1 in 7 women who ever conceived a child eventually died in pregnancy complications.
— Agenzia Fides (fides.org), the missionary news agency of the Vatican
Until a small clinic appeared in the village of Koiyom.
Now over a thousand people a month pass through its doorway.
That door has been open 24 hours a day since April 1, 2019.
A nine-year-old ran from war in 1987. In 2019 he opened the first clinic his village ever had.
56,000 patient visits in four years, and more than half of the patients are under five.
Host a trivia night, rally your church or school, or share our story with your friends.
The clinic operates on a budget of $50,000 a year, with no debt. Your donation goes to the clinic's greatest need. 96% of every gift reaches Koiyom.
The Buffalo News, Spectrum News and WIVB on the Lost Boy who brought medicine home.
Ask a question, offer your skills, or get updates from the clinic.
The clinic is in Koiyom, near Aweil in the Bahr el Ghazal region of South Sudan.
South Sudan Villages Clinic is a U.S. 501(c)(3) nonprofit based in Buffalo, New York. Every U.S. supporter is an unpaid volunteer.
About the Clinic
The Sudan civil war. Malaria, respiratory illness, cholera, and pregnancies that killed. Children ran from bullets and disease, and became the “Lost Boys” of South Sudan. Fidele Dhan ran from his village. He was nine years old.
He escaped the North Sudanese militia and found a refugee camp in Ethiopia.
Four years later, the government changed, and the Lost Boys were evicted from the camp within a week. They had to cross the Gilo River back into (South) Sudan. Many were drowned and many were killed by crocodiles.
South Sudanese liberation soldiers guided them across another border into Kenya. 16,000 Lost Boys found their way to the Kakuma Refugee Camp. They remained there for eight years.
President George W. Bush recognized the plight of Africans, and granted entry to 3,900 South Sudanese, provided they became citizens within five years. Fidele was one of them. Fidele found his way to the United States.
Fidele became a citizen of the United States. He graduated from the University at Buffalo, bought a plane ticket, and was finally reunited with his mother and siblings in South Sudan. A Lost Boy had come home.
Reaching Out 2 Africa (ROTA) and fifteen Buffalo youth groups began raising money to build a seven-room clinic in Koiyom.
Construction of the clinic was finished. But it had no staff.
Ginny Donohue helped Fidele incorporate South Sudan Villages Clinic as a U.S. 501(c)(3), and donations began.
After meeting with South Sudanese officials to locate medicine, Fidele needed qualified physician assistants, nurses and midwives living within walking distance. Incredibly, they were there, and applied for jobs.
The clinic opened with a staff of 10 and an annual budget of $18,000. On the first day, 96 people stood in line for medical care.
Solar panels were installed on the clinic roof, providing the only electricity in the area. For two years before that, they had worked all night with flashlights. Now they could have a refrigerator, which allowed them to store immunization medications. And a water tower and solar-powered pump meant no longer carrying water from great distances.
HealthNet TPO provided four additional staff members, malaria nets, and life-saving nutrition for malnourished babies.
President and Founder · pronounced fi-DEL-lee DEEN
Fidele Dhan is a “Lost Boy” who founded South Sudan Villages Clinic in 2015 to care for the people of his home country. Koiyom Clinic opened its doors in 2019. A graduate of the University at Buffalo, Fidele lives in Buffalo, New York, with his wife and children.
716-715-5840 · fideledhan@gmail.com
Treasurer and Chair, Board of Directors (volunteer)
Founder and retired Director of On Point for College. Former teacher and President of Dollars for Scholars. Ginny met Fidele when he was a student in her On Point for College program.
“Each time I see a physician, 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.”
315-374-3426 · ginnydonohue99@gmail.com
Secretary
Director of the Utica office, On Point for College.
Board Member
Creative Media Manager, Department of Communications and Film Studies, Le Moyne College.
Board Member
Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell. As a medical student he traveled to the clinic from Buffalo.
“I was profoundly moved by the unwavering dedication and hard work of our staff.”
Board Member
Upstate Medical University (ret.)
ASIGE Ghana, Volunteer
https://www.susankeetercreative.com
The Building
Funded the clinic building in 2007-2010. Installed solar panels for electricity in 2021.
