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Imagine A 37 Year Commitment – Angola Day 9

Foster and Child

 

My colleague, Steve Foster, is a renowned Canadian surgeon. In 1975, he and his classy wife Peggy arrived in Angola in one of the bloodier phases of this nation’s civil war. As a young physician right out of tropical medicine school I enjoyed a six-month residency on site at Kalukembe Hospital under Dr. Foster’s tutelage. He’s the man whom I most credit for translating my book knowledge into experience-tested skills. But unlike me, who left Angola after only two years, the Fosters have endured for thirty-seven through unimaginable difficulties: severe illness, emotional isolation, financial stress, child-rearing challenges, parent-providing difficulties, and the constant pressure to give medical care in a setting where access to no doctor is the norm. And the earthly reward? Deep respect and admiration throughout the world.

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