Made it to the Middle

It’s day # 7 of our trip and we have reached the middle of our marathon schedule in Addis. We are little sad with the departure of Emily for Nicaragua but more excited with the arrival of Dr. Mike Maier. His presence and time definitely conveys a lot of inspiration for our cause. Together, or in groups, our team had previously collected a lot of pieces of vital information building into our assumptions and thought processes. Today would be the day for further affirmation of some of our ideas and a happy run through with some potential partners.  
 
In the morning, Doran and Diane along with Dr. Maier visited the Black Lion hospital for a walking tour of the oncology department. The hospital conducts chemotherapy sessions on Tuesdays and Thursdays. So we thought it would be a good idea to have a feel of the chemo sessions and take points on the service standards, conditions of patients, and the challenges faced in local cancer treatment.  The hospital and its staff showed unbelievable dedication to every single one of its patients, despite its very tight resources constraints. 

​Other members of the team spent the morning meeting with the Ethiopian Institute of Architecture, Building Construction and City Development (EiABC).  The meeting centered around urban development and renewal plans for Addis Ababa, along with discussions about construction timing, costing, and complexities.

​The afternoon had some team members meeting with GE’s regional office.  The discussions centered around potential partnerships, as well as possible relevant equipment and services as they relate to the Regional Cancer Centre of Excellence.  As seems to be the norm for our meetings in Ethiopia, GE was very generous in their information and willingness to help the Regional Cancer Centre of Excellence succeed.  Another great meeting with another great partner. 
 
After completing most of our day’s agenda, we went on to see Mrs Sharon Ashton and get her views about doing business in Canada. Sharon is originally from Canada and has had a distinguished career in asset management with UBS, Toronto. Se moved to Ethiopia with her husband in 2003. Since then Sharon has devoted her time to the field of health in Ethiopia. Sharon initially worked in close conjunction with Black Lion hospital and then with St. Paul hospital before setting up her own eye clinic called WGGA Eye Centre. During the last 10 years, she along with Dr. Melaku Game has poineered various training programs in the health sector. The talk with Sharon was pretty insightful and we learned several ground facts about the border customs, regulatory agencies, work culture, and the lifestyle of Ethiopians. The talk concluded with a tour of her eye clinic which is aided with the latest opthalmic equipments, and whose walls are decorated with some great artwork by a local student. 

​The short tour of the eye clinic was followed by a nice dinner where we all de-stressed after a long eventful day. It was the most satisfying of the meals we had. Most of our meetings were done by now, and we had obtained all the information and insights we needed at the beginning of this trip. Later we returned back to the hotel and had our customary debrief session before calling it a day.