Doctors volunteer so patients get care at Salam Medical Center in Egypt

Dr. Freddy Elbaiady, Director of Salam Medical Center in Egypt remembers when an old man came to him requesting a duplex ultrasound scan for his leg arteries. When Dr. Elbaiady explained that the hospital did not have such an expensive machine, the old man began to cry, knowing that Salam Medical Center was most likely the only place he could find such a procedure at low or no cost.

Dr. Elbaiady recounted the story in a recent visit to the Medical Benevolence Foundation offices in Houston during a tour of PC(USA) churches. He says he came to the U.S. to tell people how God honored the efforts of a small 40-member church to found a medical center in an area of great need, and keep it going for 14 years. One hour north of Cairo, in a rural area of extreme poverty, Salam Medical Center, a PC(USA)/MBF partner, offers quality medical help to more than 30,000 people each year, much of it free. Doctors at the center volunteer so that patients can afford the care they receive.

With the help of generous donors, Salam Medical Center now has an ultrasound scanner. “It was a great challenge for us,” said Dr. Elbaiady. “The machine cost about $70,000 and all we had was $5,000. I said to the board, we have to get this machine. We started to pray for it, and ask our friends for help.” In two weeks, a donor in the United States offered half the money if Salam could raise the rest. “We worked hard, day and night,” Elbaiady said. It took them almost a year to raise the money, but they were able to purchase the machine, and “It has been a great help to thousands of patients since then.”

Salam Medical Center depends on the generosity of donors through MBF and others to keep it going. The center can also use volunteers to train doctors and nurses to work there.

For more information, please contact MBF at 800-547-7627 or online at www.MBFoundation.org.