Mother of Mercy Hospital Update - October 2023
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 the hospital’s string of community clinics serve over 150,000 patients year. The local staff perform operations, battle cancer and preventable diseases, and bring children into the world every day.
The hospital staff is pressing forward every day despite the new war in Sudan reaching the Nuba Mountains. Fighting remains isolated to the frontlines and there have been no widespread bombings of civilian areas as in previous wars. While the hospital is sheltered from the fighting for now, the war is leading to rapidly rising costs. Gasoline alone has surged up to $27/gallon. People coming in and out of the hospital for care are also worried about loved ones who live in war-affected areas. It’s a tough season in Sudan, but the critical work being done by the staff at Mother of Mercy Hospital continues.
Photo provided by Dr. Tom Catena.
Marsila’s Story
Several times a year, 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 impact on this vibrant community:
A lot is happening here in Sudan—conflict, violence, unrest–but that hasn’t stopped the vital work you’re supporting in the Nuba Mountains.
Every day, patients like Marsila arrive at Gidel Hospital from surrounding communities requiring urgent medical care.
Marsila is 16-years-old and expecting her first child. When she entered our care, she had been in labor for hours. On top of that, Marsila’s body was in great distress—her mother by her side the entire time. Her labor complications included seizures, convulsions, and high blood pressure. Every time she tried to push, she convulsed.
Marsila experienced severe confusion and lost consciousness after hours of waiting for a referral at their local clinic.
Upon arriving at Gidel Hospital, unconscious and in labor, we immediately rushed her to the delivery room. Our team diagnosed her with pre-eclampsia—a severe complication that increases a mother’s blood pressure and can damage vital organs.
Due to her severe condition, our team conducted a vacuum-assisted delivery. We perform such procedures when a mother is unable to push during contractions.
With great joy, I share with you the successful delivery of Marsila’s newborn, Kaka.
Photo provided by Dr. Tom Catena.
“If this hospital wasn’t working, I don’t know what would have happened, but I was sure that I and my baby would [not have survived],” Marsila shared with our team. “We are very grateful for all the doctors and midwives and the generous supporters who keep the doors of Gidel Hospital open. God bless you all.”
While I wish I could tell you this is uncommon, it’s not. Expectant mothers often arrive at Gidel with nowhere else to turn—sometimes after hours-long journeys in their third trimesters.
I’m thankful to be part of a team that cares so deeply for the people of Nuba; this includes you. Without your generosity, our ability to provide emergency, life-saving care for patients like Marsila would be drastically limited.
Can you make a quick donation? Mother of Mercy is one of the few open hospitals left and they need help with rising costs.
$10 - medical supplies for 3 patients
$20 - one week’s salary for a vaccinator
$35 - a community nurse’s salary for one week
$50 - helps fund building projects at the hospital
Operation Broken Silence is a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. Your donation is tax-deductible within the guidelines of U.S. law.
The new battery system helping to power the hospital! Photo provided by hospital.
Recent News
The hospital staff remains busy and the hospital continues to grow! The new pediatric ward is open and the clinical school’s dormitories for are now built. Renovations of the office block and HIV testing and counseling area are almost complete. And the much-needed new battery system (seen above) that helps power the hospital is up and running.
Mother of Mercy has been growing slowly into being a teaching hospital for years and is now more or less just that. The clinical school is thriving with 20 clinical officers, 49 students and a new cohort of midwives that joined over the summer. There’s definitely a we’re in this together attitude among the students as they support each other in their studies. The Nuba Mountains region is desperately short on trained healthcare workers. The clinical school is a central component of resolving this challenge over the long haul.
The effects of the war spreading across Sudan are being felt at the hospital, and not just with rising costs. Healthcare access in Sudan has been decimated by the war, with a majority of hospital and medical facilities in the country knocked offline or running out of supplies. To provide just one example, earlier this year 8-year-old Ahmad in Talodi began having pain on the right-side of his head. He quickly lost his appetite, began vomiting, and his head started swelling. After his mother Saida took him to a dispensary near their home and then a hospital in El-Obeid with no change, she rushed him to Khartoum. The army and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) launched their war against each other when they were there, forcing them to flee the burning capitol and return home.
Try to imagine being a mother who is trying to save her son, and not being able to easily because a war is destroying your access to quality healthcare.
Thankfully, Saida and Ahmad had one more option: Mother of Mercy Hospital. The staff quickly admitted Ahmad and put him on IV fluids for dehydration. Tests identified the cause was cancer and he began a chemotherapy treatment. His body responded immediately: the swelling subsided, his eye opened, and the pain began to ease! Because of supporters like you, Ahmed’s life was saved with only $3.00 spent, or the cost of the chemotherapy drugs.
Saida couldn’t hide her joy. “I was so afraid for my son,” she said. “I thought that I would lose him. I thank God for using Gidel Hospital and Dr. Tom to save the life of my son and many others. I don’t have anything tangible to give you, but I pray that you have long life and many blessings.”
Ahmed after his treatment. Photo provided by hospital.
The Best Way You Can Help
The vision of a brighter future through improved healthcare is becoming a reality, but there is much work left to be done.
The war in Sudan continues to cast a shadow over the Nuba Mountains. All of our Sudanese partners are struggling with rising costs. They need 100 of us to start giving monthly to help them continue their lifesaving work.
⚡️ Your first three monthly gifts will be matched by a private donor ⚡️
Can’t give monthly? Donate once or start a fundraising page and ask friends and family to give!
