Mother of Mercy Hospital Update - December 2022
Mother of Mercy Hospital in the Nuba Mountains of Sudan serves as the backbone of the healthcare system in this fragile region. The main referral facility in Gidel and its string of community clinics serve over 150,000+ patients year. The local staff performs operations, battles cancer and preventable diseases, and brings new children into the world.
Photo provided by Dr. Tom Catena
Tutu’s Story
A few times a year, the hospital’s medical director Dr. Tom Catena shares a story of one of their patients or a member of the local staff who is leaving a lasting impression on the team:
As my team in the Nuba Mountains continues its essential work, your support sustains us.
I’d like to introduce you to Tutu Abraham, my friend and colleague. Tutu is a midwife-nurse on the maternity ward here at Gidel Hospital. He is from Gidel in the Nuba Mountains and was able to move to Kenya to continue his education. After 14 years, Tutu was ready to return to his home and apply his knowledge as an assistant nurse.
I work with Tutu at the hospital and know the compassionate spirit and love he has for patients. Tutu’s potential was obvious, so he received a sponsorship to further his education at the Catholic Health Training Institute in Wau.
We are grateful Tutu accepted this offer because today, after three years, he has graduated from the program with a degree in midwifery. Tutu returned to us right where he began in the maternity ward. But now, he is a certified midwife.
“My greatest joy is helping mothers deliver strong, healthy babies,” Tutu told me. “As a father myself, there is no more beautiful thing in the world than being a parent.”
Photo provided by Dr. Tom Catena
Recent News
2022 has been another busy year. The fragile ceasefire in the Nuba Mountains continues to allow for better freedom of movement. People are even coming from various parts of Sudan for care, a testament to the high reputation of the staff.
After years of anticipation, the clinical school is now open and training the first wave of 20 new clinical officers! Their two weeks of orientation were in August and classes remain ongoing. The students are working well together and are joyfully engaged in their studies. More healthcare workers are desperately needed in the Nuba region. The new facilities and trainings will help alleviate the healthcare worker shortage over time.
Construction projects remain ongoing at the hospital, with a new operating theatre and labour and delivery ward nearing completion. Operation Broken Silence recently managed funds for a multi-org project that brought needed building materials, tools, and other resources to help get the clinical school up and running and these new facilities built. These were items that couldn’t be sourced locally.
Photo provided by Dr. Tom Catena
The hospital’s eye care program continues to flourish even as needs remain great. Hundreds of people show up at the hospital every month to be evaluated for vision issues. Caesar, a clinical ophthalmology officer, provides cataract surgery and other eye procedures. In August, his team reached a new milestone of treating upwards of 50 patients every day! “There are many cataract cases, and people come from all over states of Sudan for treatment here,” Caesar says. “Patients are really happy and trust our treatment here. It’s my goal to use my knowledge and skills to prevent blindness and improve vision in my community.”
A measles outbreak began showing up at the hospital in September. By early October there were over 100 admissions that filled the two new isolation wards built last year and overflow tents. This is not the first time a measles outbreak has spread in the Nuba region. Vaccines have historically been difficult to come by. In fact, for the past two years no vaccines have gotten into the region at all. Thankfully, some vaccines were delivered in late September despite flooded roads from the rainy season. And the isolation wards are already proving to be valuable.
A Nuba female doctor who was studying at a medical school in Nairobi has returned to the hospital. And in January and February, a pediatric surgeon from Duke and an American plastic surgeon working in Kenya will briefly visit to help provide additional care and training.
This is but a small snapshot of the life-changing work done every day at the hospital. After years of war and oppression led to a high emphasis on emergency care, Dr. Tom recently said of these latest developments “we’re slowly becoming a teaching hospital.” This is what is truly needed for the health of the Nuba people to improve in the long run and for patients to feel whole again.
The vision of a brighter future is finally becoming a reality, but there is much work left to be done.
Photo provided by Dr. Tom Catena
Get Involved
Operation Broken Silence is building a global movement to empower the Sudanese people through innovative programs as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Our supporters have unique opportunities to empower the staff at Mother of Mercy Hospital.
This critical healthcare facility is funded by private supporters from around the world. When we all do our small part, the hospital staff, trainees, and the Nuba people thrive. The fastest and easiest way to help is to make a quick one-time donation online, or setup a small monthly gift to help provide the team the consistent support they need.
OTHER WAYS TO HELP
Start a fundraising page and ask friends and family to give
Make checks payable to Operation Broken Silence, write Hospital in the memo line, and mail to P.O. Box 770900 Memphis, TN, 38177-0900
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