Our Story
OUR VALUES
Humility demonstrated by selflessness | Reconciliation demonstrated by self-sacrifice | Professionalism demonstrated by competence and respect | Restoration demonstrated by complete healing | Compassion demonstrated by mercy | Humanitarianism demonstrated by cultural sensitivity | Cooperation demonstrated by empowering others | Enduring Partnerships found in strong relationships
A PROMISE MADE. A PROMISE KEPT.
A Foundation Built to Last
The hospital facility in Kabul, known as Cure Hospital, was opened in 2005 by CURE International, which arrived in Afghanistan in 2002 to treat patients without regard to religion, gender, or ability to pay. During its first decade of operation, the project specialized in child and maternity care, operating with a small team of approximately 30 Afghans and 30 foreign staff.
Rick Manning, MD, now serving as Be Team International’s founder and CEO, was part of that hospital team, living in Afghanistan from 2005 to 2014. Rick served in several roles during his years on the ground in Afghanistan, including Director of the General Surgery Fellowship Program and Medical Director, working alongside Afghan colleagues who were already the heart of the hospital’s clinical life. Rick developed a deep respect for the people of Afghanistan and a firsthand understanding of the work at hand and the complexity of delivering dependable medical care in one of the world’s most challenging environments. Rick has dedicated his life’s work to serving as a teaching surgeon alongside the Afghan hospital team. From the beginning, he understood that a hospital staffed and led entirely by Afghan professionals — deeply trained, experienced, and trusted — was the surest path to lasting, self-sustaining care for the people of Afghanistan.
Today the Kabul hospital is staffed and led by an all Afghan team of professionals that has grown to 323 people. This growth is a testament to the hospital’s strength, stability and the dedication of the professionals who have chosen to build their careers here.
Alongside this, Rick cultivated a global network of highly skilled healthcare professionals — specialists, surgeons, educators, and mentors — who share BTI’s commitment to Afghan-led care. This network remains an enduring part of how the work holds together. Expert clinicians from around the world contribute their knowledge, work alongside the Afghan hospital team, serve as a trusted sounding board for complex cases, and deepen a collaboration rooted in mutual respect.
When CURE International made the difficult decision to permanently end its work in Afghanistan, their departure would have left vulnerable women, children, and families at even greater risk. CURE’s leadership approached Rick in 2017, and with their assistance, he founded Be Team International in 2018 as a U.S.-based charity — assuming full financial responsibility and oversight for the hospital in Kabul. It was the only way to ensure it could remain open. Rick returned to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The Afghan hospital team’s work continued.
کوه هم بالای خود راه دارد
که غر لوړ دی په سر یی لار وی
Afghan led.
For Afghanistan.
The real leaders of Be Team International are the Afghan clinicians and hospital professionals who have chosen, in the face of immense complexity, to keep caring for Afghanistan’s women, children, and families — with skill, courage, and professionalism. BTI comes alongside them, ensuring they have everything they need to provide dependable, high-quality care.
The people carrying this work forward have their own stories to tell. Explore Staff Perspectives.
SEE WHAT WE FOCUS ON
Why “Be Team?”
When people first hear “Be Team International,” there is sometimes a pause. The name points directly to the posture behind everything we do — an invitation to partnership, built on trust, shared learning, and the steady commitment to show up alongside the people who carry this work forward.
Two Decades of Sustaining Care
Our hospital in Kabul has been a place of healing for twenty years — delivering skilled, compassionate care for Afghanistan’s most vulnerable women, children, and families. Your partnership is what makes that record possible. In that time, the Afghan healthcare team has delivered over 54,000 babies, welcomed more than one million outpatient visits, and performed over 53,000 operations — including 14,000+ cleft deformity repairs that have changed the lives of children and families forever. The numbers below tell the story of what two decades of faithful care looks like.
Year after year, the team also travels throughout Afghanistan to reach those with limited access to medical care. When emergencies arise — including responding to disasters like the Kunar earthquake — they deploy to remote provinces to set up free medical camps. Sustaining care through faithful service, in every season. That’s why we call them medical heroes.
54,801
Babies delivered
1,093,313
Outpatient visits
124,775
Hospital admissions
2,440
Fistula repair surgeries
139
Afghan doctors trained
53,788
Operations
15,224
Cleft deformities repaired
As a donor, you’re a partner
Together, we’re a team making the day-to-day possible — training that builds capacity, resources keeping care reliable, and support that helps a very busy hospital stay ready for women, children, and families. Thank you for considering standing with this team.