Mamma

As told by Noeleen Loughran, missionary nurse and partner on the ground in South Sudan.…

Mary Adout is about 95 years old. She has leprosy, is blind, and cannot walk. When I first met Mary, it was a harrowing sight. It was a wet and rainy day in the leper colony of Malo, South Sudan, and to my horror, I found her crawling in the mud, unable to see where she was going. She was wearing little to no clothes, was covered in mud, and was shivering.

We came to know that Mary has no children and therefore has no one to look after her. I cannot imagine how she had managed until we found her. We took her to the nearby town of Rumbek, as it was obvious she was sick as she was crying and in pain. Unable to hold herself up in the car on the journey, she rested in my arms.

We proceeded to the Health Care Clinic and were told she had typhoid, malaria, brucellosis and stomach ulcers. She would be treated there for 14 days on strong IV medication. We got her some clothes, a blanket, hot food three times a day, and plenty of juice to give her strength. It was apparent after some time by the wonderful smile on her face that she had never received the comforts of good food and a warm bed before. She began to refer to me as her “daughter” and from there our friendship took off and remains to this day.

Mary is a strong Christian and has a very quiet but cheerful personality. Her smile is empowering. After Mary became well again, with great thought, I realized it would never be possible for her to return to the colony with no one to look after her. So with great appreciation for the Missionaries of Charity here in Rumbek, she now lives with them. Many of the workers recognized Mary when she arrived, and she had lots of stories and conversation for them. She seems so happy and content compared to the lady I first met. I am content now, too, knowing she will be cared for and loved in the Sisters’ home and will bring joy to many as she has done to me.

The Missionaries of Charity do wonderful work here to save the lives of the very desperate, weak, and dying. We are very lucky to have them here and commend their Godly love for those in deep need.

Preemie Twins Saved at Birth

The life of a pregnant woman in South Sudan can be challenging. Lack of access to healthcare or even hospitals within many hours’ drive can make any complication turn deadly for both mother and child. An insufficient diet, lack of clean water sources, and strenuous work conditions can exacerbate the problem. But the dedicated staff at Mother of Mercy Hospital – the only referral hospital in the entire Nuba Mountains region of South Sudan, supported by the Sudan Relief Fund – is making tremendous progress to improve these circumstances for women and infants.

One example is the young woman named Nawal who was expecting twins. She was working at home carrying stones for a construction project when she was eight months pregnant. While working, she was suddenly stricken with sharp pains – so severely that she was immediately rushed to the Mother of Mercy Hospital. She discovered she was going into early labor and would deliver imminently.

In less than 12 hours, Nawal’s twin babies arrived prematurely. At a combined weight of only 5 and a half pounds (2.6 and 2.8 pounds each), the twins were in need of lifesaving neonatal care. They were unable to breastfeed, so the nurses instructed Nawal in how to bottle feed the tiny babies.

Under constant supervision at Mother of Mercy Hospital, the twins began to take a turn for the better. After five days, they were strong enough to breastfeed on their own, and six days later they weighed in at 2.8 and 3 pounds respectively, showing encouraging signs of progress.

Neonatal care for premature babies is critical. Without immediate hospitalization and medical intervention, most of these tiny babies will not survive. To have this specialized critical care available for neonatal emergencies in such a remote area is an unheard of blessing in South Sudan. Pictured here at eleven days old with a mother full of smiles, both the hospital staff and Nawal are confident the twins are thriving and on course to grow into healthy, normal children.

Nawal is overjoyed, wishing to thank Mother of Mercy Hospital and those who help to keep it running. She knows very well, “Without this hospital and their donors, my twins would have perished at birth.”

Mary Abdallah

While many of us take transportation opportunities for granted, getting from here to there in South Sudan can be overwhelming, if not altogether impossible at times. Automobile ownership is virtually nonexistent, fuel is costly, and modes of transport are further inhibited by impassable roads during the rainy season. Most travel is by foot or farm animal.

So when 37 year-old Mary Abdallah took off on a 4-hour walk to the neighboring village of Gardud with her young daughter, Rehab, while carrying her sixth month-old baby boy, Kumi, she was grateful to receive the offer from a tractor driver heading in her direction. Even if it meant they would have to stop here and there along the way to pick up and unload.

