Though the team has left Egypt the goodwill is still reverberating from this visit. After the majority of the team, led by Mission Director Michael Fish, had left, seven Rotaplast volunteers stayed behind to take a tour down the Nile. Dr. Sherif took this opportunity to have the group meet yet another local TV station for an interview. Then he had a special treat – to have them meet with the Grand Mufti of Egypt, Dr. Ali Gomaa. Dr. Gomaa is a leading dignitary in Egypt. The meeting went very well. Dr. Gomaa presented gifts of appreciation certificates and presents to all the members of the team. He also promised to collaborate with Rotaplast on future missions.
In the meantime, Peter Lagarias, Co-Founder, Heather Merriam, Executive Director, and Brian Walker, Volunteer, were staffing the Rotaplast booth at the 100th annual Rotary International Convention. Having a booth at this convention, which was attended by more than 16,000 Rotarians from all over the world, gave Rotaplast the opportunity to spread the word about the success of the Egypt mission. The booth was visited by Rotarians from, among many other countries, Egypt. Thanks to the publicity generated during the visit, the Egyptian Rotarians there had already heard about the 127 new smiling faces in Egypt. There was even a rumor that it had been shown on CNN. They were helped at the booth by DG Ayman el Dakhakhni, an Egyptian himself, who led district 5000 (Hawaii) to co-sponsor this mission.
I spent two years in Egypt and never saw a clinic with fresh paint. That's been done for photo ops. Either that, or they did it in only the best hospitals where the patients aren't poor like they are in other areas of Cairo and Alexandria. Get away from the Nile and you see that a lot.
Posted by: CAPlastic Surgeon | August 31, 2010 at 10:23 PM