Dear Friends,
I am excited to work with CMMB in South Sudan. I have been interested in global health for a long time. I feel it is a way to combine my desires to do medical missions with my pediatric nurse practitioner career. I feel this is the next step on my journey which has included medical missions to Haiti, Sudan (when it was all one country), and my almost year in Ghana.
South Sudan is the world’s newest nation founded in 2011. It is also one of the poorest nations. Health and social services are lacking throughout the country, secondary to conflicts within South Sudan and bordering countries. CMMB has been working in Sudan/South Sudan for a long time. They support hospitals and clinics. They supply donations of medicine and equipment. They also look at living conditions and support community health workers in the field.
I will be working in a CMMB supported hospital in Nzara. I will go for six months initially with the possibility of extending to a year depending on conditions in Nzara and conditions in Smithville, MO.
I have been learning more about CMMB’s focus on maternal and child health. This will be a great opportunity to learn about caring for mothers and children facing health issues I have only read about. Many times health issues are caused by a lack of resources I often take for granted. I will be working alongside local health care staff learning about treating patients with limited resources. I also hope to share my experiences and contribute to patient care.
I was initially scheduled to go to South Sudan for one year starting in Sept. 2020. However, South Sudan closed its borders because of COVID-19, so I was not able to go. I learned when I was planning to go to Ghana that there are so many variables when planning to volunteer long-term, internationally. It is not my time. It is God’s time. This will happen in God’s time with COVID-19 and it’s challenges.
Thank you,
Brooke
