Month: May 2016

Dear Colleagues,

So far we have raised over $110,000 towards this year’s Doctor’s Day in May campaign. This will be enough to fund the wages component for many thousands of lid surgeries for trachoma, the training of nearly one hundred community health workers in Sierra Leone and lend substantial support for the wonderful work being done by the Barbara May Foundation in Ethiopia.

There is still plenty of time to contribute to this year’s campaign and I hope this message received over the weekend from Allan Kelly, paediatrician, might inspire you;

“This is a fantastic initiative. Although it is called “Twice the Doctor” it enables us to be many more times than twice the doctor. We are so lucky to be living in a country where one day of our pay enables us be doctors for a whole month somewhere else. The riches of this world are so unevenly distributed that the least we can do as the lucky few is to help to redress that imbalance.”

Recall that we primarily became doctors in order to help patients. I firmly believe that this type of contribution is a particularly effective way to help some of the most needful patients in the world.

twicethedoctor.org.au

Rob Baume

(on behalf of the Directors of Twice The Doctor Foundation)

30.5.2016

Dear colleagues,

We have raised close to $90,000 dollars so far for this year’s Doctor’s Day in May. Well done to all! This goes a long way in Africa.

There are many of you who I hope will still contribute to this year’s effort having given generously in previous years.

For logistical reasons the main launch at Royal Prince Alfred and affiliate hospitals will be this coming Friday, 27th so let’s hope for a big response. Some most generous donations have already been received.

Here are some comments received in the last few days from contributors. I hope they will inspire.

“The more that can be done to support the health and rights of women and children in developing countries, the better the world will be”. -David Martin, surgeon.

“TTD is a fabulous concept and has made a tremendous difference to thousands of people around the world in a relatively short time.”- Stephen Cala, physician.

“Independent of the amount of funds raised, you are helping to transfer the paradigm of giving towards a more efficient, less parochial and higher impact model.”- Simon Baume, strategist.

Please consider your contribution to this year’s campaign at

twicethedoctor.org.au

Regards to all

Rob Baume

(on behalf of the directors of TTD foundation)

25 May 2016

Dear Colleagues

Doctors Day in May is this Friday. I hope that you are in a position to join hundreds of other doctors who are participating this year – some have already made substantial contributions.

Please recall,

1. This is quite possibly the most effective and efficient way for the majority of us to use our medical skills in order to make a real contribution to health in the developing world. In other words, in most cases this is at least every bit as effective as if you would have travelled to Africa and volunteered.

2. Your contribution is greatly appreciated. Remind yourself just how much…

https://vimeo.com/user22571367/review/111162076/252a4a8f79

3. Your contribution is fully tax- deductible and the directors pay all administrative fees of the Foundation so your contribution is further leveraged.

Just imagine if you contributed a day’s pay on a yearly basis for 12 years. That would be the equivalent of paying an African doctor’s wage for about 1 year. In other words you could look back in 12 years’ time and realise you had effectively “volunteered for a year in Africa”. It’s not quite the same but in some ways it is better because wages feed into the local communities and new skill sets are acquired and preserved (particularly by training nurses). You would also be inspiring other doctors to get on board and you would be mentoring philanthropy to junior doctors coming through.

Not a bad 12 days’ work in 12 years! Possibly the most effective medical work you could do. This is indeed an opportunity. If there wasn’t a huge need and there wasn’t a large discrepancy between medical wages here compared with Africa, this opportunity would not exist!

Please make your contribution for Doctors Day in May at

twicethedoctor.org.au

Regards to all

Rob Baume

(On behalf of the directors of TTD Foundation)

17 May 2016

Dear Colleagues,

There is less than two weeks till Doctor’s Day in May- Friday, May 20th

Hope you will join hundreds – (perhaps a thousand or so?) of your colleagues in making a significant contribution to this year’s effort.

Please recall:

1. We have already raised over $300,000. This has gone towards training hundreds of health care workers who see thousands of mothers and children in Sierra Leone to reduce child and maternal mortality.

It has also helped train and pay the salaries of trachoma lid surgeons who have performed thousands of blindness-preventing surgeries in Ethiopia.

2. Royal Prince Alfred Hospital and its affiliate hospitals are organising a major launch of the Twice the Doctor concept for Doctor’s Day in May. They have indicated that they are committed to an ongoing annual programme.

Their contributions will go to the Barbara May Foundation who do excellent work in Ethiopia to reduce maternal mortality rate and birth complications.

3. The New Zealand branch of Twice the Doctor is being established.

This is an indication of the leveraging power of your combined efforts and speaks of the potential for a widespread multi-national programme.

Regards to all

Rob Baume

On behalf of the Directors of Twice the Doctor Foundation