Blog

Eye Surgery Campaign Off to a Great Start in Duk
December 15, 2011

This is an e-mail message from Dr. Barb Connor, who volunteers as the John Dau Foundation’s Medical Director. She is in South Sudan for a week to help train staff and to oversee an eye surgery campaign by a team of world-renowned eye surgeons from the U.S.

Just a quick update about the progress of our mission so far:

So we have arrived safely in Duk, South Sudan. And it is so great to be here at the same time as John Dau in Duk.

Today we screened 81 patients for eye surgery, and 74 patients will definitely have surgery. We hope to screen as many or more tomorrow, and those numbers will be added to the ones that have already been screened. So we will have plenty of patients for the doctors to operate on. Aguer, the ophthalmic assistant, was working with us and the word from medical team is that he has done an excellent job.

We hope to begin the first eye surgeries tomorrow for trachoma (the disease that causes blindness by turning the eyelashed inward such that they scratch the surface of the eye) . These first surgeries will be done by Dr. Lloyd Campbell who came in with us on the first plane load, December 12.

We even found a slit lamp here (an eye microscope) and volunteers Billy Reed and Marshall McCarroll got it working, which helped a lot with exams.

We had one case today where a young girl led her blind grandmother to the clinic, and they walked 8 hours to get here!

Drs Tabin and Crandall arrive on Thursday Dec 15th and will begin surgery shortly after getting off the plane. They have just five days in Duk, and they will probably treat more than 100 people by the time they leave. Amazing—giving people the gift of sight, just like that.

Josh Gwinn, our new hire for project manager at the Duk Lost Boys Clinic, has been a quick study in his orientation to the Clinic. He has jumped right in and I think he’s going to be fantastic. Josh, Mike Wagner (the current Project Manager), John Dau and I met this morning several hours for a de-briefing.

When we first arrived, a baby had just been born, and that was the second baby of the day, and then another was born during the night! So the maternity program is flourishing also.

There are a young antelope and a gazelle that now come around the clinic, that are quite tame, and they are beautiful so it really felt like I was in Africa this morning when I woke up with a gazelle outside my tent!

Those of you who have been here will be jealous to know that we have had fantastic food and so much more than the usual basic “mouth watering beans”. We have had some fresh fruit and cabbage and John Dau’s father donated a goat that we had today. So all in all it has been fantastic!

There’s still no toilet seat for Barb, but we do have a new latrine which is great!

I’m writing all of this to sounds of singing coming from the village. And last night the full moon was amazing. We almost didn’t need headlamps!

Duk is as beautiful as ever, the people are so appreciative, our staff is very hard-working and dedicated, and this visiting team are so awe-inspiring with their hard work and with what they will be offering to these people. I am honored and proud to be a part of this wonderful organization. Thank you all for all of your support.

All the best,

Barb

December 13th, 9:22pm, Duk, South Sudan

JDF Partners with Samaritan’s Purse to Provide Cleft Lip Surgeries!
December 5, 2011

Between November 5^th and 12^th, eight patients from four different payams in Duk County, received corrective cleft lip surgery, as part of a program implemented by Samaritan’s Purse at the Juba Teaching Hospital. As the designated time approached for the arrival of the chartered plane in Duk Payuel, which would transport the patients and their caretakers to Juba, there was a sense of a sense of nervous excitement. This was the first time that any of the would-be travelers had flown in a plane. Additionally, due to the distance from Duk County to Juba, this would be the first opportunity for many of the travelers to travel to world’s newest capital city.

In the U.S. and other developed countries, individuals born with a cleft lip routinely receive surgical treatment within 10 weeks of being born. However, in countries like South Sudan, most individuals never have access to such corrective treatment, and as a result suffer not only from the clefting congenital condition, but also from the psycho-social stigmas that society attaches to these individuals.
While the John Dau Foundation and the Duk Lost Boys Clinic has made incredible advances in the provision of medical services over the course of the last five years, there are still medical procedures and treatments which fall beyond the medical care that we are able to routinely provide at the Clinic. Fortunately, in such cases, we are able to partner with larger organizations such as Samaritan’s Purse, which are able to provide this life-changing care. As a result, we now have eight new smiling faces in Duk County.

