CBM People

Whether it's the training of an orthopaedic surgeon or programme management, our international staff not only provide their expertise, but train local people and communities to ensure that there is a legacy of skills for the future.

Below are a few of CBM's British and/or UK-supported professionals who are currently working overseas.

Simon Bridger (Cheif Executive Officer and Country Coordinator), Uganda.

After studying engineering in the UK, Simon Bridger established the CBM Regional Office in West Africa between 1984 and 1989. After leaving CBM in 2000 for a role in Switzerland, Simon has returned as Chief Executive Officer of the CBM-supported Comprehensive Rehabilitation Services in Uganda (CoRSU) whilst also fulfilling the role of Country Coordinator.

Dr John Buchan (Ophthalmologist), Sierra Leone.

Dr John Buchan joined CBM in 2009 after spending ten years as an eye doctor for the NHS. He now works as an ophthalmologist at the CBM UK-supported Kissy United Methodist Church Eye Hospital in Sierra Leone.

Paul Caswell OBE (Country Coordinator), Nigeria.

Paul Caswell has been working with CBM in West Africa since 1984. Before that, he was a teacher working with the government in Ghana - where he had worked since 1968. After leaving Ghana, he lived and worked in Niger before moving on to Nigeria in 1994. Paul has established a community-based rehabilitation (CBR) programme in Abuja. He is the CBM CBR Advisor for West Africa.

Dr Colin Cook (Ophthalmologist and Senior Medical Advisor), South Africa.

Dr Colin Cook has been working with CBM in Africa since 1996. He is CBM's Senior Eye Medical Advisor and is based at Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town.

Liz Cross MBE (Acting Regional Director), Thailand.

Liz Cross began working for CBM in Indonesia in 1988. She moved to Cambodia in 1993 and on to Vietnam in 2006. In January 2010 she completed a short assignment at the CBM Regional Office before moving to Bangkok to become CBM's Acting Regional Director in central East Asia. She is also CBM's Regional Advisor for Community-based Rehabilitation (CBR).

Dr Will Dean (Consultant Ophthalmologist), Malawi.

Dr Will Dean is a consultant ophthalmologist at the Nkhoma Eye Hospital in Malawi. With his team, he provides life-changing surgery to those with eye health issues. He is also currently the acting Director. In addition, he regularly blogs and tweets for CBM LifeStories.

Dr Julian Eaton (Mental Health Development Officer), Nigeria.

Dr Julian Eaton is CBM's Mental Health Development Officer for West Africa, and has been based in Nigeria since 2003. Julian's work includes travelling within West Africa supporting regional partners as they develop their mental health work in their projects and working with other organisations, including governments, to improve the services that they offer to people with mental health problems.

Dr Anthony Hall (Ophthalmologist), Tanzania.

Dr Anthony Hall is the CBM Ophthalmologist and Head of the Eye Department at Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre (KCMC) in Moshi, Tanzania. He has been there for 9 years. KCMC is a busy referral hospital for over 15 million people. It was also the location for CBM's 10 millionth cataract surgery in 2010.

Dr Andrew Hodges (Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeon), Uganda.

Dr Andrew Hodges is a plastic and reconstructive surgeon who joined CBM in 2005. He is based in Kampala and works at the Comprehensive Rehabilitation Services in Uganda (CoRSU) Rehabilitation Hospital, helping the many children and adults who are suffering severe disability which can be restored through reconstructive surgery. Andrew's wife, Sarah, is essential to his work as she is an experienced paediatric anaesthetist.

Dr Steve Mannion (Orthopaedic Consultant), United Kingdom.

Dr Steve Mannion is an orthopaedic consultant with CBM and regularly works with us in places such as Malawi and Papua New Guinea where he champions the Ponseti Method - a non-surgical corrective treatment for clubfoot. In 2008 he appeared on BBC One's 'Super Doctors' alongside Lord Winston.

Ingrid Mason (Capacity Development Officer), Kenya.

Ingrid Mason works as CBM's Capacity Development Officer in CBM Kenya, based in Nairobi. She joined CBM in 1995 as an overseas specialist.

Silvana Mehra (Regional Director), India.

Silvana Mehra is the Regional Director for South East Asia (North) based in India. Her extensive experience with CBM in South India and Central East Asia contributes greatly to her work with people with disabilities.

Dr Andrew Potter (Ophthalmologist), Benin.

Dr Andrew Potter is an ophthalmologist at the Hopital St André de Tinré in Parakou, Benin. He has worked with CBM for many years and with a small team of local eye nurses, he provides outreach clinics and much needed eye surgery - covering around 19,000 miles of travel each year to reach those most at need.

Anita Smeets (Regional Director), Kenya.

Anita Smeets joined CBM in 2006 and worked in the Great Lakes region of Africa. In 2009 she became CBM's Regional Director for East Africa, based in Kenya.

Nathalie Vezier (Regional Coordinator), African Great Lakes.

Nathalie Vezier, who is from Nimes in France, started working for CBM in 2009. She has extensive experience in the region having worked there for 9 years before joining our organisation.