All posts by Suzy Kuj

Kuj Family, Medical Clinic, Ministry

Hannah’s Field Trip – A day in Surgery

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We are always looking for interesting things for the kids to ‘do’ as field trips and the cataract clinic was an amazing opportunity for our kids to see something new and different.

When the doctors invited us to view a surgery we jumped at the chance and Hannah and I did a ‘walk through’ with a patient from start to finish.

Suzy and Hannah prepared to watch a cataract surgery

So please join us on this journey through a cataract operation:

First the patients are assessed to make sure their sight problem is truly cataract  as there are many other eye diseases that cause blindness here.

Patients waiting to be screened
Patients then wait in line for the surgery.  173 surgeries were performed in 4 and half days, which is quite a remarkable accomplishment. 
 

One of our Pastors shares the gospel with waiting patients
First stop before surgery is with Wilson, who uses an ultrasound machine to scan and measure the eye and the current lense to make a perfect synthetic match for each patient.  They also check if their is suspected retina detachment or other complications.  He puts numbing drops in the eye ready for stage 2!!
Wilson shows Hannah the ultrasound scanner
This was much harder to watch than the actual surgery.  After Wilson they go to Emily.  She cleans the eye with povidine and injects a local anesthetic into a small space between the bone and the eyeball.  Thankfully the patient can’t see yet!
Emily injecting the patient with a local anesthetic
A pressure ball is placed over the eye to prevent the eyeball bulging out and they then wait for the surgeon.
 

Patients waiting with the pressure ball on the eye
The doctor starts with clamping the eye open and making a small incision.  I can’t remember all the details but he basically slipped out the cataract and then slipped in a new lens. 
During surgery
It was fascinating to see how the once cloudy eye was now perfectly clear.  Hannah closely watched the entire process which took only 15 minutes.  I was so proud of her, I think she did better than me.
 

Hannah with Dr. Ben during surgery
After surgery they are bandaged and taken to the ward to spend one night before having the bandages removed and being retested.
Moses helps a patient as he leaves surgery
 
Medical Clinic, Ministry

Achol Deng the First Referral Patient on the Ambulance

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Achol is from Thiet village 24 miles away and she was brought to our clinic last Friday night.  Her husband stabbed her in the abdomen two nights before, thought he killed her because she was unconscious and dragged her body to the forest where she was left to die.  When she regained consciousness she was not able to move or even call out.  Eventually someone found her and brought her to us.  When she arrived here her guts were out, a very difficult thing to see. Dr. Tom and Dennis did the best they could with the limited resources we have in our clinic and they made her stable so she could make the jouney to Wau and get surgery.
Suzy and I shared the gospel with her before she left and even when she seemed to be very weak, she was still able to pray and accept jesus as Lord and Savior.  We knew the situation was grave and Achol was hanging on a very thin thread between life and death, that’s why we were so clear with her and her family explaining what might happen and what the Bible says in regards to life after death.
Achol’s mother was there and we shared about the hope we have in Jesus for life after death and His healing even in the most challenging of circumstances.  I could see a glimpse of hope in her face and I am sure it meant something special in her most time of needs.
I was glad she prayed and I was glad the ambulance was there to help.  We really thank our Lord Jesus for providing this vehicle to Achol, to give her a chance to save her live and be the tool for her to hear the gospel message and be saved.  Our God is so good if He gave us His live what else that can be withheld from us in order to be saved and know Him!!!

He who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? Romans 8:32

The doctors in Wau teaching hospital were glad to see we have an ambulance and impressed by the health care Tonj is receiving. We paid for her surgery about $150 and they received the patient and prepared for surgery.

Today our ambulance took it’s second patient to Wau with an urgent heart condition.   Our staff were told Achol died that morning, five days after getting the surgery.  Please pray for this family.  We are confident Achol is with Jesus.

To support our ambulance program and help us meet the cost of running it and covering emergency medical costs, please click here and give through our medical evacuation fund.

Medical Clinic, Ministry

World Gospel Mission Brings Sight to Sudan!

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World Gospel Mission (WGM) has given us so much practical and spiritual encouragement this year. 

After visiting the WGM Tenwek mission hospital in Kenya last May we received tremendous support from them in the field.  Mango Ministries, the Sudan operation of WGM, arranged for two clinical officers to spend one month each in Tonj to cover our medical staff on leave.  It was an absolute answer to prayer as both Hilary and Emily volunteered to spend their free time from Tenwek to come and serve our clinic in Sudan.  We were so blessed to not be short staffed and have to compromise our services and care of patients.

