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Supporting Graduate Medical Education in East Africa

August 27th, 2018 | 2 min read

By Matthew Loftus

As most of you who follow this blog know, I work full-time as a doctor in Kenya at a great hospital and have joined with a fantastic teaching program designed to educate East African physicians to be well-rounded medical professionals capable of serving their community. Our family has to raise support to be here, and I am incredibly thankful that I have a network of friends and churches who pray for us and generously support us so that I can work for the hospital and the Family Medicine residency without constantly asking for money.

The residency is in need of financial support to sponsor residents. I’ve published more details on our family blog about the how and why, but the long and short of it is that our residency has gotten some incredible applicants this year while simultaneously seeing our funding to support them cut. The cost to support their tuition is about $1000/year — slightly more than a cup of coffee a day, depending on what sort you drink — and I’m afraid I have no adorable pictures of orphan children wearing donated clothes to tug on your heartstrings. I can assure you, though, that the well-dressed African doctors this appeal will support are people who care deeply about their communities and will be serving the vulnerable across East Africa throughout their careers. Our four-year program equips them to do so more effectively; every $1000 per year means one more doctor who can treat, lead, teach, disciple, do research, improve the quality of care, and reach out to the surrounding community at an African hospital.

Our family chose to be a part of this work because we genuinely believe it will have the greatest possible impact over the course of our lifetime and the careers of the people we’re training. It’s not going to have the same immediate results as bednets for malaria or other worthwhile interventions, but we’re hoping and praying that it will bear more fruit over a lifetime. If you feel the same way and are able, we hope you’ll invest in the African physicians who want to bless their communities and are eager to learn the skills to do so. You can do so by clicking here. God bless and thanks for reading.

Pictured: Rising 3rd-year residents along with faculty in May 2018

Matthew Loftus

Matthew Loftus teaches and practices Family Medicine in Baltimore and East Africa. His work has been featured in Christianity Today, Comment, & First Things and he is a regular contributor for Christ and Pop Culture. You can learn more about his work and writing at www.MatthewAndMaggie.org