Providing Health Services Where None Previously Existed
October 12, 2011

On a Saturday afternoon last month, a young mother of two was brought in to the Duk Lost Boys Clinic by her husband. They had come on foot from her home of Poktap, a town about 15 miles from Duk. She was extremely anemic and very weak, and upon her arrival at the Clinic, the staff immediately determined that she needed an emergency blood transfusion to save her life. The Clinic’s lab technician ran tests on her husband’s blood—the same quality tests that would be conducted in the U.S.—to determine if he could be a potential donor. Fortunately, he was; soon after, his wife was able to receive her life-saving blood transfusion.

Mrs. Kuol returned to the Clinic a few days ago for a routine check-up, and our medical officers report that she is now in good health. The fact that she was able to return speaks to the importance of the services that the Clinic is able to offer the residents of Duk and surrounding counties: Until recently, an individual requiring such a treatment would have had to been transported to the state capital, more than a hundred miles away and completely inaccessible half the year due to flooding six months of the year. The dirt roads around the region are completely impassable due to standing water, which reaches above knee-height in most places.

During her last visit, Mrs. Kuol reiterated that she was thankful for the medical care she received at the Clinic, and acknowledged that she was especially fortunate considering her relative proximity to the Clinic; more than a third of the Clinic’s patients come from a day’s walk away or more. For her and others, the Duk Lost Boys Clinic is the only option for quality medical services. She was also quick to point out that her two children, aged two years and five months respectively, have also benefited from the health services provided at the Clinic. Her eldest son has been fully immunized, as a direct result of the Clinic’s vaccination programs. Her second child is also receiving the necessary immunizations to ensure that he will not fall victim to the common illnesses which are prevalent, but easily preventable in South Sudan.

Beating the Odds with Your Help
June 7, 2011

Born in war-torn Sudan in 1995, the middle of seven children, Nyanwut has had a challenging start to her life. That is all starting to change.

Nyanwut was 12 years old when she developed a persistent cough, along with general weakness and night fevers. Her left leg had become almost paralyzed. At that time, the nearest place which could have correctly diagnosed her illness was several days’ walk through treacherous areas.

Now 15, she came to the Duk Lost Boys Clinic which had opened near her home. She was tested and found positive for tuberculosis, a common disease in her part of the world, South Sudan. She was counselled on the difficulties of the treatment regimen and what would be required of her—taking a combination of five different drugs, every day, for months straight. Along with other long-term patients at the Clinic, Nyanwut has been given nutritious food by the clinic, which helps her manage the difficult disease and treatment regimen. She’s also given a mosquito net to prevent against mosquitos which can transmit malaria.

“If I have to compare from the last four years since February to now, the pain has reduced,” she says. Now that she’s getting better, her biggest hope is to rejoin school, where she’s in grade 4.

Asked if there was anything she’d like to say to the donors who made her treatment possible? She shyly withdraws, betraying her silent courage, “Only appreciation.”

A World of Difference Made Possible from a World Away
May 15, 2011

A personal note from our Executive Director & Project Manager, who is at the Duk Lost Boys Clinic:

Every day at the Duk Lost Boys Clinic, we measure every child under 5 years old and if they’re malnourished, we provide these hungry children and their mother counseling and nutrition supplements to help them get back to health.

