This Jewish Businessman Gives to Doctors’ Mission Work to Help Them ‘Love the Stranger’

Recipients of Medical Care
Recipients of Medical Care Facebook/African Mission Healthcare Foundation

A Jewish American businessman and investor is paying it forward by supporting Christian missionary doctors who are serving African communities because these people have answered the call to “love the stranger.”

Mark Gerson, co-founder and chairman of the Gerson Lehrman Group, wrote in an article for Fox News that he and his wife have been grateful for the health care they’ve been receiving in the U.S..

As gratitude is an “enacted emotion” — meaning it is “a sentiment necessarily followed by action” — he decided to support other health care professionals who are giving their services in a region where it is badly needed: Africa.

Christian hospitals make up a third of all health care facilities in Africa, Gerson said.

“The saving (literally) grace for many of these patients is Christian medical missionaries — physicians forgoing modern American comforts to enact the great Jewish and Christian imperative (mentioned 36 times in the Torah) to ‘love the stranger,’” Gerson said.

There is an average of one doctor for every 30,000 people in African countries, he explained. And while a procedure like C-section is quite common in Western countries, only 20 percent of women in Africa are able to go through it for lack of qualified doctors who can perform the procedure.

In keeping with the holiday season, Gerson, together with the African Mission Healthcare Foundation, set up the L’Chaim Prize for Outstanding Christian Medical Missionary Service. The prize of $500,000 will be given to the institution that the winner represents.

“The prize will bolster the missionary’s high-impact clinical work, and will be granted, following AMHF guidelines, to the winner’s host institution,” the African Mission Healthcare Foundation posted on Facebook.

Gerson presented four finalists — four doctors working in different countries in the continent.

Dr. Jason Fader, who is “the only full-time surgeon outside the capital city.” Burundi has only 13 surgeons for its population of 10 million. Fader would use the prize money for surgical ward expansion and training of doctors.

Dr. Stephen Foster has served in Angola for 38 years. He plans to establish the first ever rotating internship in the country and to train 24 doctors so they can tend to an average of 4,000 people each year. Angola has a population of 21 million.

Dr. William Rhodes works in Kenya as a reconstructive surgeon. He plans the use the prize to train two surgeons and buy necessary surgical equipment so his hospital can accommodate 1,000 more surgeries per year.

Dr. John Spurrier has served in Zambia since the 1970s. Aside from improving HIV care, he also plans to improve electricity and water for the Macha Hospital, the mission hospital he operates, which is able to get running water for just two hours each day.

“In a world of dire need, four givers enact right sentiments daily with ridiculously limited resources, on behalf of the stranger whom we as Jews are commanded by the Torah to love,” Gerson wrote.

The winner will be announced on Dec. 13, according to the African Mission Healthcare Foundation.

    Most Popular
  • Is 'The Last Supper' worth watching? Audience and critics weigh in

    Is 'The Last Supper' worth watching? Audience and critics weigh in

    Faith-based films often receive mixed reactions, and The Last Supper is no exception. The movie attempts to bring a fresh perspective to one of the most iconic moments in Christian history, but does it succeed? Some reviews from critics and audiences provide insight into its strengths and shortcomings.

  • ‘The Chosen’ Season 5: The darkest season yet—What to know before watching

    The wait is over—The Chosen is back with its fifth season, and this time, things are getting intense. The new episodes dive straight into the final days of Jesus’ life, covering some of the most emotional and dramatic moments in the Bible. If you’ve been following the series, you already know that The Chosen isn’t just about retelling familiar stories—it’s about bringing them to life in a way that feels real.

  • Massacres in Syria: Over 1,000 dead, including Christians and Alawites

    Syria’s coastal regions have been devastated by a series of massacres, with reports indicating that over 1,000 people—many from Christian and Alawite communities—have been killed in brutal attacks. Entire families have been wiped out, and survivors are fleeing in search of safety as sectarian violence escalates.

  • Kim Sae-ron and Wheesung: The tragic irony of Korean society and the principles of happiness

    Not long ago, the media was in an uproar over actress Kim Sae-ron’s passing. Just months before, the same people who had relentlessly criticized her for her DUI incident were now expressing sympathy, saying, "The world was too harsh on her." The irony is impossible to ignore.

  • Newsboys move forward as a quartet after Michael Tait’s departure

    After more than a decade as the lead singer of the Newsboys, Michael Tait has officially parted ways with the band, marking a significant shift in the Christian rock group’s lineup. The remaining members—Jeff Frankenstein, Jody Davis, Duncan Phillips, and Adam Agee—have assured fans that they will continue forward, embracing a new season of music and ministry.