EDINBURGH-based Kids Operating Room co-founders Garreth and Nicola Wood MBE have taken part in Kwita Izina, Rwanda’s annual gorilla naming ceremony, naming a baby mountain gorilla Ngabonzima – meaning ‘The Protector’.
Kwita Izina – meaning “to give a name” in Kinyarwanda – is one of Rwanda’s most significant national honours, inspired by a centuries-old tradition of families and communities gathering to name their newborns.
Each year, a small number of people are invited to name a baby mountain gorilla in recognition of their contribution to conservation or to the country; past namers have included King Charles III, Idris Elba and Kevin Hart. This year, Garreth and Nicola were recognised for their work through both The Wood Foundation and Kids Operating Room.
Garreth and Nicola’s work in the country has had enormous impact – from The Wood Foundation’s support of over 35,000 smallholder tea farmers, to Kids Operating Room’s own work, which has been transforming children’s surgery across Rwanda since 2018, starting with one of its first theatres, installed in the capital, Kigali.
Since then, Kids Operating Room has installed four dedicated children’s operating theatres across the country, and trained 14 paediatric surgical scholars. By investing in both infrastructure and workforce, the work has created capacity for more than 30,000 life-changing operations for children – the economic benefit of which to the country is just under $1 billion – and will continue to benefit children in the country for decades to come.
“Garreth and Nicola Wood’s work in Rwanda has had an enormous impact on children living in Rwanda” said Dr. Edmond Ntaganda, consultant paediatric surgeon, University Teaching Hospital of Kigali (CHUK).
“Through their passion for paediatric surgery, they’ve helped to transform our country’s entire health system for children.
“Their investment in both infrastructure and workforce has supported the development of a sustainable, locally-led system that guarantees better access to surgical care for Rwandan children for generations to come.”
Garreth Wood MBE, co-founder, Kids Operating Room, said: “To be invited to name a gorilla, alongside people who have dedicated their lives to conservation, is a genuine privilege.
“Kids Operating Room started because we believed every child deserves access to safe surgery, wherever they are born, and seeing what has been built in Rwanda since then is something I will always be proud of.
“This name echoes our belief that every child deserves access to safe, timely surgery, and how the availability of that care protects children from needless pain and suffering.”
