Help Rebuild Clinic In A War-Torn Village In Sudan

My name is Nawal Omar. I am from a region in Sudan called Dar Zakhawa (land of the Zakhawa people). I spent my early childhood in a village in that region called Kornoy, before making our escape to the capital (Khartoum) during the war and then moving to the United States. Kornoy is one of the three Localities ( large village surrounded by small villages) in Dar Zakhawa that were heavily affected by the civil war between 2003 and 2009. Kornoy Locality was the center of many surrounding small villages. Before the war, Kornoy had a large market, a hospital, a clinic and six schools. The surrounding villages also depended greatly on those facilities.

On my recent trip to Sudan, I was able to visit Kornoy. I was shocked by what I found. My once beautiful Sahel village is now in complete ruins. My home and the surrounding homes were all gone. I could only point out my house from its gate, the only part of my house that still stood. Some of the inhabitants moved back from refugee camps in Chad and have started resettling. They said that organizations such as UNICEF halted/limited support for them, which is why they are moving back.

Those who have returned are facing many problems because most facilities need reconstruction, especially the health facilities. For example, the clinic is still in ruins, and the reconstructed hospital requires a lot of improvements.

The lack of water is one of its issues. The hospital has a water storage area that carries water through pipelines, but the water storage needs refilling every month or two. The hospital needs many medical equipment, including surgical and hospital beds, tools, and cleaning supplies. I was told villagers were using carriages because they had no functioning ambulance to bring women in labor to the hospital. They have only one ambulance, but it needs fixing. Also, due to low salaries, currently, the hospital has no surgeons and only one physician. The day before I reached Kornoy, a woman died in labor because there was no surgeon to perform her surgery. The hospital is also missing some medications and is low in others. There is currently no clinic in Kornoy Locality. Our goal is to rebuild the clinic. Part of the clinic will be for children and other for women (an OB/GYN) clinic. I always wanted to make a difference in my country and my continent, so what better place to start than the town I spent my early childhood in. As a Pre-med graduate who is in her journey of becoming a doctor, I have decided to make the health facilities my main focus. I am partnering with Kornoy Locality Development Organization in Sudan to make this happen. Our goal is to raise enough money to reconstruct the clinic and improve the condition of the hospital. Perhaps we will raise enough money to help rebuild the schools and the other facilities in Kornoy Locality and then expand our project to the rest of Dar Zakhawa. We can not do this without your help, so please help us rebuild our war-torn land.

 

We have met with the Executive Director of Kornoy and discussed the project with him. He gave us permission to reconstruct the clinic and renovate the hospital. Furthermore, he assured me that he would provide us with complete protection and safety. I am partnering with a non-profit organization founded by Kornoy men and women living in Khartoum and in the West to help us manage the project. This organization (Kornoy Locality Development Organization) has raised money to rebuild one of the high schools in Kornoy. The school is currently in the process of being rebuilt. One of the founders and leaders of the organization is a family member of mine living in Khartoum, named Mohammed Mukhtar Al Tegani Al Tayeb. While I am here in the US, he will help us manage the project from there. After we raise $10,000, I, the leader of ARDZ will deliver the funds myself and help plan the reconstruction. We will spend most of the money rebuilding the clinic (pediatrics and OB/GYN). Whatever is left will be used on the hospital and Quran school tuition for Zakhawa women in Tulong refugee camp in Chad. Ten thousand dollars is enough to change many lives in a small African town like Kornoy, so help make a difference.

 

 

How is the money spent?

 

Reconstruct Clinic ( Ped And OB/GYN) (About $6,000)

Renovate The Hospital (About $3,500)

Surgical Tools

Medications

Hospital Beds

Refill Water Storage Monthly ( off the $3,500, $600 will be used for this portion for six months water supply)

Fix Ambulance

Provide Qur’an Class Tuition ( about $500 for a year or so) days