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Read Fidele's Story in The Buffalo News about Lost Boy of Sudan Starting a Clinic to Save Lives in South Sudan.
You're waiting. And you're waiting.
Counting down the number of seconds and people left in line doesn't make the time pass any faster, but it's a welcomed distraction.
It's not a queue where the barista calls out names with venti cappuccinos in hand. Neither is it the mall, the post office or with a cart full of cereal and paper towels at the grocery store.
There is a sun so large it consumes the sky pulsing on the backs of old men and on the foreheads of sleeping infants. A quiet underlying eagerness can be felt while standing in the thick, tropical savanna climate.
On April 1, 2019 you're the 96th person in line to meet a doctor for the first time in your life.
The health clinic is tucked in the northwestern corner of South Sudan in the village of Koiyom in the county of Korok East. The building, the first of its kind in the area, is modest in size with seven rooms and seven beds. All seven beds are full of patients who are too sick to return home – most with malaria and water-borne diseases.
"On opening day, the medical staff saw 96 patients," said Ginny Donohue, Volunteer Board Chair of the South Sudan Villages Clinic. "The clinic logged 1,075 visits by the end of April 2019, twice the number of patients that we budgeted for."
The Clinic Opened April 1, 2019!
Refugees are fleeing from Sudan, a separate country to the north.
A refugee camp was set up in May 2023 just 15 minutes from the clinic.
56,000
Patient Visits in First 4 Years
52% are under the age of 5
998 maternity patients
Thank you to Kevin Bailey and The Sky is Not Limited Foundation for a water tank and plumbing to bring water access to the clinic.
Thank you Father Ron Sajdak and
Reaching Out 2 Africa for brining solar power to the clinic.
$1,200 provides one month of meds, $875 buys a 3 foot bar of soap for 500 families, $315 provides 2 nurse midwives for one month, $6,600 would coat the roof and provide privacy screens, $120 provides a Physician Asst. for children under 5 for one month.
Bringing Basic Care to Koiyom in Korok East:
This clinic is an undeniable victory for Koiyom and the surrounding villages. The location’s previous lack of basic health care has caused hundreds of avoidable, premature deaths.
"The people's hope has strengthened because according to the community, no one will ever have to walk for hours or for days to the nearest medical facility for a malaria medication or pain treatment again," said Fidele Dhan, clinic founder and a former child refugee returning to his homeland to bring healing.
While the rush of sick neighbors, wives, husbands and toddlers in need of primary health care is staggering; the cost to contribute is not. A contribution of just $30 can buy 75 Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food packets, bridging the gap between a malnourished child within days of death to restored health.
The South Sudan Villages Clinic requires the help of generous donors to obtain:
- Childbirth kits
- Life-saving medicines
- Malaria nets
- Hospital beds and mattresses
There is a list of needs and obstacles that range from supporting medical staffers to the desperately sought-after solar panels combating the lack of electricity in the whole village. But all Fidele, Ginny and the physician assistants can see are the suffering faces waiting in line.
Koiyom, Bahr El Ghazal
South Sudan
a 501(c)3 Organization
The village of Koiyom is in the northwestern corner of South Sudan, two dusty hours west of the slightly larger city of Aweil. Just over the border to the north is Darfur, in Sudan, a scene of terrible violence in recent years.
The area is beset with malaria, respiratory illnesses, and cholera. One of every seven women dies in childbirth -- more than in any other country in the world.
In 1987, invaders killed many of the villagers. Some of the children escaped, walking a thousand miles to a refugee camp, eventually making it to the United States. One of them was a nine-year-old boy named Fidele Dhan ("Fidelly DEEN").
It takes a CHILD to raise a VILLAGE.
Finally, a Clinic
Donate Now +1 716-715-5840 or 315-374-3426
fideledhan@gmail.com or ginnydonohue99@gmail.com
How to begin
With the support of many people, that nine-year-old boy has returned years later, and built a seven-room clinic in Koiyom.
It is staffed through donations, and treats the people of Koiyom and the villages that surround it.
“God bless the hands that have given," - Garang Diing K.
“Incredible, long awaited services at last prevail,” - Kuc Majok.
“What you did is unbelievable,” - Luka Yai.
“My sincere thanks goes to Mr. Fidele Dhan and the donors who decided to bring rare services to our community and the nearby residents at large,” said Yeldeng Awar. “From today onward, nobody will die because of malaria cases and minor diseases. God bless you.”
“Dreams come true.” -Philip Aguot.
To keep the clinic running is to keep a dream and a village alive.
Every cent of your donation is felt. Be part of our mission by donating today Type your paragraph here.
“Each time I see a physician, I say a prayer of gratitude and I think, 'What would it be like if there was no medical care available at all?' A wound or infection becomes a death sentence; a mosquito bite can end it all; childbirth is a terrifying risk. Our donors are saving lives. They are providing hope to this entire community."
– Ginny Donohue, Volunteer Board Chair
The Shocking Truth
Lost Boy of Sudan Brings Medical Clinic to Remote South Sudan Village
"Fidele's passion is to pay it forward and bring health care to all who enter his clinic."
Ginny Donohue
Founder
On Point for College
To hire 3 physican's assistants, 2 midwives, 2 nurses, field officer, community health worker, support staff, medicines & medical supplies takes only $36,000 a year. So little can do so much.
Donate Online Today!
96% of your gift goes directly to the South Sudan Villages Clinic, a 501(c)(3) organization. (4% admin.)
Donate Online: www.paypal.me/southsudanclinic
Send your donation to:
South Sudan Villages Clinic
P.O. Box 1226
Buffalo, NY 14240-1226
Email Us
fideledhan@gmail.com or
ginnydonohue99@gmail.com
Call Us
+1 716-715-5840 +1 315-374-3426
Fidele Dhan Ginny Donohue