Annual report 2005 Malteser International - Ordine di Malta
Annual report 2005 Malteser International - Ordine di Malta
Annual report 2005 Malteser International - Ordine di Malta
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ON THE SPOT: SOUTHERN SUDAN<br />
“I quietly hold her hand”<br />
‘Tagesthemen’ (German television news) anchor-woman Anne Will visits the Arcangelo Ali Clinic in southern Sudan<br />
As an ambassador for the ‘UNITED FOR AFRICA’ campaign, Anne Will travelled to southern<br />
Sudan in August <strong>2005</strong> to visit a hospital run by <strong>Malteser</strong> <strong>International</strong> and the German<br />
Leprosy and Tuberculosis Relief Association. Here is an excerpt from her travel journal:<br />
18 August, 12:20 p.m., Mari<strong>di</strong> Airport:<br />
There was a bit of jolting on the runway,<br />
but then our pilot Stuart brought the plane<br />
safely to a stop. High grass all around us.<br />
I hadn’t expected Africa to be so green,<br />
despite the rainy season. It’s my first<br />
trip to Sub-Saharan Africa, to a country<br />
in which peace was only achieved a few<br />
months ago and is still insecure. I am<br />
quite tense.<br />
19 August, 10:20 a.m., Arcangelo<br />
Ali Clinic:<br />
22-year-old Adak Manyang holds on<br />
tight to her month-old daughter. Anhak,<br />
Adak’s third child, lies weakly in her arms.<br />
Suffering from a cough that wouldn’t go<br />
away, Adak went to have a me<strong>di</strong>cal checkup<br />
at the tuberculosis ward built with<br />
German aid. That was two weeks ago.<br />
The doctors quickly <strong>di</strong>scovered: Adak has<br />
tuberculosis and it’s likely that her baby<br />
is infected, too. The pair must remain<br />
in hospital for six months, as that’s how<br />
long the treatment lasts.<br />
Uniteed for Africa / Thomas Einberger<br />
11:15 a.m.:<br />
Nelson Monday knows he doesn’t have<br />
long to live. But he seems quite composed.<br />
The 27-year-old is a mere skeleton. His<br />
eyes protrude as he talks to me. Nelson<br />
came from Uganda to Rumbek a while<br />
ago to work as a teacher. Now he wants<br />
to get back to his family to <strong>di</strong>e with them<br />
around him, but in his current con<strong>di</strong>tion,<br />
he would not survive the journey. Doctor<br />
Kenyi is fee<strong>di</strong>ng him up with special<br />
me<strong>di</strong>cation and a lot of fruit so that he can<br />
make his last journey on Monday.<br />
12:00 p.m.:<br />
A few rooms down, I meet Mary Abol.<br />
Anne Will<br />
talking to a<br />
patient at the<br />
Arcangelo Ali<br />
Clinic.<br />
The 62-year-old’s left leg lies stiff on<br />
the hospital bed. All that remains of her<br />
left foot is a bandaged stump. Mary has<br />
leprosy. Like many other people, I <strong>di</strong>dn’t<br />
think that this illness existed anymore.<br />
In reality, there are half a million new<br />
infections every year. Mary went to a<br />
miracle healer who took a lot of money<br />
from her and couldn’t help. Now<br />
she’s back here and being treated with<br />
antibiotics. But the doctors can’t give her<br />
back her foot. Many of Mary’s friends are<br />
afraid of touching the ‘leper’. She often<br />
feels alone. I quietly hold her hand.<br />
Reproduced with the kind permission<br />
of ‘UNITED FOR AFRICA’<br />
United for Africa / Thomas Einberger<br />
“I support UNITED FOR AFRICA because<br />
the idea and the concerns of the campaign<br />
convinced me. I like the approach that 30 relief<br />
organisations have come together under one roof,<br />
with one name and a joint donation account. As<br />
an ambassador for the campaign, I want to use<br />
my high me<strong>di</strong>a profile to draw more attention to<br />
the plight of people in Africa.”<br />
<strong>Malteser</strong> <strong>International</strong> has been supporting<br />
the supply of me<strong>di</strong>cine to 700,000 people in<br />
southern Sudan since 1997. The tuberculosis<br />
and leprosy wards in the hospital in Rumbek<br />
have a capacity of 63 beds. In the Arcangelo<br />
Ali Clinic, 100 patients are treated a day<br />
and 15 to 20 children are vaccinated.<br />
Tuberculosis tests are carried out in one of<br />
the largest laboratories in southern Sudan. In<br />
the neighbouring laboratory training facility,<br />
<strong>Malteser</strong> <strong>International</strong> trains local laboratory<br />
assistants.<br />
14 A F R I C A