November 2014
It has been exactly seven years since the Swissclinical Foundation started its work in Bulgaria and the entire team is still just as enthusiastic as ever. Assisted by Dimitri and Ketsia, everyone has done an excellent job this week. Many ortheses have been supplied and countless consultations have taken place, including many new cases. The feedback from parents and children has been very positive.
The foundation’s excellent reputation is also attracting more and more professionals from the medical and orthopaedic fields: we once again enjoyed a visit from Dr Stamen Stalev (see September 2014 newsletter), in addition to visits from Angel and another of Dr Gyurov’s employees, who was particularly interested in orthopaedic equipment. We will benefit from his presence during our forthcoming stays and offer him the best training in cooperation with Dr Gyurov.
We were also visited by Mr Erkki Wollstein and his friend Arthur, who came to us from Armenia. Mr Wollstein contacted the foundation after finding out about our work from our website. He would like to get involved in our engagement in Bulgaria together with Arthur, an orthopaedic technician who works in orthopaedics on a regular basis in Armenia. As both are motivated by a strong humanitarian commitment, we are planning for Arthur to come and stay in Stara Zagora for three or six months to support us with our activities (equipment, technician training) and initiate classes in various universities. With his assistance, we could even organise an information day on orthopaedic treatment techniques. We think that it is important to promote these orthotic and prosthetic techniques since they are often unknown to the medical profession and the public. Following a period of long reflection and many discussions, we hope to make this planned commitment a reality in 2015.
The next visit will take place 20-25 January 2015.