Children's Surgery International

09/16/2025

🏓 What an incredible night at our first-ever CSI Pickleball Social at Lucky Shots Pickleball Club on Sunday!

Together, we raised more than $4,000 to support life-changing pediatric care around the world. Every serve truly made a difference — thank you for playing with purpose.

09/04/2025

SNEAK PEEK! Check out these amazing raffle items up for grabs at our Pickleball Social on Sunday, September 14!

🎟️ Buy one raffle ticket for $15 or five for $50. Pursuant to Minnesota gambling laws, raffle tickets must be purchased with cash, check, or debit card. Can't make the event but want to purchase raffle tickets ahead of time? Contact us at veronika@childrenssurgeryintl.org

🏓 Tickets are still available for our Pickleball Social! Get yours today at https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/pickleball-social

08/25/2025

Planning and preparations are underway for this continued collaboration that will bring life-changing care to children in The Gambia. CSI is grateful to all the stakeholders making this impactful mission possible!

His Excellency Momodou Lamin Bah, Ambassador of the Republic of The Gambia to the United States, on Thursday August 21, 2025 attended a stakeholder virtual meeting that the Embassy organized between the Minnesota based Non-profit Organisations - Children’s Surgery International (CSI) and Impact Health The Gambia with the Ministries of Health, Basic and Secondary Education, Gender, Children, and Social Welfare, and Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital (EFSTH). These institutions were represented by Permanent Secretaries at the meeting.

Impact Health-The Gambia is a Non-profit Organisation based in Minnesota and it was founded by a Gambian with the objective of supporting the healthcare system in The Gambia. It is also worth noting that Children’s Surgery International (CSI) is a voluntary Non-government organization that provides free pediatric medical and surgical services as well as professional education and training to health professionals, children and families across the globe.

A team of 16 doctors from CSI are supposed to travel to The Gambia in November 2025 to provide services with a view to reduce healthcare disparities and increase access to life-changing surgical care by helping communities obtain the knowledge, skills and tools to provide life-changing surgical and medical care for children. The team is expected to engage key stakeholders and are expected to teach parents how to take care of kids with special healthcare needs.

The objective of the meeting was to come up with measures that would help the doctors have a hitch-free medical mission to The Gambia. The meeting also provided the opportunity to find out ways of better aligning CSI Action Plan for The Gambia with that of the Ministry of Health.

Click the link for details on the website: https://gambiaembassydc.gm/2025/08/26/the-embassy-organises-stakeholder-meeting-ahead-of-childrens-surgery-international-medical-mission-to-the-gambia/

08/14/2025

Remember baby Yamlak? In February, she weighed just 8.5 pounds at 8 months old and was too fragile for cleft surgery. Her mother walked 4+ hours barefoot to bring her to our team.

Fast forward to last week: We stood beside Dr. Kassaw — CSI’s first ENT fellow — as he performed Yamlak's complex cleft palate repair at Felege Hiwot Hospital in Bahir Dar. This was her second procedure, following her successful cleft lip repair by Dr. Kassaw in May.

Yamlak's transformation from a critically malnourished baby to a thriving child represents everything CSI stands for: sustainable care, local training, collaboration, and never giving up on a child in need.

During this trip, the team met several other children who, like Yamlak once was, are too small and malnourished for surgery. CSI is already collaborating with our partners to help them grow stronger so that they can receive the specialized surgeries they need — and have endings like Yamlak's.


College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Bahir Dar University, Ethiopia.

08/08/2025

Our volunteer team of four is heading home after an incredible week in Bahir Dar, working side-by-side with Dr. Kassaw — Pediatric ENT & Facial Plastic Surgery Fellow — and an outstanding team of local colleagues.

Dr. Kassaw shared this reflection: “This week at Felege Hiwot Comprehensive Specialized Hospital, we performed 19 critical surgeries. CSI doctors who came from America deserve great thanks for their cooperation. Thank you for teaching us so much professional knowledge and skills.”

We are deeply grateful to everyone who made this trip possible — especially our partners at the College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Bahir Dar University, Ethiopia. and Felege Hiwot Hospital.

