It took 25 hours of continuous travel to get to Dar Es Salam, Tanzania.

In spite of our exhaustion, were very excited. We come to meet with hundreds of patients and their families. And to thank some of our best surgeons and partner hospitals.

I have been to Africa many times but you never get used to the poverty.Out of 180 countries in the world, only 18 are poorer than Tanzania.  The average lifespan here is around 59 years and the average income is less than a dollar a day.  Chronic malnutrition – a fancy term for starvation – is a major problem here.

Almost 40% of the malnourished children suffer from” stunting” which affects mental and physical development. It limits their weight, their height, but more importantly their IQ.

Almost 3,000,000 Tanzanian children under the age of five are stunted. Before they even reach their fifth birthday, their lives are doomed.