Serving the purposes of God runs in Amani’s family. His father is Michael* of the Pygmy people of DR Congo and pastor at one of our partner churches in North Kivu. Amani was a teacher with the Comfort Congo schools when he began to think of health work. Michael, as a pastor of a church of very poor people, had little in the way of resources but ‘his prayers, love, determination and fatherly advice’ spurred him on to study medicine. After a day’s teaching he would attend the Institut Supérieur de Technologie en Afrique Centrale in the evenings. It was an exhausting schedule but Amani was determined to become an answer to the chronically high rates of infant and maternal mortality in the area.
*name changed to protect identity
When asked why he chose to work at CHR, Amani says ‘I love my country and I always wanted to work for it. In fighting against maternal and infant death rates in my area this was a worthy opportunity at CHR to help those women in need of having their children delivered safely.’
At the hospital, Amani says, ‘It is my own family, we work together like brothers and sisters and help one another, and we know what each person lacks.’ At first Amani worked at the hospital as a volunteer but was later taken on as a staff member and, as the echographist, with special responsibility for maternal and unborn baby health. ‘I am now one of the important people in my country and saving the lives of people at Rusayu Hospital. Working at the CHR fills me with joy because my dream of being a Medical Imagery Technician has been accomplished. When I am dealing with ultrasonography, as sonographer I see pregnant women happy and I feel happy too. What I do has helped decrease the rate of maternal death. We are grateful for the support although life still has many challenges.’