Fundraising and support
With fifteen youth groups from Buffalo, raised initial funding and continues support.
civil-protection-humanitarian-aid.ec.europa.eu, healthnettpo.org
European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations, European Union
Funded HealthNet TPO, which came to villages near Aweil with malaria nets and nutrition supplies (Plumpy’Nut). They also provided four additional staff members for the Clinic.
Doctors Without Borders
Brought malaria nets and immunizations, and ran a measles clinic at the clinic. Doctors Without Borders now stores their refrigerator at the Clinic.
Water
Funded a water tank and plumbing to bring water to the clinic.
Medicines
Filled two large suitcases with over-the-counter medicines that Fidele brought to South Sudan. The clinic orders prescription drugs from pharmacies in Juba, and has them trucked to the clinic.
Head of Global Health, University at Buffalo
Provided uniforms for all the staff, and transportation for a medical student, Joe Iskander, to travel to the clinic.
https://medicine.buffalo.edu/faculty/profile.html?ubit=dholmes
“Thank you for your faith and dedication to caring for so many people in South Sudan.”
Senior Medical Officer, Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital
Traveled to the clinic from Kenya for ten days to train the staff, mainly on using a Butterfly ultrasound scanner. Profile
Director of Medical Student Ultrasound Education, University at Buffalo
Coordinated training for the staff on the Butterfly scanner, and supported Dr. Wahome’s training. Profile
Whom we serve
The seven-room, 14-bed clinic, founded by Fidele Dhan and supported by your donations, gives health care to the people of Koiyom and the villages around it. It is the first clinic of its kind in the area.
52% of patients are under the age of five
The clinic is two hours north of the city of Aweil in the Bahr el Ghazal region of South Sudan. Just over the border to the north is Darfur, Sudan, a place of terrible violence.
The clinic is designated a Primary Health Care Centre (PHCC), the highest designation in the area apart from the hospital in Aweil. A Primary Health Care Unit is smaller.
More people come every year. Another, smaller clinic to the north shut down in 2023. When fighting resumed in Sudan, 200,000 people fled across the border into South Sudan.
To provide basic health care to Koiyom and the villages that surround it, so that a mosquito bite, an infected wound, or giving birth is no longer a death sentence.
You can help
A gift of money is the fastest, surest help. It pays the local physician assistants, midwives and nurses who live within walking distance of the clinic, and it buys medicine in South Sudan, where it reaches Koiyom quickly. Nothing is lost to shipping or customs.
Donations are tax-deductible, and 96% of every gift goes directly to the clinic. The Clinic operates on a budget of $50,000 per year, with no debt.
Most of our donors heard about the clinic from a friend. Like and share our posts on Facebook (facebook.com/SouthSudanClinic) and help more people learn what this clinic does.
Planning something? Tell us about it and we’ll send photos and materials.
Doctors, nurses, midwives and medical educators have trained our staff and visited the clinic. To offer your skills, contact Fidele Dhan at 716-715-5840 or fideledhan@gmail.com, or use the contact form.
Donate now
Every amount below is a real cost at the clinic. You may enter any amount in the box below, or select one of these. Gifts of any amount go to the clinic’s greatest need.
PayPal doesn’t always share your details with us. Leave your name and email so Fidele can thank you personally and send news from Koiyom.
News
The Buffalo News
How Fidele Dhan turned a promise to his neighbours into a working clinic in Koiyom.
Read at The Buffalo News (May require a subscription)
Spectrum News Buffalo · July 5, 2019
Months after opening day, a look at the clinic and the man who built it from Buffalo.
Read at Spectrum NewsWIVB News 4 Buffalo
The Buffalo community welcomes Fidele and his family.
Read at WIVBContact
Fidele Dhan, President and Founder
716-715-5840
fideledhan@gmail.com
Ginny Donohue, Treasurer and Board Chair
315-374-3426
ginnydonohue99@gmail.com
Mail
South Sudan Villages Clinic
P.O. Box 1226
Buffalo, NY 14240-1226
Administration
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A few short updates a year: patients, staff, and what your gifts made possible.
