As relief work in Haiti continues, so do the stories of compassion and humanitarian endeavours.

Most recent being the personal effort of the Chair of IDRF, Dr. Cassim Degani, Endoscopist and General Surgeon, who has set up camp in Port-au-Prince, to provide his services as a volunteer surgeon to the earthquake survivors.

The IDRF (International Development and Relief Foundation) is working on the ground in Haiti partnering with SHINE/CDRS (Sustainable Healthcare Initiatives Now Empowering/ Comprehensive Disaster Response Services) to provide extended medical aid. Dr Degani will be working closely with Dr Judy Sandick, from SHINE. Patients are offered all kinds of medical assistance which includes treating communicable diseases (tuberculosis; typhoid, malaria), major injuries, surgeries and deliveries.

Previously the Chief Surgeon at Shouldice Hospital and the Executive Chief at Doctor’s Hospital, Dr Degani is also a past board member of the Canadian Council for Victims of Torture (CCVT). Dr Degani has been volunteering his skills as a physician during calamities in numerous countries. In fact, he often spends his vacations volunteering as a physician and providing surgical care to families in war-torn or disaster affected countries such as Afghanistan, Kosova, Bosnia, Iraq, Palestine, Pakistan, etc.