Potter

My mother had been told to expect my arrival in this world on the 30th of November (St. Andrew's Day), however, it was not until seven days later that I deigned to put in my appearance. Since then, I have made a point of punctuality and prefer, if at all possible, to arrive just a little ahead of schedule!

I attended a local school in Surrey, England where I lived with my parents, elder brother and younger sister. Interestingly, at grammar school I was at the bottom of my class in French until I went to stay with a French family in Paris for three consecutive Easter holidays. I am now CBM's only Expatriate ophthalmologist in Francophone West Africa.

Since the age of 8, my only serious ambition was to become a doctor (other passing whims included being a bus conductor or a ship's captain). I spent three years at Cambridge University where I studied medical sciences for two years and one year of archeology and anthropology. Whilst in Cambridge I was cox for two summers in the rowing ("bumps") races--as it suited my temperment for sitting still and barking orders at others to work harder.

I spent two long summer vacations in 1971/72 visiting the West African country of Dahomey (now Republic of Benin) and helping at the mission hospital in Bembereke. I was the first person to begin classes for the medical personnel. Today there is a comprehensive three year training programme for "infirmer adjoint" in Bembereke.

For my three years of clinical studies, I attended Westminster Medical School in London and graduated from Cambridge University as a doctor in 1975. After nearly three years work in various hospital specialities in England, I took a year and went back to Africa to work at the SIM hospital at Bembereke. It was during this period, 1981/82, that I decided to work fulltime in Africa, however, circumstances required more training first. A "chance" meeting after a church service with a Christian ophthalmologist propelled me into training in eye diseases. A second "change" meeting a few months later introduced me to Dr. Joe Taylor and to CBM. I joined CBM in 1984 and was posted to the Central Africa Republic in 1985 for four years of itinerant medical work. In the autumn of 1989, I had the opportunity to study tropical medicine at Liverpool University. In January 1990 I again returned to Benin where I spent nine months at Bemereke before starting to work at the Government hospital at Abomey in the south of Benin. After six years there, the eye work developed from scratch to become the biggest surgical eye service in Francophone West Africa (apart from IOTA in Bamako).

In November 1996, I moved from Abomey to a new position at the St. Jean de Dieu Hospital in Parakou where I have developed another eye service for the north of Benin and the surrounding areas with outreach visits as far away as Niger and to the south at Cotonou.

I have published a number of articles in medical journals, including four editorials in the British Medical Journal. I also enjoy running, reading and swimming.

Dr. Andrew Potter