Clinical Officers, Hilary and Emily, from Tenwek Mission Hospital

Mango Ministries also arranged for the Simply the Story outreach in May where our pastors learnt how to evangelize using simple bible story methods.  Pastor Emmy from Uganda’s Africa Gospel Church was part of that team and recently returned as a follow-up to the previous training.  Each day he used the simple stories to help the pastors share the gospel with our clinic patients.  In the afternoon we drove him and the pastors to the remote villages outskirting Tonj to announce that Tenwek Eye Clinic was sending surgeons to do cataract surgeries.  This was a wonderful opportunity for our pastors to practise the things they had learned while sharing bible stories about blind people.  They took a sound system and used a microphone to get everyone’s attention, first announcing the cataract clinic and where to register for it (DEED) and then as the crowd gathered around one pastors gave the gospel (TRUTH).  This sums up perfectly the purpose In Deed and Truth Ministries exists today. 

My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue but in deed and in truth. 1 John 3:18

Pastor Emmy with Dinka men from the village

 

Pastor David sharing the gospel in a nearby village

Tenwek Eye clinic arrived on Saturday and we were ready.  Dr’s Tom and Dennis had over 170 patients prescreened and registered for cataract surgery.  The morning the team were arriving we had 173 people show up and it was only the first day!

Doctor Tom prescreening patients for cataract surgery

 The government hospital in Tonj has been repaired since the war but is not operating so we asked to use it for the cataract clinic.  We washed it down and had as much supplies as we could ready on hand.  All our medical team were on stand-by to assist in any way they could. 

Tenwek Mission Hospital Eye Clinic Team

As we left the airstrip the team didn’t even go to the compound as they wanted to do 15-20 surgeries the first day.  They checked out the site we had chosen and immediately got to work setting up for surgery.

Dr. Ben and Dr. Dan setting up the microscopes

The first day they performed 10 surgeries after setting up.  Sabets own mother was as one of the candidates.  We announced the cataract clinic through the local Catholic radio station and were getting phone calls from Wau and Kwajok, over 100 miles away thanking us for bring the surgeons and asking if they could send people for surgery!

Dr. Ben and Dr. Dan operating on cataracts

This has been a very exciting week for us here.  Our clinic staff are split between supporting the Tenwek team and continuing to see patients in our own clinic.  Thank you Jesus for allowing us to be a part of this amazing experience and hosting such an amazing team. 

Please pray!  The team were able to do 42 surgeries on Monday and many again today.  They only have 2 more full days of surgery before leaving on Friday.  Pray we can help as many as possible.

Kuj Family, Medical Clinic, Ministry

Arrived in Tonj safe and sound with Siren!

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Hi all, I am writing today from home Tonj, I am very glad to report that mission has been accomplished and the Tonj Community had received the only ambulance in Town.

For Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom. You rule throughout all generations. The LORD always keeps His promises; He is gracious in all He does.  Psalm 145:13 

This ambulance is going to serve more than 20,000 people immediately and what perfect timing for the Ambulance to arrive, just in a couples of days with the help of World Gospel Mission, there is going to be a week long for eye surgeries (Cataract) camp. So there is double blessings, that bringing hope and joy to the people of the greater Tonj area. May the Holy spirit open the spirit eyes of the people who are  going to be minister to by the ambulance and the cataract eye surgeries.

Having said that, my trip from Juba to Tonj was interesting and very much what I anticipated South Sudan roads to be like. It took me 10 hours to drive from Juba to Yerol and spent the night there, it was FULL of pot holes and we had to do not more than 60 km/h and it’s 327 miles.

Along the way, I was blessed to see the Mondarie young men and women selling their harvest products. Many pumpkins, Maize and ground nuts, so it wasn’t just slow drive but to observe the blessings of God and how healthy the people on the villages around Juba.

There were couple spots we have found cars that got stuck in the mud and we thoughts we will get stuck too, I was a bit worried because the Ambulance doesn’t have a Winch, which is really helpful in the rain seasons, but we managed to get out of these places without getting stuck at all. God is Good.!!

We have spent the night in Yerol, arriving there late night and getting accommodation, literarily the last 2 beds available was god making and Him at work for me and Joseph.

We continued to move westward in the morning picking supplies in Rumbek. The Rumbek area are known for their Harsh treatment for Drivers, the Police specially forcing many Drivers to pay money, actually it’s grabbing, Again seeing God intervention without any hustle by them, the clearly Ambulance words and the red cross markes the Ambulance were very helpful.

From Rumbek onward to Tonj my heart start pounding faster, the excitement of seeing my family  whom I missed very much starting getting real and real.

