Photo Record
Images
Metadata
Accession Number |
2007.05.00 |
Catalog Number |
2007.05.03j |
Object Name |
Photograph, Digital |
Collection |
Rashid Abdu |
Date |
January 21, 2007 |
Description |
Color photograph of Dr. Abdu standing in front of a wall with green text showing his name. He was explaining to parents and children the habits of the Red-Shouldered Hawk. Butler Institute of American Art. Born in Aireem, Yemen, Rashid Abdu began his education at age five with Qur'an lessons under a tree. At age 11, he went to work at a U.S. Air Force base in Aden, where he learned English and was inspired to be a doctor. There he met American consul Harlan B. Clark, who supported Rashid's goals and helped him to come to the United States. Rashid went to high school in Virginia and received a four-year scholarship to Lafayette College in Pennsylvania to study pre-med. After a trip back to Yemen for the first time in nine years, Rashid went on to complete his medical degree at George Washington University. Rashid visited Yemen again in 1971, prompted by his mother's supposedly fatal and inoperable illness. He examined her and performed surgery to remove an incarcerated hernia in her abdomen. She lived healthily for another 28 years. After his success, other villagers wanted their children to "be like Rashid" and many pursued higher educations, including women. Dr. Abdu was elected Director of Surgical Education at St. Elizabeth Hospital in Youngstown, Ohio in 1973. During his tenure and later retirement, he contributed to the betterment of medical conditions for the poor in the U.S., Yemen, and Mexico through the "Mission of Love" project. Throughout his full and adventurous life, Dr. Rashid A. Abdu has remained a compassionate, charitable and humble man. |
People |
Abdu, Rashid MD |
Search Terms |
Yemeni Americans |
Lexicon category |
8: Communication Artifact |