A pioneering team of 49 healthcare workers from South Sudan has completed a new three-year at Mengo Hospital in Kampala, Uganda. The course originally was to meet at the Institute of Health Sciences in Jonglei, South Sudan, but civil war forced its relocation to Uganda.
Dr. Anil Ninan Cherian, director of Christian Medical and Dental National, led the course. He asked the students to return to South Sudan and use the skills and knowledge there.
“You are going to find a health system which is yet to stabilize,” he said. “Let the conflict there not destabilize you.”
The Most Rev. Stanley Ntagali, Archbishop of Uganda, said his church decided to host the students to boost their courage and determination to overcome their nation’s challenges.
“As a country which hosts refugees from the South Sudan, we appreciate Mengo Hospital for training the students,” Ntagali said.
The program is supported by the Catholic Organization for Relief and Development Aid, a Dutch nongovernment organization, and Anglican International Development U.K. Mengo is the oldest hospital in Uganda and stands on Namirembe Hill. It was established by Albert Cook in 1897 and is now owned and operated by the Church of Uganda.
John Martin
Matthew Townsend is a Halifax-based freelance journalist and volunteer advocate for survivors of sexual misconduct in Anglican settings. He served as editor of the Anglican Journal from 2019 to 2021 and communications missioner for the Anglican Diocese of Quebec from 2019 to 2022. He and his wife recently entered catechism class in the Orthodox Church in America.
