The Alaska Sudan Medical Project has completed construction of a new medical clinic in the remote village of Old Fangak in south Sudan. After years of fundraising and construction efforts, the clinic opened by Easter of this year to serve the region.
Dr. Jack Hickel, a founding member of the Alaska Sudan Medical Project, says Old Fangak is among the poorest regions of Sudan. Many sicknesses are related to poverty, malnutrition and the lack of clean drinking water. Alaska doctors and volunteers who operate the clinic treat several hundred patients everyday.
"They'll walk for days or sometimes a week or more to come and get healthcare there because there's no healthcare facilities in that area of Sudan," says Hickel.
Construction of the new medical facility was completed by the end of 2012, but then it needed repairs after a fire caused extensive damage. Hickel says the availability of health care and the work that the organization is doing is giving the people of Old Fangak hope.
"A little bit of effort on Alaskans' part has literally changed lives like I've never seen before," he says. "This is one place where people can really have a huge impact on some of the poorest people in the world."
Alaska Sudan Medical Project is now fundraising to build a second clinic- one mainly for treatment of tuberculosis. The estimated cost is about $150,000. Hickel says they hope construction on that project can begin in early 2014.
For more information on how to help the group, visit their website.
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