Following in Diane's Footsteps
catherine from st. Joseph, MI
I was thrilled to see Diane's story about her and her husband, Bill's, work in Werkok, Sudan. I attend the same church as them. They have inspired me to help at Memorial Christian Hospital in Werkok, Sudan. I am an ER nurse and am use to state-of-the-art equipment. I have been to Werkok twice, for five weeks each time. I have learned how to use my clinical skills working in Sudan - no electricity and very basic conditions. I have used a large syringe for suction during surgery and only use sutures that dissolve, as I am sure they won't return for suture removal. I have treated malaria, worms, HIV, seen TB and leprosy. We had no meds for many of the diseases. You just make the people comfortable and make due with what you do have and constantly pray. I am so grateful for God giving me the gift of healing. I give thanks for the opportunity to share this gift. And I can't wait to return this coming February!
Topics: Africa Global AIDS MDGs
Back in college in the 1960s my roommate was a girl from the Congo named Ruth Musunu. We parted in 1968 and didn't see each other again for 37 years. But we kept in touch. We each raised a family and were happy when email made it easier to stay connected. She started a non governmental organization in Cameroon where she and her husband had settled, and in 2007 our college, Linfield College of McMinnville, Oregon, sent 15 nursing students to work with women and children in the villages her NGO (Women, Environment, and Health (WEH))serves near Douala.... had promised Ruth in college that one day I would visit her in Africa. Clearly the time had come. On the day after Christmas, 2008, 43 years after I had made that promise, I flew to Douala and spent six weeks with Ruth and her husband, Raphael Titi Manyaka...
I write and publish mysteries. Selling my novels at The Church of the Nativity in Raleigh NC I have donated the entire proceeds to support an Ugandan AIDS orphan and on another occasion to assist with the church budget shortfall. I've also held sales to benefit Homes4NC, Relay for Life, and Preservation NC.
I've loved Africa and dreamed of going there since I was a smalll child. I dreamed of joining the Peace Corps when I was a teenager. In 2002, I finally went on a Kenya safari with our local nature center. That was the first step of my journey. It was wonderful, but I was disturbed being treated like royalty amidst dire poverty. I told myself that if I ever returned to Africa it would be to help the people.
