Soddo Christian Hospital
Check out general information on Soddo at either the PAACS website or
Soddo is about a 5 hour drive south of the capital city, Addis Ababa. Don't be surprised to see camel herds along the roads. As you go to Soddo, the well kept tenant farms square off the landscape. It is the woman's job to maintain the garden, household, cook, clean, and gather water. It is a good chance to thank God that you're not an Ethiopian woman!
The hospital sits right next to a penitentiary in a walled compound. Looking over the wall, inmates can be seen gathering in the afternoon sun. Brightly colored glass shards buried in the top of the hospitals cement wall stick up to discourage anyone from coming over the wall. The nearby Muslim temple's call to prayer can be heard daily from the hospital grounds. Soddo hospital is busy, and the opportunities for ENT service are abundant. Soddo has been visited most by Wayne Koch, MD whose full time job is heading up the Head & Neck program at Johns Hopkins. More specifics can be obtained from contacting Dr. Koch.
ENT cases rely on the general surgery equipment found at the hospital. There is not a operating microscope.