chargement...
He lives in the Netherlands, but it was in Morocco where he dreamt of becoming a doctor. Today, Abdelali Bentohami is the head of Bento Clinics, a group of clinics in the Netherlands specializing in all types of surgeries. Before creating these structures himself, he quickly knew that his path was set.
Born in 1978 in Amsterdam, this Dutch-Moroccan spent all his childhood’s vacations in the Rif, where his parents were born. During one of those hot summer days, he went out with his working father and thought of an idea.
«We were passing by the Mohammed V hospital in Al Hoceima. There was a long queue. People looked like they were suffering, insecure and unable to have access to adequate healthcare. I was deeply affected by this image that stayed in my mind and I said to my father: One day I will become a doctor and will come back to help these people get treatment».
After high school, Abdelali Bentohami joined the University of Amsterdam for medical studies. Passionate about manual work, he quickly became interested in trauma. «It reminds me a lot of the meticulous work of someone who works hard to repair broken or damaged things; this is how I chose my specialty after studying general medicine», he recalled.
Specializing in bone surgery, Abdelali Bentohami met two doctors who organize health caravans in African countries. It was then that he came up with the idea of proposing a campaign for Morocco. Doctors accompanied him on a voluntary basis, and this is how he created the Health for All Foundation in April 2010, well before obtaining his specialty diploma.
«Unlike some international aid programs that I have seen in Morocco, our foundation does not just put down its bags, perform surgeries and leave», Dr Bentohami said. «With each initiative, we turn to a public hospital to organize surgical operations while involving on-site doctors, internal doctors and students, which is very important for us», he explained.
«We discuss with Moroccan doctors the content of training which is often about new techniques that we use in the Netherlands and that are not widespread in Morocco. The trainings also include the use of advanced equipment and sharing know-how».
Thanks to this association, Abdelali Bentohami was able to do this work in Nador, Al Hoceïma, M'diq, Tangier, Rabat, Casablanca, Azemmour and Agadir. This allowed him to have good ties with doctors in Morocco, but also with beneficiary families, despite the obstacles he faced at the beginning of his action. «The biggest challenge facing us was being able to bring our medical equipment back from the Netherlands. It was difficult to get it through customs, but now that the association has become known in Morocco, we are encountering less logistical problems», he said.
Working constantly with children, the doctor was marked by the case of Youssef, a little boy transferred to the Netherlands from Morocco to undergo a complicated cardiovascular surgery. «I met him at the Casablanca University Hospital when he was one year old. He suffered from a congenital anomaly and had to undergo a surgery. Eventually, he underwent three surgeries here and spent three months in intensive care. Two years later, I went to visit his family in Morocco. He was three years old but he remembered me right away and our meeting was moving».
An operation to support young Yahya
Today, Abdelali Bentohami's group of clinics has four venues: in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Veenendaal and one in Den Bosch. They specialize in general, plastic, aesthetic, bone and trauma surgeries. Through his network of doctors and via the Health for All Foundation, the practitioner succeeded in changing the course of a drama that occurred more than a week ago in Goulmima.
In Goulmima, near Errachidia, around 20 stray dogs attacked Yahya, 12. Severely injured in the lower limbs, head and face, he was transported to the Fez hospital and then to the Casablanca University Hospital, but his condition worsened. It was then that his foundation decided to intervene.
«While in Rabat, Ahmed Larouz told me about Yahya's case. I have been a surgeon for several years, I am used to seeing serious injuries and blood but after seeing the photos of Yahya, I was deeply affected and I said to myself that I had to do something for him».
Yahya was admitted to the Amsterdam University Hospital on Tuesday where he is cared for by a medical team, including Abdelali Bentohami, who checks on him daily. He said that on Thursday, Yahya will have to undergo a major surgery.
