Dear Colleagues,
Over the past 6 months, educational activities continued on existing projects in Asia, Africa and Latin America thanks to the ongoing work of our Education Committee and the generous colleagues who selflessly provide their time and effort to deliver the curriculum set out by the Education Committee. In Malaysia, we completed the module on Trauma in April, this being the second of four courses planned for Malaysia. I am pleased that we managed to do so despite the volcano ash issue which hindered travel of European lecturers at exactly the time the course was scheduled. The courses in Encarnacion, Paraguay and Nairobi, Kenya also went ahead on schedule with the by-now-expected and welcome excellent response of participants. In addition, former Foundation Chairman John Williams continues his efforts to complete the equipping of two operating rooms in Dar Es-Salam, Tanzania through donation of relevant equipment and I am grateful to him. Equally, through the efforts of another former Foundation Chairman, Paul Stoelinga, a good selection of surgical consumable equipment was generously donated by KLS Martin and carried over to Nairobi by Thijs Merkx and Jan de Visscher who were our two lecturers for the latest module.
Next year 2011 will see the scheduled completion of all the courses mentioned above and the Foundation Board is busy evaluating and carefully planning future projects presented to it by the Education committee.
The IAOMS training fellowships are set to start this coming September and we are very grateful to the training centres in Shanghai and Beijing, People’s Republic of China; Pretoria in South Africa; Bandung in Indonesia; and Orlando, Florida in the USA which have committed to support the fellowships in Oral and Maxillofacial Oncology and Reconstructive Surgery, and Cleft Lip and Palate and Craniofacial Surgery. They will receive the successful fellows and provide them with training based on a curriculum set by the Academic Committee of each SIG and endorsed by the Education Committee. Competition for the three fellowship slots was stiff, with a total of 36 applicants, making the selection process a difficult one. We are confident that the three fellows will have a unique experience that will significantly enhance their surgical careers.
I cannot mention the fellowship project without expressing on behalf of the IAOMS Board, Education Committee and SIG Academic Committees our gratitude and recognition of the financial support received from Synthes and Biomet Microfixation for the fellowship project. Their support has enabled us to provide subsistence living expenses to each of the fellows for the year without encumbrance, and we will be seeking to continue this arrangement. We are also looking into increasing the number of fellowships as well as the number of SIGs to widen the scope of fellowship training.
Apart from earmarked grants in support of the fellowship project, donations to the Foundation from individual IAOMS members and affiliated associations remain the mainstay of Foundation income. This year once again every member of the executive committee has donated to the foundation. I would like to appeal to one other group in particular, Life members, to donate to the foundation. Their initial contribution, for which they were awarded life membership of the IAOMS, came at a time of need for the association and remains well appreciated to this day. I would like to suggest that the time of need is here again if we are to continue with Foundation funding of new projects in the future. Certainly the demand is ever increasing, and the mission and potential contribution of IAOMS to the profession is undergoing significant transformation as we speak, hence the urgent need for donations. Our Life members and all members indeed are also being asked to consider bequeathing to IAOMS in their will and our distinguished former treasurer Don Booth, who first suggested this idea, will be advising on how best to initiate this campaign.
