A 15-person medical team headed by two doctors from central New York leave for South Sudan Saturday for two weeks of work at the Duk Lost Boys Clinic.
The Lost Boys health clinic, which opened five years ago, is supported by the John Dau Foundation.
Dau is a Syracuse resident who settled here in 2001, after fleeing a civil war in his homeland and living in a refugee camp for 10 years.
Doctors traveling pay their own way, said David Reed, one of the clinic’s two medical directors.
This trip will help Reed and Barbara Connor, the other medical director, train and assess needs for further training of African health care providers in South Sudan.
Reed is associate director of the emergency department at the Syracuse Veterans Administration medical center. Connor is an emergency medical doctor at Oswego Hospital. They are heading to a nation still very much in turbulence.
A dozen eye specialists from the Moran Eye Center in Salt Lake City, Utah are part of the team traveling with the Syracuse doctors. They’ll be performing surgeries and seeking local candidates to train to provide eye care at the clinic on a regular basis.
With a dearth of health care and poor nutrition, South Sudan has one of the highest rates of blindness in the world, said Reed.
South Sudan, in east-central Africa, gained independence from Sudan in 2011. Since then three rival tribes have been in conflict over water and land.
The medical team plans to fly to the clinic eye surgery candidates from three different and rival tribal areas. The Moran eye specialists will perform basic cataract and other eye surgeries, restoring sight to at least 50 people, Reed said.
By providing equal care to members of rival tribes, the doctors hope to demonstrate that “the dividends of peace come not just to one tribe,” said Reed.
The effects of eye surgery are dramatic, Reed said.
“For each person to whom sight is restored, relief is brought to two people," he said. "The person who was blind, and usually, a young child who had been assigned to lead the blind person around 24 hours a day.”
Newer articles:
- Global success: Graham finishes his amazing trip in South Sudan - Mirror.co.uk - 09/12/2012 13:07
- 'Touch and go' ahead of Sudan-South Sudan talks - AFP - 09/12/2012 12:40
- South Sudanese teens at center of recruiting controversy - Northwest Herald - 09/12/2012 11:43
- Rumblings for Change in Sudan's Governing Party - New York Times - 08/12/2012 17:17
- Skaneateles becomes 'sister' of South Sudan village - Auburn Citizen - 08/12/2012 03:01
Older news items
- Trader murdered in South Sudan in unprovoked attackPublish Date: Dec 06, 2012 - New Vision - 07/12/2012 09:48
- Borders and boundaries draw friction in South Sudan - defenceWeb - 07/12/2012 04:15
- Uganda, South Sudan sign security pact... - New Vision - 07/12/2012 02:23
- George Clooney: Village burnings in Sudan are 'a war crime' - Christian Science Monitor - 06/12/2012 17:15
- George Clooney says burnings of 26 villages in Sudan a war crime, urges action - Washington Post - 06/12/2012 03:49
Latest news items (all categories):
- The Collo Kingdom Remains Underdeveloped: Five Hundred Years Later! - 03/02/2025 12:57
- Attack on South Sudan cattle camps kills 35 - 03/02/2025 12:46
- في صفقة مثيرة.. الإمارات تشتري نفط الجنوب في باطن الأرض لمدة 20 عامًا - 03/02/2025 12:42
- South Sudan: Can oil production save the economy? - 30/01/2025 19:27
- 20 oil workers and crew die in South Sudan plane crash - 30/01/2025 19:20
Random articles (all categories):
- Event (In-person and Virtual) - Marking 20 Years of Conflict in Darfur, Sudan - 19/04/2023 11:17
- Advertisement for Vacancies with UNICEF South Sudan - Bor, Juba, Rumbek & Yambio - 22/05/2015 20:23
- Almost 200 dead, 1,800 wounded in Sudan battles: UN - 18/04/2023 09:18
- Community Services Officer- South Sudan - 08/05/2013 06:08
- Govt on alert over South Sudan nodding disease infections - 08/06/2024 16:45
Popular articles:
- Who is the darkest person in the world, according to Guinness World Record? - 25/10/2022 02:34 - Read 68981 times
- No oil in troubled waters - 25/03/2014 15:02 - Read 22366 times
- School exam results in South Sudan show decline - 01/04/2012 17:58 - Read 21568 times
- Top 10 weakest currency exchange rates in Africa in 2023 - 19/07/2023 00:24 - Read 19269 times
- NDSU student from South Sudan receives scholarship - In-Forum - 29/09/2012 01:44 - Read 19214 times