From
the anointed mind to the gifted hands of Dr. Michael K. Obeng,
miracles have come true for many that cannot afford surgeries in
third-world countries with poverty beyond understanding.
Beverly
Hills, CA, USA -- After careful, strategically planned trips to
four countries this summer, Dr. Obeng was touched and moved by
4-year-old Sarjo with her disfigured face. Dr. Obeng has arranged for
Sarjo to come to United States where he will do what may seem by
millions as impossible. Sarjo arrives in Los Angeles on Thursday,
August 11, 2016, which is when her transformation will begin. Dr.
Obeng was born with the gift himself, to touch and change lives,
faces, bodies etc. of many, with no means whatsoever to handle the
cost for these surgeries. Dr. Obeng, through his charity,
R.E.S.T.O.R.E., Restoring Emotional Stability Through Outstanding
Reconstructive Efforts, and donations from the kindhearted, has been
able to donate 100% of all services free for all surgeries that he
and his select staff performs either on tour or case by case here in
Beverly Hills, CA.
Dr.
Obeng came to Midwestern State University (MSU) from Ghana. He saw a
flyer about the university in a friend's dorm room and knew it was in
Texas, but that was all. While an MSU student, Dr. Obeng laid carpet,
worked for Golden Corral, and drove a school bus for the Wichita
Falls Independent School District. His bed was one he rescued from
someone else's trash, and he and his roommate alternated sleeping on
it and the floor. After his first semester at MSU, he got a job at
the Moffett Library and eventually landed a job as a residence
assistant that paid his room and board, a big relief for a struggling
student.
Dr.
Obeng earned his Bachelor of Science from MSU in 1997, graduating cum
laude with a major in Chemistry and a double minor in Mathematics &
Biology. He received his medical degree from the University of Texas
Medical Branch and completed post-graduate work in plastic and
reconstructive surgery at the University of Texas Medical Branch John
Sealy Hospitals and The Shriner's Hospital for Children before
accepting a fellowship at Harvard Medical School.
Dr.
Obeng is currently the Director of his own private practice, MiKO
Plastic Surgery and MiKO Surgery Center in Beverly Hills, California
while also serving on staff at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles,
California. Dr. Obeng is a noted author and lecturer on healthcare
disparities around the globe. He has received numerous honors, awards
and recognition for his professional achievements including a
research grant from the National Institute of Health and the Herman
A. Barnett Memorial Award for Excellence in Surgery and Anesthesia.
His professional society memberships include the American Society of
Plastic Surgeons, the American Society for Surgery of the Hand, and
the American Society of Reconstructive Microsurgery.
Dr.
Obeng recently launched a consulting firm, Global Health Solution,
which is aimed to bridge the gap between morbidity and healthy living
in developing countries. He believes a "Healthy country is a
wealthy country."
In
Ghana, Dr. Obeng saw the pain caused by physical deformities, and the
helplessness of those afflicted as they lived with their situation
with no money, and too few qualified physicians to have the problem
corrected. To resolve this issue, he then formed R.E.S.T.O.R.E.
Worldwide, Inc. in 2008 (Restoring Emotional Stability Through
Outstanding Reconstructive Efforts) to help those people and others
in need. Since its inception in 2008 R.E.S.T.O.R.E.'s volunteer teams
have traveled to 7 countries, including Gabon, Ghana, Guatemala,
Mexico and Nigeria performing over 200 reconstructive surgeries worth
over $ 5,000,000 USD and all on a pro-bono basis. Dr. Obeng credits
the giving spirit of teachers, advisers, and fellow students during
his time at Midwestern State University, The University of Texas and
Harvard for instilling in him the need to help others. "I won't
forget where it all started," he said.
About
R.E.S.T.O.R.E.: R.E.S.T.O.R.E. is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit medical
service organization that provides free reconstructive surgery and
related medical services to children and adults with disfiguring
deformities from birth, accidents and diseases. Many developing
countries shun those afflicted with disfiguring deformities and look
upon them as outcasts or "freaks". Often their own families
hide them from the general public to spare them from either being
ridiculed or physically harmed because of their disfigured
appearance.
Although
there is an overwhelming need for plastic surgery in developing
countries, these types of surgeries are not available because there
are no personnel trained to provide the necessary surgeries. As part
of the organizations mission they seek to educate and train local
physicians in the techniques necessary to perpetuate their initial
work to continually benefit more people for years to come.
"ONE
FACE, ONE BREAST, ONE BODY AT A TIME".
For
more information or to help make a difference in Sarjo's life with
your donation
Media
Contact:
Lawrence
Phillips (LP)
LP
PR Events Entertainment
(310)
619-8048
(310)
275-2701
