'2022 Abison Global Leadership Award' Presented to Nepalese Doctor Caleb Kumar Buda

Caleb Kumar Buda (second from the right), recipient of the Avicen Global Leadership Award, and Dongseop Yoon, Director of Yonsei Medical Center (first from the right), are posing for a commemorative photo.
[Photo by Yonsei Medical Center]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] Yonsei Medical Center announced on the 17th that it has selected pediatric specialist Caleb Kumar Buda, who works at Anandaban Hospital, a leprosy management hospital in Nepal, as the recipient of the 'Epperson Global Leadership Award.'

Yonsei Medical Center's Medical Mission Center held an award ceremony the day before at the Eunmyung Auditorium of Severance Hospital, inviting the awardee and his spouse, and presented a prize money of $2,000. The awardee will also receive an annual activity support fund of $5,000 for the next three years.

Last year, to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Medical Mission Center, Yonsei Medical Center has been operating the 'Severance One Family' program, which supports medical professionals from medically underserved countries who were trained at Severance to practice Severance's spirit of sharing.

Over the past 30 years, more than 500 medical professionals from 26 countries have been trained through Yonsei Medical Center’s education programs for medical personnel from underserved countries. Among them, one medical professional who embodies the spirit of serving neighbors, as exemplified by Dr. Epperson, the first hospital director of Yonsei Medical Center, is selected annually to receive the 'Epperson Global Leadership Award' as part of the Severance One Family program.

Dr. Caleb graduated from Nepal Medical College and served as the hospital director at Chaurjahari Hospital from 2015 until August of this year. Located in mid-western Nepal, Chaurjahari Hospital is in a remote area that requires a one-hour flight from the capital Kathmandu followed by a six-hour drive on mountainous roads. The local population is about 70,000, with 45% living in absolute poverty on less than $1.25 per day. Electricity was first supplied in 2017, and tap water is available only for about an hour at dawn every few days through a communal water supply. Due to water scarcity, residents descend steep mountains to fetch river water for use.

Chaurjahari Hospital is a small 50-bed hospital operated by HDCS (Human Development and Community Service), an NGO established by locals to serve the Nepalese community with limited medical access. Currently, seven Nepalese doctors work there. Although the hospital was built in a mountainous remote area to serve patients who have difficulty accessing medical care, most residents live scattered across a wide area, requiring a three to four-hour walk to reach the hospital. Dr. Caleb served as hospital director for eight years, safeguarding the health of the local community. The residents trusted him and entrusted their health to him. For his efforts in protecting the community’s health during the COVID-19 pandemic, he received a certificate and medal from the Nepalese government.

In September 2017, Dr. Caleb was recommended by a Korean missionary doctor working in Nepal to receive endoscopy training at Severance Hospital’s Department of Gastroenterology. He said, "Having worked in medically underserved area hospitals and leprosy management hospitals, I have practiced neighborly service with a sense of duty as a doctor. Through Severance’s support, I will strive to expand this service."

Yoon Dong-seop, director of Yonsei Medical Center, said, "Just as missionaries spread modern medicine and saved people through Severance 138 years ago, we established the Epperson Global Leadership Award to select medical professionals trained at our medical center who serve local residents and patients in underserved countries, so that more patients can receive medical benefits. While awards given to missionaries are important, awards given to locals are even more meaningful, and our medical center will actively support the work they do."