Dr. Dickson Gusugusu
General Surgery Resident
Kibuye Hope Hospital
Burundi
Training Today. Serving Burundi Tomorrow.
Through the Pan-African Academy of Christian Surgeons (PAACS), Dr. Dickson Gusugusu is being equipped not only to become a skilled surgeon but to bring advanced surgical care to communities where it is often out of reach.
For Dr. Gusugusu, that need is deeply personal.
In 2009, his grandfather suffered a serious head injury in Burundi. Although the necessary imaging was available in the country, the surgical expertise needed to treat him was not. His family traveled to neighboring Rwanda, where his grandfather underwent surgery. Sadly, he passed away. That experience showed Dr. Gusugusu how devastating the lack of specialized surgical care could be.
Years later, during medical school, he saw the same reality repeated in his patients’ lives. Families struggled to afford care. Poor roads made hospitals difficult to reach. Some patients were carried on stretchers. Women experiencing complications after childbirth sometimes arrived only after their conditions had become critical. Others desperately needed surgery but had no surgeon available to treat them.
“It was heartbreaking,” Dr. Gusugusu recalled. He could see what his patients needed, yet too often there was little he could do.
Before discovering PAACS, Dr. Gusugusu attended a retreat focused on discerning God’s calling for his life. Later, while completing his internship at Kibuye Hope Hospital, he learned about PAACS and recognized that its mission aligned with how God was leading him. He applied for residency, believing PAACS offered the opportunity to pursue surgical training while growing in his faith and serving others.
Today, as a third-year General Surgery resident at Kibuye Hope Hospital, PAACS is shaping both his hands and his heart. Alongside rigorous surgical training, Dr. Gusugusu is being discipled through Scripture, prayer, fellowship, and mentorship. He has come to see his abilities not simply as professional skills, but as gifts entrusted to him by God for the service of others.
That conviction became tangible when Dr. Gusugusu cared for a farmer suffering from a severely enlarged spleen. She had visited several hospitals without finding help, and her illness had left her too weak to work. She was frightened that even surgery would not restore her health.
Before operating, Dr. Gusugusu prayed with her.
The surgery was successful. When she returned for follow-up, she was stronger and grateful for the care she had received. Later, she contacted Dr. Gusugusu to tell him she was praying for the hospital.
“We treat. Jesus heals,” Dr. Gusugusu says.
That belief defines the physician PAACS is helping him become: one who sees not only a diagnosis, but a person in need of compassion, dignity, and excellent care.
When his training is complete, Dr. Gusugusu plans to continue serving patients in Burundi, particularly in communities where surgeons and related specialists are scarce. He hopes families will be able to receive the surgical care they need closer to home. He also wants to faithfully share the hope of Christ with those facing illness and suffering.
To those who pray, give, and partner with PAACS, Dr. Gusugusu offers his heartfelt gratitude. Your generosity is helping prepare a surgeon today who desires to bring excellent, compassionate surgical care to patients tomorrow.
