Q & A Session with Dr.Karl Watts

Q: During medical school you took your first international trip to Ecuador. How did that impact you?
 A: We were doing cleft lip repairs on kids. The lighting was poor. The generator often times quit and we'd have to pull out flashlights to shine on the operating area. And with just that minimal stuff, doing basic, simple things, we had such a profound impact on these kids and families. It seems to me that the impact was far greater than the impact I saw during med school caring for people in very different circumstances with the best medications and the best doctors. You are doing some of the same things, curing many of the same things, correcting some of the same defects but in Ecuador the impact was obviously so much greater than the impact I saw of us having here in the US. It’s hard to not want to be part of that scenario.

Q: What was the first vision you had about Genesis World Mission?
A: My first vision was just this "a-ha" moment that was realized when I finally just put the pen to the paper and decided it was time to do something to fix the need. It was just something I had to do. And I don't really see it as being ‘my’ goals and ‘my’ vision; it’s never been about me. If it were about me then I wouldn’t be where I am. One finite man cannot do everything. It's about the goal. It’s about getting something done and that something in our case is so vast and great that it just makes sense to multiply the capacity in which it gets done.

Q: So how did Genesis and the Garden City Community Clinic finally get started?
A: We had just leased a building in Garden City, which we had picked because it is an area of need. We had plans to renovate the building and function as a clinic but we weren’t there at all. So I was sitting in a meeting discussing the closure of St. John’s downtown free clinic due to financial reasons and said, ‘eh, why don’t we just get started with our clinic.’ Not being sure how we were going to do this because we only had an empty warehouse but I said, ‘Genesis will take the step to get our clinic going before we had planned.’ Everybody was relieved and excited and left the meeting. But when I left I had to go back to my board…I told them I had just committed us to get our clinic started this year and everybody just looked at me and said, ‘Karl, what did you do?!’ But what happened afterwards is kind of amazing and such testimony to our community. A double wide trailer that had already be renovated and outfitted as a clinic was donated for our use, while in that process I also found someone who had all this medical equipment they wanted to donate. So within a span of a week we had a clinic facility, beds, and equipment. There were several people willing to volunteer and within a month or two we had a clinic started and we rolled from there.

Q: What would you say is your motivation and driving idea behind all of this?
A: My motivation is my faith. In all my soul searching and trying to put it all together, my faith tells me that those in need have a great value and there is no way we can neglect them. My first objective has become to care for them and second, to multiply the capacity to care for them.

 Q: What do you hope people take away from Genesis?
 A: In my perspective, Genesis is not great. Genesis isn’t and doesn’t consider itself to be the “be all-end all.” We don’t have the time, expertise, or the resources and strategy to go into any area and solve the problem. We’re an organization that so much values partnering, collaboration, and working with individuals to bring about change to meet the need. That is the greatness, the ability to come alongside others to reach one common goal, to watch people impact other people.