The January mission included a brief stay in Ouéléssébougou so that I could perform surgery with Dr. Oumar Bagayoko and his team, as we have for the past 11 years – ours is a partnership, and friendship, that is cherished by all. Dr. Oumar’s Clinique Paix provides low-cost surgical care throughout the year using only local anesthesia. Previously when working with a full medical mission team we’d bring anesthesiologists and equipment, but after the 2012 coup concerns prohibited sending large teams to Mali, our small team continues the annual mission, working with Malian anesthesia teams. 

Dr. Oumar has contacts in the main teaching hospital in the capital Bamako who have helped source the doctors and equipment. Funding these teams enables us to provide needed procedures, primarily thyroidectomies, that otherwise aren’t possible in the region, and also helps foster the cross-cultural knowledge-sharing and collaboration that we believe is key to a successful international partnership. During the past 3 years, the Bamako doctors have also brought residents to assist and learn from our joined team – a point of pride for Dr. Oumar, that his small, rural clinic is helping train new doctors for Mali.