Firestone Liberia Hosts Eighth Children’s Surgery Inter’l Mission to Provide Free Surgeries for the Children of Liberia

The Firestone Medical Center in Duside has begun screenings in preparation for an upcoming mission from Children’s Surgery International (CSI) to provide free surgeries to Liberia’s children to correct craniofacial, urologic, and other pediatric medical conditions.
The annual partnership between CSI and Firestone Liberia began in 2010, and to date the collaboration has resulted in surgeries for more than 800 children and training for hundreds of medical professionals from Liberia and surrounding countries. The CSI team will consist of world-class surgeons, doctors, nurses and medical and non-medical volunteers, and will also provide specialist training to doctors and healthcare staff working at the Firestone Medical Center and other medical facilities in Liberia. The program is a part of Bridgestone’s global corporate social responsibility (CSR) commitment, Our Way to Serve, which is aligned with our long-standing corporate mission – Serving Society with Superior Quality – based on the philosophy articulated by our founder, Shōjirō Ishibashi, and reinforces our promise to use our strengths as a company to improve the way people move, live, work and play.
“We are so proud to once again partner with Children’s Surgery International to provide lifesaving and life changing surgeries to the children of Liberia,” said Don Darden, Vice President of Administration for Firestone Liberia. “The impact these surgeries have on the children, families and people of Liberia is simply immeasurable.”
Pediatric medical conditions can cause stigmatization and serious distress, to the point where children affected often do not attend school or socialize in their communities. The CSI mission at Firestone offers treatment to children from birth up to the age of 20 years; cleft lips, cleft palates, hernias and urological issues are the most common conditions corrected during the mission.
Firestone Liberia has a long history of significant investment in healthcare, providing free healthcare to approximately 5,000 patients/visits for its employees and their dependents every month. The Firestone Medical Center is one of the best referral hospitals in Liberia, and works closely with the Government of Liberia to administer various vaccinations and other disease control initiatives. In 2015, the President of Liberia awarded Firestone the distinction of Knight Grand Commander of the Liberian Humane Order of African Redemption for the company’s critical role during the Ebola crisis.
Children’s Surgery International is a volunteer non-profit organization based in the United States of America, providing free surgical services and professional training to communities in need around the world. “Our vision is a world where communities have access to the skills, tools and knowledge to provide essential and life-changing surgical and medical care to their children,” said Megan Sparks, Executive Director of Children’s Surgery International. “We are deeply grateful to our long-time partner, Firestone Liberia, for the opportunity to work together toward realizing that vision in Liberia”.
Preliminary screening for this year’s mission has begun, and will run every Tuesday and Thursday until December 27. The CSI Mission will take place January 13-18, 2019, at the Firestone Medical Center at Duside.