Elly Chemey joined the CURE Malawi team as the Executive Director at the beginning of December 2019, looking to share his expertise and help CURE Malawi grow in its ability to change the lives of even more children. “I have a passion for children and it is touching to see what CURE is doing, transforming their lives, right here in front of us,” says Elly.
Elly’s background is in health systems strengthening and building healthcare networks within Malawi. He is originally from Kenya but has worked in Malawi for close to twenty years. “I wanted to do medicine, but over time, I discovered I had another passion which was in healthcare management.” Elly shares that he began working in Malawi by starting HIV programs for both children and mothers to be able to access healthcare more readily. Before coming to CURE, he worked with the Catholic Health Commission as the coordinator for HIV prevention from mother to child. He later worked for the Clinton Foundation and Child Legacy International, continuing his work bringing better healthcare to rural areas of Malawi. Elly shared, “I’ve always had the passion to serve, and I wanted to be in a position where I could influence the way the health system is in southern Africa, most especially Malawi where I have spent most of my adult life.”
The other aspect that makes Elly a natural fit at CURE is his great faith. Working for a Christian organization is important to Elly and his family. Elly grew up in a Christian family, and he continues to build his faith with wife and two children. Leading the staff at CURE allows him to bring his faith openly into his work environment and this is something that is important to him.
CURE International has been on Elly’s mind for a while now. He believes that he was being led to CURE over the years. “There have been some instances where I have been able to have an interface with CURE even before I came to work here,” Elly shares. His wife worked at CURE as a nurse ten years ago, and some of CURE Malawi’s current staff members were even guests at his wedding! In fact, he brought his dad to a CURE hospital for two total hip replacement surgeries, one in 2012 and again in 2015. “I was able to interact with the staff and what they were doing…it helped me to understand what you guys do,” Elly explained. He truly believes that God has been preparing him in to serve here.
Elly’s passion, medical background, and business training made him the perfect fit to lead CURE Malawi into the new decade, and we are excited to have him on the CURE team!