I was sitting in one of the consultation rooms a few weeks ago, when at one point a mother asked me what my name was, because, she said, she wanted to go back to the village and thank me for the work we’ve done in bringing these nutrition supplies. After the effort we put in to get these supplies to the Clinic and deliver these services, I found myself literally almost starting to cry at the thought—this mother, holding her 11 month-old child in her arms and looking at me; when someone donates money to the John Dau Foundation, they’ll probably never know the people it helps, yet, here was this mother right here, struggling to have a decent life, and I could reach out and touch her. She was as real as anyone I’ve ever met, of course, and here we were helping her because of some people thousands of miles away who had made a donation. I wanted to go back to my computer and print up a list of all of our donors and say “Thank these people here. They’re the ones who’ve made it possible. Without even knowing you, they’ve done more than I have. What I do is only possible because of them.”

She’d first brought in her child, Bol, a few weeks ago, when he was near-death from hunger and sickness. In the last few weeks in the clinic’s nutrition program—the only such program for more than 50 miles around—he’s gained more than one pound of weight and is much more active. I could see the relief and hope in this mother’s eyes that her son was brought back to life.

I’m just so amazed at the things going on down here in John’s home village of Duk, even after being here for more than a year now. John’s vision and hard work come to life are proof of what one person, joined by many others, can do to change a the world. And though most people who donate will never see it, they are just as much a part of the great things happening here as anyone else.

An Unconventional—and Unexpected—Delivery in Duk
April 11, 2011

It was an improvised, miraculous, and safe delivery, and today a mother is resting comfortably with her twin daughters and husband.

A Sunday afternoon a few weeks ago, a very pregnant young woman, Nyanwur, and her husband came into the Duk Lost Boys Clinic after coming nearly 30 miles from their village. Nyanwur was in labor and it was prolonging, prompting her family to make the journey to the Clinic in hope of the delivery care there, the only such services for a day’s walk. The Clinic’s midwife, Teresa, attended to her throughout the afternoon and into the evening. Her contractions were far apart and not progressing, a sign of trouble.

Finally, by 2am, having been up the night before attending to another delivery, Teresa and the Clinic team decided they needed to refer her to the State Hospital for surgery (a function for which the Clinic is not able to provide), which was six hours away by car. Teresa and a nurse, Kuol, quickly packed medical supplies, a travel bag, and $200 traveling money and drove to the hospital—a bumpy, 100-mile drive along dirt roads.

An hour along the way, while it was still dark, the mother began to deliver and the driver pulled over to the side of the road. Using the dome light from the JDF vehicle as well as a pair of second-hand headlamps, Teresa (show in the picture above, next to the vehicle) and Kuol conducted the delivery—twins!

Soon after she delivered, Nyanwur fell unconscious due to the heavy blood loss. Kuol and Teresa worked hard to resuscitate her. The team tried to go to a nearby clinic, only to find that the staff wasn’t around and they lacked proper supplies. So the team continued to the hospital, arriving in the late morning.

Meanwhile, back at the Duk Lost Boys Clinic, the other staff waited for news of the events. An e-mail came from Kuol that afternoon. Despite severe anemia and blood loss, by the next morning the mother was doing well and speaking with Teresa. She’d be receiving a blood transfusion later that day. The team returned to the Clinic the next day, exhausted but relieved that their efforts paid off, saving the life of the mother and her children, who are still to be named. “This is our work,” Kuol, the nurse said after arriving back to the Clinic. Five years ago, before the Clinic was constructed, Nyanwur might have lost her life. Today, thanks to the generous continued support of people around the world contributing to the mission of the John Dau Foundation, her life is a lot different!

In the Midst of Change, JDF Moves Forward
March 5, 2011

It’s been an exciting and adventurous couple of months for the Duk Lost Boys Clinic and South Sudan. In January, the South held its long-awaited Referendum on Independence. The results were overwhelming- more than 98% voted for independence from the North. It was hailed by international observers as being free and fair, and the North has openly promised to honor the results.

As a precaution, before the voting, the John Dau Foundation removed its non-Sudanese staff and brought in several months’ worth of back- up supplies. Fortunately, the vote went off without a hitch and was largely safe and peaceful. However, due to flooding in January the supplies were necessary as they met an increase in the number of patients.

