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Dear Friend,
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It has been a busy and
exciting year for the John Dau Sudan Foundation! In
January, JDSF moved from Park City, Utah to
Syracuse, New York where I live. In May, we
celebrated the first anniversary of the Duk Lost
Boys Clinic and launched the re-design of the
Foundation’s website. And in
June, American Cares for Sudan Foundation announced
that it will merge into JDSF to strengthen our joint
goal of transforming healthcare in Southern Sudan.
The popularity of the documentary God Grew Tired
of Us has also opened doors to many speaking
engagements and opportunities to meet people all
over the country who share our vision.
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On a personal note, this
summer has born many blessings to my family and
fellow Lost Boys and Girls of Sudan. My wife,
Martha, and I had our second child and first son
(Leek Dhieu Deng) on July 29th. Also, it
is with great pride that the American athletes
selected my friend and fellow Sudanese refugee Lopez
Lomong to represent them and carry the U.S. flag at
the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games Opening Ceremony.
Thank you for your
invaluable support in helping all of the lost boys,
girls, men and women of Sudan. Your interest in and
commitment to helping us build and operate health
and education facilities in Southern Sudan is
sincerely appreciated.
Sincerely,
 ,
John Dau |
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Voices from the
Field: Dr. Moses Rech |
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Dr.
Moses Rech, the Chief Medical Officer of the Duk Lost
Boys Clinic, is one of the first three Lost Boys of Sudan to
graduate from medical school and gives first-hand updates on
the Clinic and Duk County.
Q: When did you decide you
wanted to be a doctor? |
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A: Medicine was not my first
option as a career when I finished high school in Cuba. I
opted for international relations as my first choice
followed by economy, and I had medicine as my last choice.
But our school's principal, Jok Mach, knew the greater needs
and priorities of our people in Southern Sudan after the
war, the healthcare need of course. So he decided for me to
go for medicine because I had good scores in my class. |
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| Q: Where did you attend
medical school and how long was your program? |
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A: I was
one of the first three doctors who graduated from High
Institute of Medical Science of Havana, Cuba in 1997. The
program lasted six years, including a full year of
internship. |
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| Q: What do you see as the
greatest need(s) right now in Duk County? |
| A: Firstly, we would like to
establish an Expanded Program for Immunizations so that all children under five
years will be immunized with aim to eradicate some
communicable diseases in the area. Secondly, we are very
eager to create basic conditions of hygiene and sanitation
and clean drinking water. All the waterborne diseases are
attributed to very precarious conditions of hygiene and
sanitation. |
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Q: How is
the Duk Lost Boys Clinic helping to satisfy these needs? |
| A: We are trying to give
basic knowledge to the population and educate them on how to
build shallow latrines, but our efforts seem fruitless due
to a lack of building materials and financial resources. |
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| Q: Why should donors support
the Duk Lost Boys Clinic? |
| A: We have been ravaged by
the war for more than 20 years and at this crucial time of
peace we are totally unable to stand on our own feet and
alone to build a sustainable and affordable health care
system in Southern Sudan. This is why we believe the donors
who support the Duk Lost Boys Clinic are great assets to us
and we are very thankful and grateful for their generosity. |
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A U.S. Doctor's
Perspective |
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Dr. David Reed shares
perspectives on his medical experience from his trip
to Duk Lost Boys Clinic in February 2008. He and Dr.
Barbara Connor will return to Duk County this
February.
February 12, 2008:
I woke up at 4 AM this morning thinking about how we
take immunizations for granted in the United States,
a reality that has profoundly reduced mortality of
diseases that we now only see in medical text
books. In this region, there are NO immunizations.
Contributing causes include lack of electricity and
refrigerators to store the vaccines, |
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lack of trained staff,
and lack of money to fund these efforts. It is sad
to me that these are all achievable. Instead, these
young children die of measles, pertussis,
pneumococcal pneumonia, and meningitis. Last year,
an estimated 7,000 children died of Meningococcal
Meningitis. No-one is immunized against tetanus.
We have a lab tech, a
pharmacist, a nurse-midwife, one doctor, and a nurse
working together. The patients sit patiently in the
sun, waiting for a chance to be seen, part of the
reason we stop activities in the middle of the day.
Diseases that are routine here are ones we only read
about in the textbooks during medical school; an
experience which is a big part of why I come.
Between today and yesterday we have seen some of the
cases listed below:
Five patients with
Trachoma, a very treatable water infection that
affected many members of the community in the height
of the wet season last year; it causes rapid
progression to blindness, scarring of the eye
initially followed by a defect of the eyelid, which
will continue to injure the cornea until blindness
is complete; one of the greatest miracle gifts an
ophthalmologist can offer these people, as well as
cataract repair, which literally in a day gives
sight to the blind.
Read More > |
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Coming Up:
1,000 Koiye Miooc Campaign |
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JDSF will launch its
first strategic campaign on August 24th
to take the next step in transforming healthcare
in Southern Sudan. Through the 1,000 Koiye Miooc
Campaign, JDSF will partner with 1000 koiye miooc
(“generous persons” in Dinka) |
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like you to
ensure the Duk Lost Boys Clinic’s continued operation and
ability to provide healthcare services long into the future.
Based on its first year’s experience, JDSF knows that it
needs to generate $300,000 a year to fund basic clinic
service. The campaign seeks 1,000 charter koye miooc who
pledge $25 a month ($300 a year) to do this. |
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Supporting Our
Cause |
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The John Dau Sudan
Foundation has joined with Yahoo!'s
GoodSearch to promote awareness
and raise money for the people of Southern Sudan- one click
at a time. |
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2008-09 Clinic Trip Itineraries |
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John Dau
Dates: Dec. 7 – Jan. 15
Trip Plans: Will prepare the
Sudanese for the arrival of special eye doctors and will meet with
Government of Southern Sudan officials.
Dr. David Reed and
Dr. Barbara Conner
Trip Dates: February
Trip Plans: Will perform staff
medical training and epidemiologic assessments and will likely
repeat a large-scale deworming/Vitamin A campaign in the two largest
villages that the clinic serves.
Don Cross
Trip Dates: March
Trip Plans: Will work on
upgrading the physical plant capabilities of the clinic.
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Duk Lost Boys Clinic
Update
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- The Clinic is currently seeing up to
75 patients per day with a record of 158 in one day.
- 200 expecting mothers were seen and
evaluated in the Clinic's first year of operation.
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Did You Know... |
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...that so
far
17 American doctors have
visited and worked in the Duk Lost Boys Clinic?
...that
Malaria is a routine disease in
Southern Sudan, but most doctors in the U.S. will
never treat a case?
...that you can view John Dau's
speaking schedule
online?
...that you can join JDSF's
cause on
Facebook? |
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Why Do You
Support JDSF?
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"I was inspired by
John Dau through his book and he made me realize that I have so
much to be grateful for and it is a privilege to try and help
others."
- C. Rivera,
first time donor
"Because the movie [God Grew
Tired of Us] really touched me and I think that people like
John Dau can change things and I want to help him..."
- Anonymous,
first time donor
Tell us why you support JDSF.
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