Many people are dying everyday from different diseases in Ethiopia. There is a disease called Noma that has a very high mortality rate. Ten percent of children die before their first birthday due to some type of disease. Noma does not attack the entire body like most diseases do. It only affects the face. It acts like gangrene would by deteriorating the tissue on the face. Many people end up unable to eat or talk. Those that do survive are left with severe scars and deformations. It is hard to reside in society when you have a severely disfigured face.Only one out of ten infected people will survive the disease.

Two surgeries are required to treat the infection, along with antibiotics. most of the people in Ethiopia cannot afford any medicine or treatment. One surgeon in particular was interested in these people suffering and decided to do what he could to help. Le Roux Fourie gathered a group of surgeons who were also willing to help. Fourie currently practices cosmetic surgery in Leeds.The surgeons went to Ethiopia for ten days to help the people. They ended up helping 44 people in ten days.

The first part of the trip was to examine several people to figure out who they were going to choose as their patients. The surgeries were successful, but this was only a small portion of people that needed help. Other surgeons wanted to help by forming more teams to travel to Ethiopia. They planned two separate trips the first year the mission was started. Some of the doctors were disappointed because there were so many people that were past the stage that they were able to undergo surgery. Too many people are dying painful deaths, that could be prevented if they were able to afford it. For further information you can find on Mr Fourie go to http://www.lerouxfourie.co.uk/