While REI is headquartered in the United States, our projects around the world often reflect a mix of nationalities working in partnership.
In January, REI team leader Dr. Walter Lee, Deputy Chief of Head and Neck Surgery at Duke University, partnered with Dr. H.K. Tan, Chief of Surgery at Sing Health in Singapore, to join a special medical project in Hanoi that is working on the development of a flexible scope that will help doctors identify cancer of the larynx in an early stage. Dr. Tan invited ENT (Ear, Nose and Throat) Surgeon Dr. Khanh from Vietnam to assist them. Another Singaporean, Dr. Kevin Koh of Vivo Diagnostics, along with his French colleague Richard Lieu, are also working with the team to design the scope so it can be inexpensively manufactured.
Vietnamese, Singaporean, American, French - professionals from four nations uniting with the single goal of significantly advancing medical care for the Vietnamese. This partnership reflects how our projects in Vietnam have operated since we began in 1992. Today's Resident Professionals and office team in Hanoi includes citizens from four countries -- Vietnam, Singapore, the Philippines and the U.S. - and in total, citizens from eleven countries have been part of our work in Vietnam, sharing expertise in medicine, English, social work, agriculture and business.