital Dr. Paa-Ekow Hoyte-Williams expressed worry several patients continue to suffer needlessly due to their inability to afford the cost of such surgeries.
“We have over thirty medical professionals in plastic and reconstructive surgery in Ghana but the challenge with these patients is the affordability. If we don’t do these surgeries for them for free, their lives will never be changed. Most of these patients have been referred to bigger centers for surgeries but they cannot just go,” he lamented.
Dr. Paa-Ekow Hoyte-Williams who also serves as Director of Medical Affairs for Restore was particularly excited that patients who have suffered stigma and social exclusion or lost their jobs as a result of their deformities could be restored to normal lives.
“Our aim is to provide reconstructive efforts to restore individuals who are maimed either through birth deformities or acquired deformities such as burns, trauma and those who have lost all their ability to socialize because of these deformities. We are here for people whose function have been impaired like the six year old boy who had burns that have contracted all his fingers.”
“He cannot stretch out his hands nor hold a cup. The aim is to release his fingers so that he can hold a cup, clean himself and eat all by himself,” he pointed out.
Patients Relief and Community Impact:
True to the dire need for the medical outreach, the team screened over 300 patients and selected 200 beneficiaries with an overall aim to totally transform 150 patients for free.
The patients who were lost for words could not bottle in their joy, praising and seeking blessings for the two foundations and their staff who were ready to spend more than a week to offer them healthcare they could have never afforded.
Some of the patients who spoke to GHONE News; recounted how they had been rendered unable to go back to their farms to work while others narrated how they had kept themselves indoors, unable to mingle with the public as a result of their deformities.
Commitment from Brogya Foundation:
Founder for the Brogya Foundation, Nana Bediako Brogya Sarpong who doubles as the Dompiahene, Agogo Traditional Area was touched by the commitment of the team and the passion to restore hope to the patients.
Recounting how he approached Dr Michael Obeng to rally the Restore Team to visit Agogo, he described the intervention as a rare privilege and a lifetime opportunity for the patients who until the project, would have been left to their fate.
““When I see these patients with burns, deformities and medical conditions especially when they have no hope for support, I get humbled because it could happen to anyone including me. I believe this is my contribution to my country, to Agogo and to the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II.” He remarked.
Agogo Omanhene commends:
Expressing his gratitude, the Paramount Chief of the Agogo Traditional Area Nana Kwame Akuoko Sarpong who addressed a short inaugural ceremony; encouraged the Brogya Foundation and Restore Worldwide Inc., to consider either establishing a specialist medical school in Agogo or support exchange programs to train more specialists to offer reconstructive surgeries at affordable costs in Agogo.
He urged Ghanaians living abroad to follow Nana Bediako Brogya Sarpong’s example by seeking opportunities to support their home country, insisting that the burden of addressing these healthcare challenges cannot be solely bourn by government.
Additionally, the Member of Parliament for Asante Akim North Hon. Lawyer Andy Appiah Kubi supported the mission with GHc50,000 to offset the cost of medical consumables.
Global impact of Restore Inc.:
Restore Worldwide Inc. has for the past 16 years conducted over two thousand surgeries across three continents in countries such as Guatemala, Laos, Mexico, Nigeria, and Gabon offering hope to thousands of families and restoring hope in hopeless and dire situations.
Director of International Relations for RESTORE Dawn Sutherland had special plaudits for Dr. Barry Freeman, Chief of Anesthesia Services at MiKO Plastic Surgery in Beverly Hills; who retired last year but had kept faith with the team since it started its missions some seventeen years ago.
She assured that the team had grown stronger in its resolve to continue touching lives and restoring hope in several underserved communities across the globe.
The team of experts were drawn from several countries including the United States of America, Germany, France, Mali, Senegal, and Congo among others.
Director of International Relations for RESTORE Dawn Sutherland .pngFounder for the Brogya Foundation, Nana Bediako Brogya Sarpong .pngDr. Paa-Ekow Hoyte-Williams Director of Medical Affairs for Restore Inc.png