What a Joy that filled my heart when Suzy and the kids came out to welcome me at the Bridge of Tonj, Man what a blessings to see my family whom I missed very badly the last 6 weeks I was away. they have even made a welcoming sign by the gate for me, what a privilege  man I am!!!!

You guys can imagine how everyone was happy and excited to see the Ambulance which made it  to the clinic, and it made it entrance to the town with siren and the lights signals, to my surprise the following morning the tonj town knew about the arrival of the Ambulance and I got many people congratulating me for that, and how happy they were for this great help and assistance to the town, I reckon that what I am expecting the following days, many congratulations and with cheerful smiles and happy faces.

Thank you for every one who was participated in the prayer walk last year and every one who gave towards the Ambulance, the people of Tonj are blessed more than you can imagine.

 

 

 

Kuj Family, Medical Clinic, Ministry

Almost There!

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It has been 2 days since I wrote an update, I write this update from Juba, I want to thank God for allowing me to arrive here to the capital, my first time since the celebration and declaration of independence.

So far the trip has been going very well, Praise be to God.

 The last time I wrote I was in Gulu, I wake up the following day, Saturday morning and drove towards the Sudan Uganda Road, as I started I was thinking to myself now my trip got slowed down from 120 Km to 60 km an hour, that’s because of the road, it was rougher than the tarmac road from Kampala because it’s dirt  road and full of pot hole I manage to make it to the border in 1 hour and 30 minutes, now I thought to myself I wish if I drove the whole way the pervious night but I was warned it’s rough road and it’s almost dark, that’s why I have stayed the night in Gulu.

There were many trucks waiting to be cleared at the border, the line was long of heavy trucks and fuel tankers, now because I was small car I managed to get to the front of the line, again it’s because I was an ambulance!!  The Uganda Authority personnel wasn’t happy with that but he was satisfied when I agreed to park the car on the side of the road and wait for my turn to be cleared to cross the border.

I thought it was slow but later when I cross to Sudan side I had to sleep the night, that how slower the guys in my home country, I only missed one signature by 3 minutes, that I have to spent the night, my clearance agent was at the door when the Sudan Revenue border director needed to sign my clearance papers for the car to be released, this was due to Saturday was a half day.  The ambulance was under restriction till it cleared, so I couldn’t drive it in Nimule border town.

 I am so glad I waited for the exemption from the ministry of finance otherwise I would have paid at least 37% of the value of the ambulance. The process at Nyimule needs clearing agent, there are about more than 8 offices need papers works, tax and process fees to be paid, forms, stamps and signatures to be collected. I was glad they have clearance agents.

A custom officer inspected the ambulance, then the papers were sent for verification and then to calculations office to work out the taxes, then they showed me the figure that it was going to be more than 16000 USD.  I was gladly happy to show my exemption letter from the ministry of finance, with a huge sigh of relief. Praise God for the exemption!!

That night I spent in Nimule I was able to watch soccer, Chelsea played Norwich City and I enjoyed the match. The place was packed with men old and young, for sure it was a lively crowd, they ere in there part of the stadium, screaming, yelling and arguing among themselves. Africa has a love thing towards the English premiership league. It finished 3:1 to Chelsea

It was raining the following morning, I woke up excited and very rested, ready to finish the simple procedures and start my journey to Juba.  When it rains means simply no work, when the rain stop then people get out of their homes and come to their offices. So I was delayed by a half day, before I started my journey. 

Immediately leaving out the town you climb a hill, to my surprise I didn’t expect a tarmac road until I hit Juba town, but I was on a tarmac road.  I was glad and also a bit sad,  my most fun trips in Sudan was on rough roads. I was looking forward to the challenge now instead  it’s easy boring drive, well I think I spoke too soon because after one hour on the road the road really started to get muddy but not as rough as I expected.  For my disappointment it wasn’t for long either, I ran into another tarmac road, and so on tarmac  run to tarmac to tarmac……. until I got to Juba .  It good road in general, so my journey from Nimule to Juba lasted 2 1/2 hours only.

I’m staying in the Episcopal church of Sudan guest house in Juba town, and yesterday I worked on getting Agum’s adoption and some other business before getting to the last leg of my journey, which I leave today.

I thank God for sending Joseph, one of our staff from Tonj, to Juba by bus so we would drive together back to Tonj.  He arrived after spending one night in the bush after the bus he was using got stuck in the mud. I told him that what I was looking for, I am now excited, that’s the Sudan I know!!

Tonight we hope to make it to Yirol, and tomorrow we should be in Tonj.

Thanks for praying.

Sabet