A Race to Save Lives

Help Dr. Louis Send Medicine to Stop Cholera Epidemic

Every year he leaves the pristine pine-filled mountains of Breckenridge, Colorado to volunteer in a place that’s not only a world away, but is an entirely different world.

Dr. Louis Perrinjaquet (known as Dr. Louis or Dr. PJ) makes the long and difficult journey to Sudan’s remote Nuba Mountains. Exchanging the serenity of the Rockies for the chaos of a country at war, he comes to work alongside his colleague and friend, Dr. Tom, who directs Mother of Mercy Hospital and founded its 19 satellite clinics.

He knows how important the deliveries of medicine and supplies are that the clinics depend on. Supplies that are made possible because of Sudan Relief Fund donors, and medicines that make a critical difference in patients’ lives. In fact, it is Sudan Relief Fund donors who provide nearly all the medicines used by Mother of Mercy and its expansion clinics.

Dr. Louis knows these shipments are crucial, but right now they are needed more than ever. A deadly cholera outbreak is sweeping the region. The rapid spread of the disease is fueled by: 

• a war in its third year
• overcrowded refugee camps
• lack of clean water
• a constant flux of refugees

Sadly, malnourished families and children with weakened immune systems are prime targets when cholera strikes.

That’s why to get as much medicine as quickly as possible to stop its escalation, Dr. Louis pledges to match every gift contributed – up to $75,000 – until December 2nd.

With this generous matching opportunity, every dollar doubles. Every vial of medicine becomes two. Every gift reaches twice as many victims.

Dr. Louis works alongside Dr. Tom to battle a deadly cholera epidemic sweeping Sudan and South Sudan.

Reaching the Unreached

The expansion clinics of Mother of Mercy Hospital were established to reach populations that had no access to medical care in the vast Nuba Mountains. Before the clinics were built in these remote areas, sick or injured people had to travel many days to reach Mother of Mercy – the only hospital of its kind for hundreds of miles. 

Now, thanks to supporters, small health clinics staffed with medical professionals trained at Mother of Mercy Hospital are available across the region. These clinics can respond to cholera patients immediately, before sufferers trek for days to the hospital, worsening their illness and furthering its spread.

Reaching infected people early is a critical component to stemming the cholera outbreak.  The expansion clinics are poised in key locations throughout the region to make that happen. But only if they’re stocked with the medicine to fight it.

Malnourished children weak from famine are vulnerable targets for the cholera outbreak.

Battling an Epidemic

Dr. Louis was on the ground when signs of the cholera epidemic first appeared. He recalls four patients arriving at Mother of Mercy Hospital. One was already in the late stages of cholera and had received no prior treatment. Tragically, she died within hours. Three other patients had just come down with symptoms and began treatment immediately. They all recovered and went home within days without spreading the illness to anyone. 

Saving the cholera patients wouldn’t have been possible without the antibiotics. 

“The number of cholera patients has skyrocketed … local clinics are surviving on very limited resources.”

– Dr. Louis

That’s why Dr. Louis has issued his matching challenge to bring twice the medicine and supplies to the clinics through December 2nd. He knows every minute counts. Every day is critical for saving lives and stopping the spread of the disease.

He knows all too well the staggering statistics that have contributed to this crisis. That 12 million people are displaced, and over a million refugees have flooded the Nuba Mountains. That more than 20 million people face severe hunger, and 1 in every 3 children are malnourished.

Cholera medicine means the difference between life and death, if she can get it.

Helping Widows and Children

During his last trip to Nuba, Dr. Louis saw hundreds of families arrive at the refugee camp. One woman said their village was attacked and her husband was killed. She fled on foot, walking for days with five children to reach safety.

She made it to one refugee camp, only to be forced to flee again when a bombing attack hit the camp where they were staying. After a grueling journey, she made it with all five children to the Nuba Mountains. Now this fatherless family has nothing left besides the clothes they’re wearing. But the mother expressed to Dr. Louis how happy she was that she and all her children were at this place of refuge.

“As the civil war rages on in the North of Sudan, Nuba remains a bit of a safe haven because it is so remote and hard to access,” Dr. Louis explained. So the refugees continue to arrive. And with many of them come sickness and injury, and a great need for medical care.

Dr. Louis knows from personal experience on the ground that Sudan Relief Fund is fully capable of getting supplies delivered, even into difficult-to-reach places like the Nuba Mountains. And he knows how crucial it is that these medicines get to the hospital and its surrounding clinics.

“I’m dealing daily with ongoing shortages of everything,” Dr. Louis said. “Distributing medications in a war zone is difficult…but we’re getting it done.”

With the weight of an epidemic on his shoulders, Dr. Louis asks urgently for more medicine to save lives.

If Not Us, Who?

So Dr. Louis will leave the quietude of his home town once more on an arduous journey to bring critical supplies to people in urgent need. People like a widow and five children who arrive hungry and exhausted with nothing left. Families who are sick or injured after escaping the horrific effects of war in their villages.

He sees his brothers and sisters in Christ who are suffering, victims of war and famine now surrounded by a deadly cholera outbreak, too weak to fight off illness. Dr. Louis is doing all that he can. But he can’t fight this battle without support.

Right now you can help medical efforts go twice as far by doubling the impact of every gift. Remember every contribution will be matched through December 2nd.

Time is crucial and the situation on the ground is urgent. Please help Dr. Louis save lives and help stop the epidemic. 

Sincerely,

Neil A. Corkery President