2nd Chance Swiss Association

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Schweiz
Geneva
2nd Chance Swiss Association

2nd Chance restores hope and dignity to people affected by severe injuries by training local surgeons in reconstructive surgery.

Through our training programs and medical interventions, we empower communities and transform lives across sub-Saharan Africa 2nd-Chance objective is to build capacity in plastic & reconstructive surgery in developing countries.

12/12/2025

🎄 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.

11/12/2025

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.

09/12/2025

🌍 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

07/12/2025

🌍 2nd Chance Women’s Health Surgical Workshop – Gitega, Burundi 🇧🇮 | 24–28 November 2025

Alongside the workshop held in Bujumbura 🇧🇮, 2nd Chance had the privilege of organizing in Gitega a specialized training dedicated to the surgical management of fistula — a severe condition that still affects too many women and profoundly impacts their quality of life.

This mission is part of 2nd Chance’s Women’s Health Program 🤝, which aims to improve health, restore dignity, and expand life opportunities for women through sustainable, long-term impact.

🎯 The objective of this mission was dual: treat and train.
We provided essential surgical care to patients in urgent need while strengthening local capacities to ensure long-term autonomy in fistula management.

Five participants took part in the training, coming from Ethiopia 🇪🇹, the Democratic Republic of Congo 🇨🇩, Somalia 🇸🇴, Guinea 🇬🇳 and Tanzania 🇹🇿. They were supported by three anesthetists and two specialized surgeons — Dr Frederic Ris and Lionel Dumont — whose expertise was key to ensuring high-quality interventions and meaningful knowledge transfer.

Thanks to the outstanding work of the local teams 💪 and the commitment of all participants, 11 patients received surgery. A few days later, they are recovering well — a powerful message of hope and resilience.

We extend our sincere gratitude to the staff of Gitega Hospital 🙏 for their warm welcome and professionalism, to our 2nd Chance collaborators for their unwavering commitment, to the coordinators and all those involved in organizing this mission, and to our donors for their trust and support.

Together, we move toward a future where every woman affected by fistula can regain her dignity, her health, and the chance for a better life. 💛

03/12/2025

🌍 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.

30/05/2025

🎯 We’ve reached 95% of our fundraising goal – let’s cross the finish line together! There’s still time to make a donation – until this Sunday!

👉 https://www.raceforgift.ch/project/2nd-chance/donate

🙏 A heartfelt thank you to everyone who joined us at Race for Gift 2025!

65 participants, 10 amazing teams, 296 generous donors, and the incredible support of Katzarov SA and DVK Architectes – together, we’ve powered real change through reconstructive surgery in sub-Saharan Africa.

Congratulations to our champions:

🥇 Anastassia Stent-Torriani – 1st place, 10 km women

🥈 Benjamin Aebischer-Perone – 2nd place, 5 km men

🏅 Naima Karamoko – 4th place, 5 km women

Whether you ran, walked, supported a team, or made a donation – you helped change lives. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts!

08/05/2025

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.

07/05/2025

In Rwanda, there are only six plastic surgeons for over 14 million people. One of them is Dr. Francoise Mukagaju, the first woman in the field.

She was trained through international reconstructive surgery workshops run by 2nd Chance, a Swiss NGO building local surgical capacity in sub-Saharan Africa.

🎥 Swiss broadcaster SRF highlights her journey and the life-changing surgeries she now performs. 📺 Watch the SRF report

👉 To make essential care accessible to the most vulnerable, we must keep training more surgeons. The need is urgent. Our mission continues.

💙 Together, we rebuilt lives.

10/04/2025

WE TRAIN | This week, in Addis Ababa, we are on mission at Hamlin Hospital – a place filled with history, hope, and healing.

For nearly 10 years, we’ve been building a trusted partnership, united by one goal: restoring dignity to women who have endured the unimaginable.

We are training 13 dedicated professionals:
👨‍⚕️ 7 young surgeons from Ethiopia, Tanzania, Burundi, and Somalia
👩‍⚕️ 6 doctors from Addis hospitals – motivated, curious, and fully committed

The focus this week: posterior perineal fistula surgery – a demanding specialty with the power to change lives.

🧑‍⚕️ Our training team – Dr. Emilie Liot (CH), Dr. Gonzalo Soto (CL), Dr. Lionel Dumont and Jean-Daniel Junod – is sharing more than skills. They are passing on purpose.

🎯 To train today is to heal tomorrow.
And with your support, that future becomes possible.

Together, we rebuilds lives.

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21/03/2025

English below 🇬🇧👇

🏃‍♂️ Relevez un défi solidaire et transformez des vies avec 2nd Chance !