On a typical day, Mary Abdallah is busy being the mother of nine children, living with her family in the village of Al-Hamam, an 8-hour walk from the Mother of Mercy Hospital which is located in the Nuba Mountains of South Sudan. When she left on her walk that day, she couldn’t have known how vital that facility would be to her and her family.

Mary climbed onto the already overloaded trailer and settled in with Rehab and Baby Kumi. Two hours passed when suddenly the trailer overturned without warning, injuring all seven of the passengers. Mary and her children were alive but in need of emergency care. Providentially, the accident occurred near a police checkpoint, and police immediately sent out a motorbike to find any means of transportation to get the wounded to a hospital.

A tuk-tuk – a three-wheeled motorized vehicle often used as a small taxi – was commandeered to take Mary and her two children to the hospital in Luwere, the nearest medical facility, but they were sent on to Mother of Mercy Hospital to treat their greater needs. Mary had sustained a head wound and broken her arm; her daughter, Rehab, was suffering from internal bleeding. Miraculously, the baby was bruised but not seriously injured.

At Mother of Mercy Hospital, Mary received sutures for her head wound, and a cast for her fractured arm. Young Rehab was sent into surgery and underwent a laparotomy for internal bleeding. Incredibly, the family came out on the other side of the life threatening ordeal well, and are now on the road to recovery. Overturned farm vehicles can so often result in crippling injuries and fatalities. Fortunately Mary, Rehab, and Kumi were able to make it to a facility that was equipped to handle their urgent care.

“We were so close to death, I and my two children,” Mary expressed. “We were suffering, and without such medical and surgical care the Mother of Mercy Hospital provided, my daughter Rehab would have died from internal bleeding. I thank Dr. Tom and his team for saving our lives. I also thank those who help this hospital. God bless you.”

Mother’s Day

WILL YOU GIVE A GIFT TO HELP A MOTHER IN NEED FOR MOTHER’S DAY?

Mothers are truly a precious gift worth celebrating. They pour so much love and sacrifice into our lives, and we are grateful. But in some parts of the world, being a mother is incredibly difficult. As you celebrate Mother’s Day this year, would you consider giving a gift to help a mother who is struggling in remote parts of South Sudan?

Your gift will help mothers like Nasrin Mubarak, a 22 year-old woman from Achrun Hills. When she first became pregnant, all seemed well. She made sure to visit the one birth attendant who served her region for wellness checkups. But when it came time to deliver, things took a sudden turn for the worse.

Nasrin labored for two full days at home, unable to deliver her baby. She was taken to the local clinic, which didn’t have the resources to provide the urgent care she needed. Through an Outreach Program, a truck was located to drive Nasrin to Mother of Mercy Hospital – a referral hospital in the Nuba Mountains, run by missionary doctor Tom Catena and supported by Sudan Relief Fund.

After many grueling hours of driving by truck while enduring stalled labor, Nasrin arrived at the hospital nearly unconscious. Within minutes she received an emergency C-section that saved both the lives of Nasrin and her unborn baby. It was a close call. But she is pictured here smiling, with her healthy five day-old son, Kuku Mitiyas.

Mother of Mercy is operated, staffed, and supplied by the donations of compassionate people who keep it running – the only facility of its kind for 300 miles serving thousands. Mothers like Nasrin don’t have the medical care available to them we take for granted. Having a baby can be a life threatening experience.

Thankfully Nasrin and her baby boy lived. But only because Mother of Mercy hospital was available to provide lifesaving care at a critical moment. “I thank God for the gift of Dr. Tom and the generous donors who keep the doors of Mother of Mercy Hospital open. God bless you all,” says Nasrin. “If not for the lifesaving surgery and the needed medication, our lives would have been lost, mine and my baby’s.”

We hope you enjoy a blessed Mother’s Day this year. And we hope you will consider blessing another mother who needs it so desperately. Honestly, you may save someone’s life. What better gift to give?

Please send your gift here, or consider joining us as a monthly supporter.