An Update from Dr. Tom

The situation here in Nuba has been pretty stable for the past year. The Transitional government in Khartoum and the SPLA-N rebels have met recently for peace talks but were unable to reach any conclusions. The SPLA-N is demanding that Sudan have a secular (not Islamic) government which respects freedom of religion, but the government seems unwilling to take that step now.

The good news is that the ceasefire is holding and the people feel that peace is a real possibility for the first time in a couple generations. Some even express pity that we are having so many troubles in the US!

The hospital work continues on. The relative peace has made us even busier as patients from the government controlled areas are now free to come to us.

We’re managing well as we continue to get more trained staff including our first trained Nuba doctor. To address the huge shortage of health care personnel in Nuba, we are in the early stages of starting a school to train midwives and clinical officers and eventually nurses. We have the plot of land which has been given to us by the community and hope to start construction soon.

Thank you all, and may your holidays be blessed. 

Tom