On his latest medical mission to South Sudan, Dr. Joseph Dumba and his team – equipped with medicines and supplies donated by Direct Relief – provided care for more than 2,500 people.
“We want to thank Direct Relief for all the donated medicines and equipment. The magnitude of what it has done in this part of the world is truly unbelievable. There is still much to do but we can only treat one person at a time. Thank you so much for the generosity,” wrote Dr. Dumba in a trip report.
Originally from Kajo Keji, a city in what is now South Sudan, Dr. Dumba moved to the United States in the 1990s as a refugee of Sudan’s civil war. He managed to put himself through college and medical school, and now he works to help improve the health conditions in the region. Dr. Dumba’s resolve to provide care for his countrymen grew when his mother fell ill in 2003 and died of an unknown illness with no doctor around to treat her.
This motivated Dr. Dumba to found the Healing Kadi Foundation in 2009, an organization that is dedicated to bringing modern, reliable and sustainable healthcare to South Sudan. Healing Kadi’s Marilyn Miller Memorial Clinic in South Sudan opened in 2013 and now provides care for more than 500,000 people in the area around Kajo Keji, including many children left orphaned by the war.
The Marilyn Miller Memorial Clinic is the only clinic within a 75 mile radius of Kajo Keji. Some patients have traveled more than 100 miles to receive treatment at the facility.
In partnering with Direct Relief on the most recent medical mission, Dr. Dumba and his team were able to treat a wide-range of conditions including, infections, parasites, pneumonia, diabetes and hypertension with the supplies donated such as antibiotics, anti-fungals, anti-hypertensives, topical creams and lotions, IV fluids, and diabetes medicine.
Direct Relief is proud to help support Dr. Dumba and the Marilyn Miller Memorial Clinic, which now has a full time staff of 15, as they work to give locals access to modern medical care in a part of the world where consistent health care is uncommon.