Together, we not only changed lives this week, but also strengthened skills that will help countless more children for years to come. 💙🌍

08/07/2025

It was another productive day of training and collaboration to change lives in Ethiopia. Read more reflections from CSI volunteer pediatrician, Dr. Jesse Hennum:

Back home in Minnesota, it’s late summer at our family’s garden. After months of the essential sunshine, water, and nutrients, we’re harvesting veggies as fast as we can. In Ethiopia our four person team finds ourselves right in the middle of the rainy season. At the equator, the sun is shining, the soil is rich, but the rain is often scarce. So this season, rain means growth, stability, security, and harvest.

Things are looking up in Bahir Dar. The city is green and lush. The regional conflicts have eased, and the government has lifted the curfew. Business is starting to pick up, and people feel safer. The tourism industry is hopeful that they’ll bounce back from the two-year slump.

I noticed a sign above the door at the hospital that says “This building is renovated by I-TECH Ethiopia funded by PEPFAR.” PEPFAR, a U.S. medical aid program, has been around since 2003 and has given over $120 billion in aid. This program narrowly escaped the biggest cut ever in U.S. foreign aid this year.

This week our team got a real glimpse into life in northern Ethiopia, even in good times. Some young babies were too underweight for surgery. They have oral problems that make it hard for them to take breast milk, so they need formula. But their parents can’t afford formula, which costs about $11 per can, roughly 20% of the average monthly wage of $55. Despite the growing cities and infrastructure, some young people in Ethiopia are worried that there won’t be enough jobs. So they’re making a dangerous trip to the west, crossing the Sahara Desert and taking a boat across the Mediterranean.

As we began the week, I wondered what we could do in such a tough situation. But then we saw those familiar faces to our team: nurses, medical residents, anesthesia providers, and the lead surgeon (and our first Pediatric ENT fellow) Dr. Kassaw. We were reminded of these amazing professionals’ dedication to learning and their commitment to the people and the future of Ethiopia.

How will Ethiopia improve? A garden needs sun, soil, and rain. What does Ethiopia need? How can CSI help? Can we provide one of those essential things? What else is needed? For now, these big questions have to wait. The patients are here, and Dr. Kassaw and the team are awaiting our instructions and guidance. Time to put away the umbrellas and get to work!

Hiwot Comprehensive Specialized Hospital

08/06/2025

Yesterday, young Habtamu received treatment for a lymphatic malformation. CSI-trained ENT fellow Dr. Kassaw performed sclerotherapy, removing the fluid and injecting medication to help the area scar down.

CSI focuses on providing our local partners specialized pediatric surgical training so children like Habtamu can receive timely care — now and into the future.

08/05/2025

Surgery day #2 is wrapping up in Ethiopia - it's been a special day full of collaboration, training and familiar faces. Read more from CSI volunteer operating room nurse, Wendy Vaughan:

It’s difficult to put into words the range of emotions I feel returning to Bahir Dar for the third time. There is so much poverty here—this city struggles deeply—but it is also filled with so much beauty. The hugs and smiles from familiar faces, from colleagues I’ve worked with on previous trips, mean the world. They top everything. And the children are so beautiful - they are both curious and cautious around us. Can you imagine what it must feel like for them to meet strangers like me?

This fellowship trip is a little different from our typical ones. We’re a smaller team with a very specific focus on surgical teaching. Truthfully, we learn almost as much from them as they do from us.

So much planning, time, energy, and resources go into even a small a trip like this. But if we can help change a child’s life—and build relationships in a world so full of conflict and hate—then these trips are worth every ounce of effort we put into them.

Thank you to everyone who supports us in any way—you make this life changing work possible!

College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Bahir Dar University, Ethiopia.
Taitu Tour and Travel Ethiopia

08/04/2025

The Pediatric ENT and Facial Plastic Surgery Fellowship training trip is off to a strong start. 35 patients screened today and scheduled for surgery. Incredible collaboration and efficiency from our volunteers and local partners — more to come as the week unfolds!


College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Bahir Dar University, Ethiopia.

05/06/2025

What a night! ✨ Thanks to your incredible support, Saturday's Be the Light Gala raised $479,000 to support life-changing care for children and empower local medical professionals in our partner communities around the world. Together, we're creating lasting change.

There's still time to give! Go to onecau.se/csigala2025 to make a donation to Be the Light.