Jason Fader is an American medical missionary who serves in the nation of

Burundi Burundi, officially the Republic of Burundi, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is located in the Great Rift Valley at the junction between the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa, with a population of over 14 million peop ...

. In 2016, Fader was the inaugural winner of the L’Chaim Prize for Outstanding Christian Medical Missionary Service. Fader has worked in

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

. He currently serves as the assistant medical director for Kibuye Hope Hospital. With the 2016 L'Chaim Prize, Fader intends to build a new ward in the hospital, expand its current laboratories, and buy orthopedic equipment.

Early life and education

Jason Fader was born in Kenya to Tim and Patti Fader, both medical missionaries. Fader graduated from the Rift Valley Academy in 1995, a school in Kenya for both local children and children whose parents are medical missionaries. The Rift Valley Academy was founded in 1906. In 1999 he graduated from

Calvin College Calvin University, formerly Calvin College, is a private Christian university in Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1876, Calvin University is an educational institution of the Christian Reformed Church and stands in the Reforme ...

where his wife, Heather also attended. Fader got his MD from Loyola Stritch School of Medicine in 2003 and did his general surgery residency at Saint Joseph Mercy Hospital in

Ann Arbor, Michigan Ann Arbor is a city in Washtenaw County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851, making it the List of municipalities in Michigan, fifth-most populous cit ...

. At the time, Saint Joseph Mercy Hospital had 529 beds and was an independently run academic medical center. At Saint Joseph Mercy Hospital, the general surgery residency program director, Seth Wolk, worked to provide Fader with the extra training he would need to serve as a

medical missionary Medical missions is the term used for Christian missionary endeavors that involve the administration of medical treatment. As has been common among missionary efforts from the 18th to 20th centuries, medical missions often involves residents of th ...

in Africa. He created an individualized program that included an additional sixth year dedicated to training that would support him in Africa. The Saint Joseph Mercy Hospital allowed its students to spend a month of their general surgery residency in a rural United States location. Fader was able to spend this month at the Kijabe Hospital in Kenya, which was a medical missionary hospital.

Missionary work

While studying in

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

, Fader and his wife met two other families at the Knox Presbyterian Church and together they formed a medical missionary team. After finishing his residency, Fader moved back to Kenya. He worked at the Tenwek Mission Hospital in

Bomet Bomet town is the capital and largest town of Bomet County, Kenya. Bomet town has a total population of 110,963 (2009 census). It is located along the B3 Mai Mahiu-Narok-Kisii road. Bomet city is one of the eight sister cities to Milwaukee ...

, Kenya, roughly 4 hours outside of

Nairobi Nairobi is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Kenya. The city lies in the south-central part of Kenya, at an elevation of . The name is derived from the Maasai language, Maasai phrase , which translates to 'place of cool waters', a ...

. The Tenwek Hospital, at the time, had 308 beds and served roughly 600,000 people in Kenya. The Tenwek hospital had three general surgeons, one

orthopedic surgeon Orthopedic surgery or orthopedics (American and British English spelling differences, alternative spelling orthopaedics) is the branch of surgery concerned with conditions involving the musculoskeletal system. Orthopedic surgeons use both surgic ...

, and one

gynecologist Gynaecology or gynecology (see American and British English spelling differences) is the area of medicine concerned with conditions affecting the female reproductive system. It is often paired with the field of obstetrics, which focuses on pre ...

. Fader moved to Burundi in 2013. As of 2017, Burundi had 14 surgeons for 10 million people. In Burundi, Fader works as a clinical faculty member at the

Hope Africa University Hope Africa University (HAU) was established in 2000 with support from the Free Methodist Church in Karen, Kenya. It relocated to Bujumbura in December 2003. At that time, it had 110 students. It is considered Burundi's best private university a ...

's Medical School. In addition to working as a teacher, Fader also serves as the assistant medical director at Kibuye Hope Hospital. Both

and the Kibuye Hope Hospital are located outside of

Bujumbura Bujumbura (; ), formerly Usumbura, is the economic capital, largest city and main port of Burundi. It ships most of the country's chief export, coffee, as well as cotton and tin ore. Bujumbura was formerly the country's political capital. In la ...

(Burundi's largest city and former capital). Fader has been working to train doctors, perform surgeries, and upgrade and expand medical facilities. Each missionary with Fader is tasked with raising individual financial support and is required to speak both

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

and

Kirundi Kirundi (), also known as Rundi, is a Bantu language and the national language of Burundi. It is mutually intelligible with Kinyarwanda, the national language of Rwanda, and the two form parts of the Rwanda-Rundi dialect continuum spoken in Buru ...

L'Chaim Prize for Outstanding Medical Missionary Service

The L'Chaim Prize for Outstanding Medical Missionary Service was founded by Jewish philanthropist and businessman, Marc Gerson and his wife Erica Gerson, a rabbi. The L'Chaim Prize is a $500,000 grant aimed to award medical missionaries for their service and help them fund their mission. The African Mission Healthcare Foundation (AMHF) oversees the award and it is the largest ever monetary award for clinical care. Fader intended to use the prize money to build a new ward in the Kibuye Hope Hospital, buy orthopedic equipment for surgeries, and expand laboratories at the

Medical School. He also intended to create Burundi's first ever medical internship program and build additional housing for medical staff. The award would add 48 new beds to the existing 172-bed Kibuye Hope Hospital. In 2015, the Kibuye Hope Hospital had a total operating budget of $526,000, which is almost the same price as the overall L'Chaim Prize. In 2015, the hospital took care of 25,000 outpatients, 10,000 inpatients, 1,200 surgeries, and 800 cataract cases.

Publications

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fader, Jason Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Date of birth missing (living people) Christian medical missionaries American Presbyterian missionaries American expatriates in Burundi American expatriates in Kenya Presbyterian missionaries in Burundi Presbyterian missionaries in Kenya