Hello and welcome to our first newsletter of 2020!

In this month’s issue, we reflect on our recent mission to Yemen, and share Dr Koma Akim’s story. We’ll also be offering you a chance to run the Royal Parks Half Marathon on behalf of the Foundation!

Thank you as always for your continued support and generosity. 

HEST Yemen

 

The DNF team, in partnership with MSF Spain, recently returned from our latest mission to Yemen, which brought in 31 surgeons from across the country for a specialised five-day training course.

Since 2015, Yemen has been the stage of one of the world’s worst humanitarian catastrophes. At the front-lines of this conflict are the surgeons and medics who face the challenge of saving lives with limited training and a lack of resources. Our Hostile Environment Surgical Training course (HEST) was designed to confront this problem, training doctors in a wide range of trauma topics including obstetrics, abdominal, orthopaedics and paediatrics.

Using our bespoke body simulator, our cutting edge VR learning experience and a range of case studies, our Faculty was successful in equipping these surgeons with the specialised skills they need to be the best doctors possible.

You can read more about this course and our other missions here.

On your marks….get set…..go!

Last October, we were thrilled to have six runners take on the Royal Parks Half Marathon on behalf of DNF. A first for the Foundation! Raising over £10,000 between them, their efforts were enough to fund ten places on our overseas training course.

Building on last year’s success, we have reserved nine spots for the 21km race this October. So, if you’re looking for a challenge and would like to actively raise money for the Foundation, please fill out this Google form to tell us about your motivation for running the Royal Parks Half.

Places will go fast and the Google form closes on Friday 21st February so be quick!

 

Spotlight on Dr Koma Akim

 

In this latest instalment of our #wardoctorheroes series, we’re proud to introduce Dr Koma Akim  from South Sudan.

Koma regularly deals with gunshot and arrow wounds as a result of cattle rustling and violent ethnic clashes. The patients that survive long enough to reach his care are often in a very bad state, and Dr Akim lacks the medical resources to treat them.

In 2019, Koma attended our London-based STAE course where he learnt vital plastic surgery and vascular skills. He told us: “being able to practise it means I have the confidence to do it in a real situation. If I can do it, I can teach it.”

 

 

 

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If you have a moment, it would mean a lot to us if you could fill in our communications survey. Tell us what we’re doing right and what we could do better and we’ll take your advice on board. 

Thank you for your time!