ABOUT - Dr Bjarte Tidemann Andersen

Tesfa is an Ethiopian word that means hope - we want to be an outstretched hand to those who have the least and need the most help.

The story of Tesfa started with a dream, a calling, with me during my medical studies. I wanted to be a surgeon in Africa. Together with my wife Helen and the children, we were deployedfor two periods for the Norwegian Lutheran Mission. The first period was a two-month stay at the hospital in Jinka in 2004, then a two-year stay in Addis Ababa and Jinka from 2006 to 2008.

For me, the story of the Good Samaritan in Luke's Gospel has always been a deep inspiration. I want to show Christian charity in meeting fellow human beings and contribute to giving hope - tesfa - to those who suffer.

Our first encounter with Africa was Jinka in 2004. The town is idyllically located in the south-west corner of Ethiopia. On the edge of the Rift Valley and surrounded by people who live in a traditional way according to old customs and culture. This is the land of the tribes. We felt far from home, Jinka was 250 km from the nearest paved road. The electricity and landline phone worked sporadically and there was no mobile phone network.

In 2006 we came back to Ethiopia and after language school we returned to Jinka. Here I served as a surgeon, gynaecologist, orthopedist, anesthetist for around 500,000 people with 4.5 years' experience from Norwegian in surgical specialisation. I was often the only doctor in the surgical and gynecological department, sometimes the only doctor in the hospital. In 2008 we returned home to Norway and I completed my specialization in general and gastrointestinal surgery. Now I work at the hospital in Østfold and with the Norwegian Red Cross.

The Tesfa Foundation was formed in 2010 to support further involvement in Ethiopia, to help and educate Ethiopian colleagues and to provide medical and technical support to various hospitals in Ethiopia. Since 2011, delegates have visited Ethiopia several times a year. Orthopedic surgeon Klungsøyr works in Addis Ababa at the Black Lion Hospital to improve clubfoot treatment. Together with technician Olaf Raundalen, I travel annually to Ethiopia where we have mainly visited Soddo Christian Hospital and Black Lion Hospital. We have also visited other hospitals such as Menelik II, St. Paul Millenium Hospital and of course also visited the hospital in Jinka a couple of times - the place where the dream first became reality.

In Addis Ababa, we are working to improve bowel cancer surgery and better clubfoot treatment. We are introducing laparoscopic surgery and have contributed with equipment and professional expertise. At Soddo Christian Hospital, we help train general surgeons, as well as technical assistance at all hospitals. In 2018 we operated for the first time on colon cancer with laparoscopic surgery at Black Lion and in 2019 we operated on rectal cancer with laparoscopic surgery for the first time.

Together with the Lions Club in Vestfold, we have managed to send down modern surgical equipment worth over NOK 500,000 and have now equipped both Black Lion Hospital and St. Paul Millenium Hospital in Addis with, among other things, a. LigaSure and other advanced instruments.

In recent years, several medical colleagues from Norway have gotten involved and participated in Tesfa trips, it's a great encouragment! At the same time, ostomy nurses at home, led by Camilla Løvall, have stood by and sent ostomy bags to the ostomy association in Addis Ababa and several hospitals in Ethiopia.

During Covid there was no Tesfa mission trips. That is why I was so happy in 2021 when we were able to travel to Africa again, this time to Rwanda due to unrest in Ethiopia. The Tesfa foundation has now changed its purpose to include all low-income countries, but with the main focus still on Ethiopia.

Tesfa means hope - we work at the top of the healthcare system in Ethiopia and are helping to shape the next generation of surgeons when it comes to bowel cancer surgery and clubfoot treatment, at the same time we also want to be where the individual is - and meet the individual patient who stands before us with hope - with Tesfa.

Bjarte Tidemann Andersen