Fr Alan in South Sudan: An Absolute Good - Missionaries of the Sacred Heart

Fr Alan Neville MSC has been ministering in South Sudan since 2020. One of the projects he works closely with is the Mary Immaculate Hospital in Mapourdit, where founder Bro. Rosario works closely with the Daughters of the Lady of the Sacred Heart to care for patients in need. This summer, we’re raising funds to help the team at the hospital – you can find out more about the workings of the hospital, and some of its patients, here.

Today, Fr Alan shares news of a recent visit to the hospital.

I’m just back from Mary Immaculate Hospital in Mapourdit. We arrived earlier today. It’s a bit of a long journey, as the road isn’t great. The hospital was established 25 years ago by a team led by a Comboni Brother, Br. Rosario, who is also a surgeon. They are still working there today, looking after a catchment area of 200,000 people with just 134 beds and an outpatient department. Needless to say, it’s a busy place.

Bro. Rosario, founder of Mary Immaculate Hospital, in Mapourdit, South Sudan, receiving supplies.

The care people receive there is really good, and the team are doing excellent work. They’re providing solid professional health care. They have access to medication that other places do not because they are well-organised, and people know that whatever they provide will go directly to those who need it most.

The outpatients’ registration area at Mary Immaculate Hospital in Mapourdit, South Sudan.

However, what really struck me today was that one of the wards we went into was a paediatric chemotherapy ward. A doctor who’s volunteering from Central Europe has painted dolphins on the wall. Most of the buildings here can be pretty dark, as electricity is limited for essential services, like surgery or the laboratory. However, she really went out of her way after what must have been a very busy week, last Sunday, to take time to go painting. The fact that we’re in a landlocked country and no one here really knows what dolphins are doesn’t matter. It has given the place a little extra special something.

Bro. Rosario visits the Paediatric Oncology Ward, with its newly painted undersea murals.

The patients in the ward have come from all around Lakes State. They are young and are suffering from a particular type of cancer called Burkitt’s lymphoma, named after the Irish doctor from Enniskillen who first described the disease during his work in Africa in 1958. It is one of the fastest-growing cancers and is fatal without treatment. What is more, it is really a cancer of poverty, as young people who have suffered malaria become highly susceptible, a regular occurrence here in South Sudan. Over the course of three months, these children are given chemotherapy treatment, with a success rate of 80%. During that time, a family member must stay with them, and they really must make sacrifices to be there.

Akol has been receiving treatment for Burkitt’s Lymphoma over the past few months. Thankfully, her treatment has been a great success.

I’m trying to think of how to explain the ministry, care, work that goes on there. The way that best describes it is that it’s an absolute good. In our world today, we’ve lots of shades of grey. It’s very difficult to find something that you think is just absolutely beautiful and perfect. But this ward, where the Comboni Brothers and Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Sisters are working with laypeople to provide care for these children, is an absolute good. It really is. Just to see it lifts your heart. They provide everything free of charge. The people there couldn’t afford it anyway, but they’re providing essential lifesaving care for children with cancer who otherwise wouldn’t have a prayer. I just couldn’t say enough for the people working in Mapourdit, the parents who were there, and especially the children. The children are just amazing. They’re resilient. They’re beautiful. They’re just fantastic.

So I just thought I’d share this with you, having come back from it today. It’s just a point where heaven meets earth in a small ward in the centre of South Sudan, in a room that may be a little bit dark, but now has dolphins on the wall.