Le 25 mai 2025, participez à la course RACE FOR GIFT à Genève et courez pour une cause essentielle : offrir des chirurgies reconstructives aux patients en Afrique et former les chirurgiens de demain.

💙 Pourquoi participer ?
🔹 Un engagement qui change des vies : Chaque don finance des opérations vitales et la formation de chirurgiens en Afrique.
🔹 Un défi collectif et motivant : Participez avec vos amis, vos collègues ou créez votre propre équipe et mobilisez votre réseau !
🔹 Un impact accessible à tous : Vous pouvez courir ou marcher (5 km ou 10 km), faire un don à une équipe ou à un coureur, ou simplement venir nous encourager et montrer votre soutien !

🎯 Inscrivez-vous dès maintenant !
1️⃣ Rendez-vous sur raceforgift.ch et choisissez 2nd Chance
2️⃣ Créez votre page de collecte et partagez-la avec votre entourage.
3️⃣ Atteignez 400 CHF de dons et prenez le départ avec nous !

⏳ Ne tardez pas ! Plus tôt vous vous inscrivez, plus vous aurez de temps pour mobiliser votre réseau et maximiser votre impact.

📌 Rejoignez-nous dès aujourd’hui et courons ensemble pour transformer des vies ! 🚀💙

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🇬🇧🏃‍♂️ Take on a solidarity challenge and change lives with 2nd Chance!

On May 25, 2025, take part in Race for Gift in Geneva and run for a vital cause: providing reconstructive surgeries to patients in Africa and training the surgeons of tomorrow.

💙 Why participate?
🔹 Make a real impact: Every donation funds life-changing surgeries and the training of local surgeons.
🔹 A meaningful collective challenge: Join with friends, colleagues, or create your own team and rally your network!
🔹 An opportunity for everyone to get involved: You can run or walk (5 km or 10 km), donate to a runner or team, or simply come cheer us on and show your support!

🎯 Sign up now!
1️⃣ Go to raceforgift.ch and select 2nd Chance.
2️⃣ Create your fundraising page and share it with your network.
3️⃣ Reach CHF 400 in donations and join us at the starting line!

⏳ Don’t wait! The sooner you sign up, the more time you have to engage your network and maximize your impact.

📌 Join us today and run to transform lives! 🚀💙

👉 https://www.raceforgift.ch/project/2nd-chance

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19/03/2025

The 2nd Chance mission took place last week, from March 10 to 14, 2025, in Lomé, Togo—a crucial event dedicated to knowledge sharing and skill development in reconstructive surgery across sub-Saharan Africa.

🎙️ Meet Dr. Dominik André-Lévigne, Senior Resident at the HUG (Geneva) and first time trainer for 2nd Chance in this workshop. As an experienced surgeon, he played a vital role by:

✅ Contributing to the training of 16 plastic surgeons from various sub-Saharan African countries
✅ Teaching basic reconstructive surgery techniques, combining fundamental and innovative approaches
✅ Encouraging experience-sharing between African and European surgeons, fostering mutual learning

💬 “What truly inspired me was how participants, both French and English speakers, connected so well, coming from different African countries to build a regional network together.”

🙏 A heartfelt thank you to Dr. André-Lavigne for his dedication and invaluable contributions. His commitment, along with that of the other trainers, empowers these surgeons to develop essential skills and foster a long-term culture of knowledge transfer and collaboration.

🎥 Watch his interview here 👇

05/02/2025

This week, from February 3 to 7, we are launching our first mission of 2025 at Tumbi Regional Referral Hospital (Tanzania).

🚀 16 surgical trainees from 8 countries (Tanzania, Ethiopia, Somalia, Cameroon, Gambia, Zambia, Namibia, DRC) are taking part in 3 parallel workshops:
🔹 Reconstructive surgery (basic course)
🔹 Anesthesia
🔹 Operating theater nurse care

💪 Immediate impact:
✅ 10 patients undergoing surgery, most of them operated for release of post-burn contractures on hands, with half of them being children.
✅ Around 13 patients from 2024 came back for follow-up care, ensuring long-term recovery.

Led by Dr. Roba Khundkar (UK) with the expertise of trainers Dr. Angela Muoki (Kenya) Dr. lydia yonael (Ethiopia) and Dr. Bérénice MUTINOT (Switzerland). This 9th mission in Tumbi is another step toward strengthening local medical capacities.

🙏 Your support makes this possible. Together, we rebuild lives.

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Adresse

Rue Ferdinand-Hodler 7
Geneva
1207

Webseite

http://2nd-chance.org/

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