2017 Gerson L’Chaim Prize
Following a successful inaugural award presented to Dr. Jason Fader of Kibuye Hope Hospital, Burundi, AMHF is pleased to announce a call for applications for the 2017 Gerson L’Chaim Prize for Outstanding Christian Medical Missionary Service. The winner’s institution will receive $500,000 toward high-impact health projects.
Long-term medical missionaries providing day-to-day clinical care on-the-ground in Africa are eligible to apply. Applications are available online through June 5th, 2017.
Last year’s winner Dr. Jason Fader of Burundi is already putting the Prize funds to good use. The new surgical ward should open soon. Orthopedic supplies are allowing broken bodies to walk again. And equipment for the medical school learning lab is en route from the US. Says Dr. Fader:
“We are truly grateful for the generosity and hospitality of the Gerson family shown through the L’Chaim Prize. Not only are they genuinely interested in the well-being of the sick in rural Burundi, but they also understand the unique needs here. They have been a pleasure to work with and are blazing a trail by which I hope many will be encouraged, and in which I hope many will follow. Their generosity have already started to bear fruit in Burundi, seen through people walking again, students learning, and the hospital growing.”
Christian health facilities provide a significant portion of the continent’s quality services and medical education. The Rabbi Erica and Mark Gersons’ motivation for offering the Prize was shared in an essay last year:
…all is not lost and hope exists, in part because of a group of people who are devoting their lives to the stranger, the sick, and the impoverished. These people are leaving their friends and their non-nuclear families behind for long periods, forsaking the comforts of the West (from dependable electricity to professional advancement to physical safety to retirement security) and immersing themselves in entirely new languages and cultures in order to live their love for the stranger.
A panel of experts in African clinical care, including two-time Aurora Prize Finalist Dr. Tom Catena of the Nuba Mountains, will select the winner from shortlisted candidates. An announcement is expected in November 2017.
To learn more, visit www.amhf.us/lchaim.
African Mission Healthcare Foundation is a US 501(c)3 charity which has assisted 30 institutions in 13 countries. Its support has enabled nearly a half million patient visits and over 10,000 surgeries. AMHF has provided 103 scholarships in health-related fields and has trained 2,500 HIV care providers in Kenya.