John Dau was in Sudan for nearly two months organizing JDF’s efforts to becoming a more established health clinic. He hired a number of new Sudanese clinic staff. Many were recent graduates, earning their first job. They are going to be working alongside experienced colleagues building their skills. The new staff spent several days cleaning and reorganizing the Clinic’s new items including hospital beds, IV stands, and medical supplies which were delivered in January and paid for by supporters in the U.S..

It was a productive trip for the visiting JDF team. Dr. David Reed, who serves as one of JDF’s Medical Directors, was making his fourth trip to the Clinic since it opened-all of them have been on his vacation time and at his own expense. During this trip, he met with the new staff, discussed problems and vision for the future, as well as advised nurses on some common illnesses and procedures. Dr. Reed also visited an outreach team from the Clinic who were conducting a de-worming campaign at a nearby school. The campaign reached nearly 500 children. It had been part of a larger county-wide campaign that expanded several square miles. JDF’s Executive Director will remain at the Clinic for several months overseeing several new projects and coordinating the Clinic’s activities.

The true marks of how far John’s visions and the Clinic have come have been made evident in the Duk Lost Boys Clinic’s Sudanese-led success these past months. It is a model for what healthcare in the world’s newest country can be like.

Nutrition Services Offered At Clinic
November 21, 2010

One of the strengths of the John Dau Foundation is that it has always had a strategy to stay focused on our mission to provide quality healthcare in South Sudan. We’ve tried to not do too much, too soon, but instead make a real, measurable impact in areas where we’re capable. A tour of South Sudan and many other developing countries reveals many clinics and schools which are boarded up, where supplies are inadequate, or staff are absent, because an organization tried to do too much at once.

JDF, in turn, has instead taken each problem one at a time—first, basic curative and maternal care when the Clinic opened in 2007; in 2009 a vaccination program through the donation of cold-chain equipment, and then later in the year, TB and HIV programs. In 2010, led by the support of our donors, we’ve launched a series of outreach programs, including trainings and mass campaigns, covering hundreds of square miles in areas which have never been reached. One village donated a goat when Clinic staff came to provide vaccines—the first time any group had ever reached them.

One of the items remaining on the list has been nutrition services. During the “hunger period” last spring, the Clinic staff felt helpless as mothers came in daily with children who were severely malnourished. Several died at the Clinic, as did countless others in the villages who weren’t able to be reached. This month, through the support of our donors and an emergency relief grant, the Clinic has begun to launch a nutrition program. The program is starting first with a two-week assessment of the situation in Duk Payuel, John Dau’s home village. Two nutrition consultants led a training at the Clinic of a 12-person team of enumerators from the Clinic and community. Over the next few weeks they’ll be measuring children in the village and collecting data on hygiene practices and food security. In the coming months, with this training, we hope to be able to conduct assessments of other villages, and introduce nutrition services and supplementary feeding to children who are severely malnourished. It’s a difficult program, requiring community intervention, supplies, and follow-up, but it’s one that is in high demand. UNICEF and other groups estimate that 21% of the children in Duk County are malnourished, and with the large crop destruction from the flooding this year, that number could be—and become—much worse.

But adding these services will mean the Clinic will be able to reach hundreds of children who are suffering from malnutrition, as well as respond to nutrition emergencies—which might come if there is hostility around the referendum in January 2011. In a place where no other services existed a few years ago, that’s a pretty amazing thing.

Generous People Making A Difference
October 29, 2010

As most of the members of Eastern Hills Bible Church in upstate New York were still sleeping, in the village of Duk Payuel in South Sudan, a small charter plane was landing. This plane’s landing in Duk was made possible through the support of those church members. As they were just waking up in the U.S., two mothers, Elizabeth and Martha, were getting on the plane out at the dirt airstrip. They were headed for the nearest surgical center, more than 100 miles away in the state capital. Even during the dry season, the trip across the dirt roads takes 6 hours, and now, during the rainy season, getting there is only possible by plane. The plane, a six-seater, was chartered through AIMR AIR, a non-profit aviation organization. With a team of volunteer pilots, AIM AIR serves missionary and church-based groups throughout Africa, providing air travel in places many commercial flights either won’t go or for which would charge a high fee.

