A heart for charity.
Dr. Berkei's heart project for a better life for children in Myanmar.
Dr. Julia Berkei on the Board of Trustees of the YOU Foundation
During my medical studies, I spent three months in a clinic in Hyderabad, India. Since 2002 I have regularly organized aid missions for cleft lip and palate operations in Mandalay/Myanmar and co-founded the Medical Intervention Team e.V..
Due to political circumstances, it is currently not possible for us to carry out further missions in Myanmar. I am all the more pleased that the YOU Foundation is currently supporting two projects in Myanmar and that I have had the honor of sitting on the YOU Foundation’s Board of Trustees since 25 June 2024 and organizing education for children in need. Together, we are committed to giving children around the world a better future.
The YOU Foundation was founded in 2002 by the UNESCO Special Ambassador for Germany, Dr. h.c. Ute H. Ohoven, of which she is still President of the Board of Trustees.
Working for the future.
Dr. Berkei already had the desire to provide aid in developing countries during her studies. She gained her first personal experience when she traveled twice with Dr. Patrick Tonnard’s team to Myanmar, Mandalay, to operate on children with cleft lips and palates. After her return, she founded the Medical Intervention Team e.V. together with Dr. Barun Sarkar and friends in order to give children a life worth living and thus a future with many opportunities.
You are currently viewing a placeholder content from YouTube. To access the actual content, click the button below. Please note that doing so will share data with third-party providers.
More InformationThe Medical Intervention Team initially financed the trips out of its own pocket and began with smaller events, which grew into large annual charity events over the years thanks to the support of many patients, banks and companies. In total, more than 500 children with cleft lip and palate and severe burn scars were operated on free of charge between 2008 and 2017.
Together with Dr. Barun Sarkar, Dr. Berkei was instrumental in organizing the entire structure of the missions, from charity events and marketing to travel arrangements and preparations for operations. Her entire practice team was involved in the preparations throughout the year, and the instruments and supplies for an entire operating theater were stored in the basement of the practice for the missions.
On the last day after a fulfilling, challenging, exhausting and relieved week in the operating room of Sitagu Ayudana Hospital in Mandalay, where we operated on and treated about 70-80 children, we made this video to the song by Robbie Williams: The Road to Mandalay.
Dr. Berkei is deeply grateful to the entire team, all the helpers and her patients who have supported her over the years for their great commitment. The joy of giving people a life worth living through surgery continues for Dr. Berkei to this day. The regular aid missions to Sitagu Ayudana Hospital in Mandalay, Myanmar, will remain unforgettable for Dr. Berkei and her team. We hope that as soon as the political situation in Myanmar eases, missions will be possible again. We will be happy to keep a list of interested colleagues and companies willing to make a donation or provide technical support until then. If you are interested, please contact us at info@drberkei.com.
Help that comes from the heart.
Even after handing over the project to Dr. Sarkar, the “Medical Intervention Team-e.V.” association remains a matter close to Dr. Berkei’s heart, which she continues to support with full conviction.
If you would also like to make further missions possible, the MIT-e.V. would be pleased to receive donations to the Medical Intervention Team’s donation account.
Medical Intervention Team
IBAN: DE05 5007 0024 0016 7999 00
BIC: DEUTDEDBFRA
Giving a better life.
In the numerous missions of the Medical Intervention Team in Myanmar between 2008 and 2017, Dr. Berkei and her colleagues were able to experience for themselves how they were able to positively change the lives of children with a 2-3 hour operation. An operation has successfully treated children with cleft lip and palate – they can drink again without the liquid flowing out of their nose, they can talk normally and are not ostracized by other children, they finally have a chance of a normal life. Seeing the children’s smiles after a year is always a special moment that encourages every team member to continue helping with all their might. The picture shows a boy with a cleft lip and palate who returned for a check-up one year after the operation.
Memories that last.
Impressions from many years of numerous
Aid missions that have made children smile again.
during the missions in Myanmar.
You are currently viewing a placeholder content from YouTube. To access the actual content, click the button below. Please note that doing so will share data with third-party providers.
More Information