Mary Cathleen Schanzer, MD, was nominated by the Baylor Ophthalmology Alumni Association to receive this year's Outstanding Humanitarian Service Award.
Dr. Schanzer is a medical director and chief surgeon at Southern Eye Associates in Memphis, Tenn., and mother to seven adopted children. It was in the third grade, after listening to a missionary priest talk about his work and adventures, that a powerful revelation grabbed her and she decided that her life's work would include being a medical missionary. Her missionary work began 27 years later in 1988 in a small Nigerian village named Abak. She was determined to make her first self-service mission opportunity the best it could be.
Dr. Schanzer's greatest missionary challenge came in 2004 when Sierra Leone's Archbishop asked her to establish a medical/surgical eye clinic in his home village of Serabu. Serabu is located in a remote area of Sierra Leone, a country recovering from a long and brutal civil war. Sierra Leone presented an enormous challenge because the entire infrastructure of the country had been destroyed, including most of the nation's medical facilities. For the first time in her missionary career, she would not be using an established facility with power, water and electricity reasonably available. In 2006 all of the challenges were met for the opening of Southern Eye Clinic of Serabu. Water wells were dug, generators were purchased and modern surgical equipment was installed. Her prayers were fulfilled but because she did not have financial aid to support her work, her life savings had been depleted. Fortunately, last year more than 400 people donated over 50 percent of the clinic's operating budget. Each year the resources for Southern Eye Institute continue to grow.
The reputation of the Southern Eye Clinic of Serabu also continues to grow. Patients travel on foot for days from the neighboring six countries in West Africa to have eye surgery by Dr. Schanzer. The surgical load has been so great that, for the last five years, Dr. Schanzer has been traveling to Serabu twice a year to perform more than 200 surgeries per trip. These surgeries are in addition to the more than 1,000 clinic patients also treated. The clinic, with its full-time staff of 17 employees, has expanded its operations to eight different villages. Southern Eye Clinic of Serabu is open year round, providing eye care, medicine and glasses. All services, medicine, glasses and surgeries are provided for free.
Dr. Schanzer is described as a humble and private person. Her efforts with the poor and the needy are part of her spiritual nutrition. She represents the very highest elements of quality character with the exceptional training and the compassion to share with those less fortunate, not only in America but abroad. The Academy is proud to honor Dr. Mary Cathleen Schanzer with this year's Outstanding Humanitarian Service Award.
