2nd Chance Swiss Association

🎄 During this festive season, generosity carries even more meaning.

While many celebrate moments of warmth and togetherness, thousands of patients across sub-Saharan Africa are still waiting for reconstructive surgery that could transform their lives.
At the same time, NGOs like ours face reduced support and increasing financial pressure.

For 2nd Chance, your solidarity is vital to:
provide reconstructive surgery to injured patients,
train surgeons to become autonomous in their countries,
strengthen local health systems in a sustainable way.

✨ In this season of giving, every contribution truly matters.
Your donation — and simply sharing our message — directly helps restore dignity, mobility, and hope.

👉 Take action: give and share around you. Thank you for your support.

From December 1st to 5th, 2nd Chance was honoured to contribute to the reconstructive surgery examinations organised by COSECSA.

The assessment was conducted by pairs of examiners, bringing together:
• 7 African examiners,
• 7 international examiners from institutions including Harvard, South California, Canada, England, and Switzerland.

This paired evaluation model ensured a balanced, rigorous and collaborative assessment. The performance level of the candidates was excellent, reflecting the strength of the regional training programme.

The newly certified reconstructive surgeons now join a growing network ready to deliver essential reconstructive care to patients affected by burns, trauma, infections, or congenital conditions.

Warm congratulations to all newly certified surgeons, and sincere thanks to all examiners for their dedication during the 2025 edition.

🌍 2nd Chance Workshop – Bujumbura, Burundi 🇧🇮 | Mission Completed

The mission in Bujumbura was a full-cycle workshop where patients were accompanied through every step of their care:

• Consultation & patient selection – identifying patients in need of reconstructive surgery
• Surgical procedures – 13 patients received essential operations, improving function, mobility and quality of life
• Post-operative follow-up – Five days after our workshop, patients were recovering well. Before leaving Bujumbura, our team visited them to ensure follow-up care was properly arranged.

We departed the city with deep gratitude for the dedicated local medical teams and for all those who contributed to this mission.

💠 Medical Team & Coordination
Chief of Mission – Plastic Surgery
• Dr Roba Khundkar (United Kingdom)

Plastic Surgeons
• Dr Mohammed Abdurezak (Ethiopia)
• Dr Thomas Fischer (Switzerland)
• Dr Claudia Pia Fischlin (Switzerland)

Anesthesiologists
• Dr Andres Hagermann (Sweden)
• Dr Samuel Mangold (Switzerland)

OT Nurse
• Karin Bauer (Switzerland)

Coordination
• Anne Zeidan (Switzerland)
• Romina Ferilli (Switzerland)

🙏 Thank you to CHUK and to all programme partners for their collaboration and steadfast support.
Together, we continue building a future where everyone can access the care they need.

credit photo Karin Bauer Photomedics

🌍 2nd Chance Workshop – Bujumbura, Burundi 🇧🇮 | 23–28 November 2025

Our 2nd Chance team had the privilege of working at CHUK in Bujumbura for a workshop dedicated to reconstructive surgery and the strengthening of medical skills across the region.

A committed team of 3 surgeons, 2 anesthesiologists, 1 operating theatre nurse, and 2 coordinators joined forces to offer a true second chance to the patients treated.

13 patients received essential reconstructive surgery, opening the way to a better quality of life.

We supervised 9 participants from 🇪🇹 Ethiopia – 🇰🇪 Kenya – 🇹🇿 Tanzania – 🇺🇬 Uganda, supporting skills transfer and the dissemination of best practices in reconstructive surgery.

🙏 A heartfelt thank you to the Centre Hospitalo-Universitaire de Kamenge – Roi Khaled (CHUK) for their warm welcome, to our programme partners, and to everyone who makes these missions possible.

Together, we continue building a future where everyone can access the care they need.

What if you could give someone the power to change a life?
On May 25, our runners will take part in Race for Gift in support of 2nd Chance.
They’re not professional athletes.
They are doctors, students, parents, colleagues, and friends — all united by a single purpose:
💙 To run for those who can’t.

👉 Anne, Marianne, Karine, Simon, Jean-Claude, Lionel, Sabrina, Pierre, Pascal, Fabienne, Matteo, Sigiriya, Nicolas, Benjamin, Sébastien, Guillaume, Mathieu, Marc, Shireen, Karen, Viktoriia, Hicham, Adèle, Clarisse, Ester, Delphine, Anastassia, Roxane, Aksel, Isabelle, Jean‑Daniel, Sylvie, Theodore, Juliette-Colombe, Camille, Octave, Emmanuelle, Edgar, Karin, Ugo, Esther, Sophie, Valérie, Niall, Moira...

Each of them must raise CHF 400 to take part.
This is not just a race.
It’s a mission: to offer life-changing reconstructive surgery to patients in need and to train local surgeons who will carry that impact forward.

🙏 We need your help to get each runner to the starting line.
Even a few francs make a difference.

🔗 Support a runner or a team with a donation today:
https://bit.ly/3EJdq0Z
Every donation counts. Every step helps rebuild a life.