As these things tend to just happen in Duk by Divine intervention, the pilot said that the plane happened to be available for the day. The plane was sitting in Rumbek, just a hundred or so miles from Duk, when Clinic staff reached out to see if a last-minute flight was possible.

One of the mothers had walked to the Clinic a few days before through knee-deep standing water for more than 25 miles. She had already had six pregnancies, four of which resulted in a miscarriage. She was now pregnant again, and came to the Clinic hoping and trusting in the Clinic staff and services provided here—the best for more than 100 miles around. She was having prolonged labor and needed an emergency C-section, a function for which the Clinic is still unable to provide.

The other mother had come from just a few miles away, and unfortunately, her child had already died in the womb. She’d been bleeding for several days since then. Without surgical facilities, now her own life was in serious jeopardy as well.

After the flight took off, the Clinic staff waited news of what happened. The next day the Clinic Manager made a phone call using Skype (since there’s no cell phone network in Duk) to a caretaker who had accompanied the women. He gladly reported that both mothers were doing well, and one had given birth to a healthy baby boy. The staff breathed a sigh of relief and laughed that neither went into labor on the plane.

It was all made possible by the dedicated act of generosity from koye miooc (“generous people” in the local language) 5,000 miles away, whom these mothers will never meet, working to change things in South Sudan.

Flight Brings Needed Supplies to the Clinic
October 18, 2010

The anticipation of the flight always seems to make the morning drag on in Duk.

In order to get supplies into the remote area of the Duk Lost Boys Clinic, JDF charters a plane through another non-profit organization, AIM AIR. Beginning its journey in Nairobi, it picks up medicines, personnel, spare parts, and other supplies to keep the Clinic running. The payload for the charters is about 900kg, or just less then one ton, and every inch of it is used and usually items have to be left behind.

A few days prior to the flight landing, the community spent the day diking the dirt airstrip to prevent flood waters from getting into it. Children with old cans scooped out the water on the airstrip, and with some help from above, the sun was out in full force the day of the flight to dry out the rest of the airstrip.

This month’s plane included 450kg (990lbs) of essential medicines, enough for two months, to keep the Clinic running. With careful ordering and support from donors, the Clinic rarely has any major stock-outs, though at the end of the month things can get tight. A few days before, the Clinic had run out of paracetemol (Tylenol in the U.S.), which is key in reducing fevers of people with malaria, among a number of other problems. It was one of the first things unpacked.

Also on the plane were spare parts for the Clinic’s vehicle, which can only be gotten from Nairobi. A church in the U.S. donated a solar cooker, which will reduce the Clinic’s use of firewood in cooking, which can take hours to walk and collect, not to mention the damage to the environment. One of the cooks, a mother from the local village, was thrilled when seeing it.

Inside another box were various seeds for the Clinic’s demonstration garden. After intense flooding destroyed many of the crops in the area, the Clinic will be giving out seeds for mothers to start up small kitchen gardens. The mothers can come to the Clinic and see the demonstration garden, learning about new kinds of fruits and vegetables and planting methods.

The Clinic’s manager and nurse were also on the plane, returning from their annual month-long leave. Both had in fact gone more than a year without taking their vacation since the Clinic had been so busy. There were some small food items which were shipped in, and even toilet paper has to be brought in from Nairobi.

On its way back, the plane made efficient use of the space and opportunity and carried a patient who needed a referral to a bigger hospital in the city. The patient had deep-vein thrombosis, which can be life threatening if the clot goes to the lung or heart. Because of intense, recent flooding, no vehicles have come in or out of the area for several months, making the plane the only option. It’s payload was well-received and badly needed. And thanks to generous supporters, it can keep coming.