The first renovated buildings of St. Daniel Comboni Catholic Hospital in Wau were blessed yesterday by Archbishop Josef Erwin Ender and Bishop Rudolf Deng Majak.
The diocesan hospital was taken by the army during the war and remained under the military control for 50 years. In September 2009, the hospital was given back to the diocese of Wau after a long process to prove the ownership, SCR News correspondent reported.After one year of reconstruction work, the outpatients department is completed. It includes the consultations ward, the antenatal and mother and child care unit, a pharmacy, the laboratory, the radiology and the administration.
The hospital was dedicated to St. Daniel Comboni by Bishop Deng due to his strong belief that the saint’s intercession was key in fulfilling the dream to reopen the health facility.
Maria Martinelli, a Comboni Sister medical doctor responsible for the rehabilitation project, said the blessing was a moment of transformation of the hospital from a tool for war into an instrument for life and peace.
Archbishop Ender stated that the renovated hospital, together with the Catholic Health Training Institute and the Catholic University were signs of great hope and of a new beginning for the whole country.
The renovation of the whole hospital is expected to be concluded within two years.