From Ohio farmgirl to Buckeye Clinic Board Member

LIVES ARE BEING SAVED!

My name is Linda Miller. I became involved with the Buckeye Clinic in South Sudan when it was forming in 2009. For the past four years I have been a member of the BCSS Board of Directors. I have been hearing Kon Abraham, Program Manager for the Buckeye Clinic in South Sudan, say “Lives are being saved at the BCSS Clinic.” However, during a recent Zoom meeting, Kon Abraham and Bol Aweng, both Lost Boys of what became South Sudan, shared stories about health care before and during their 1500-mile journey across Sudan.

Paintings by Bol Aweng of his experiences as a Lost Boy, photograph of boy brushing his teeth.

Of the original 26,000 Lost Boys only 19,000 survived. Attacks by wild animals, drowning, poisoning, starvation were some of the reasons. In addition, Kon and Bol shared about the many Lost Boys who died because of lack of medical care during their journey. Most of the youth who became the Lost Boys of Sudan escaped from cattle camps near their home village. They had no access to a medical clinic.That meant: no children were vaccinated against common childhood illnesses; no antibiotics were available to treat ever present malaria, ear infections or pneumonia; food and safe water were scarce, and children were susceptible to common illnesses such as diarrheal diseases. If a child had a wound or skin infection, cow urine was poured on the infection. Wounds or burns were dressed with burned cow dung and/or plant leaves. Many infections led to death. Food was scarce, and the Boys ate wild plants which might be poisonous.

Another gift of the cows was their “cow pie,” which when dried was burned, and the charcoal used to brush teeth. Oh, my goodness, did my creative mind start churning! You need to understand; I was raised on a dairy farm where we tried to avoid stepping on a “cow pie.”

Kon often sends emails and photos to explain the maternal, child and other health care at the clinic. The last statement he includes is, “Lives are being saved!” Since learning about the lack of medical care the Lost Boys received in a refugee camp and which still occurs in remote areas of South Sudan and in some IDP camps today, Kon’s sentence, “Lives are being saved,” has a whole new meaning for me. What a privilege to support the medical care being provided 24/7 at the Buckeye Satellite Clinic in the Mangalla IDP Camp!! Thank you, God!

Look for Kon and Bol’s accounts of their experiences when they were Lost Boys in a follow-up message soon and posted on our website.

Sincerely,

Linda Miller

Retired teacher and Buckeye Clinic Board Secretary

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