Compassion Stories

Introducing the Good Shepherd Clinic in Burundi

 
The main hospitalization building at Good Shepherd Clinic still requires windows, ceilings, and painting.

The main hospitalization building at Good Shepherd Clinic still requires windows, ceilings, and painting.

The Good Shepherd Clinic came on our radar in 2019 as a project to watch and to pray about supporting in the future. As our friends at ALARM have faithfully updated us on the progress of this project, we have grown more and more excited about the potential for life-saving change in central districts of Burundi. In August, CompassioNow sent its first donation to the Good Shepherd Clinic. Please join us in praying for the work to be done, for the lives to be saved, for the glory of God to be praised!

The medical consultations building is nearly completed.

The medical consultations building is nearly completed.

Here, the Health Education Building stands nearly ready for patients and families.

Here, the Health Education Building stands nearly ready for patients and families.

Clinique Le Bon Berger (The Good Shepherd Clinic)

After attending many ALARM seminars on "servant leadership," the Reverends Fulgence Yamuremye and Gilbert Kibinakanwa felt called to spearhead the creation of a medical clinic to serve rural populations in Burundi. Many medical professionals prefer to stay in the large cities, such as Bujumbura and Gitega, which leaves the rural populations without easy access to medical care. Construction on the clinic is well underway and it is projected to open by the end of 2020. It is located 12 miles from the nearest health center, a distance most people would have to travel by foot. And it will serve the districts of Bisoro, Kayokwe, and Nyarusange, roughly 124,000 people in total.

Drawing it's name from Jesus' declaration in John 10:11 that he is the good shepherd and that the "good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep," the clinic will seek to "serve all people as Good Shepherds ready to lay down their lives for the sake of the people whenever necessary."

Writes Rev. Kibinakanwa, who is a medical doctor and ordained minister of the Free Methodist Church of Burundi, the mission of the Good Shepherd Clinic is to "provide accessible, cost effective, high quality, comprehensive, primary and preventive health care to all persons regardless of their socioeconomic circumstances."

The Rev. Dr. Gilbert Kibinakanwa stands above the piping system that will supply the clinic with running water drawn from a source about 1 mile away.

The Rev. Dr. Gilbert Kibinakanwa stands above the piping system that will supply the clinic with running water drawn from a source about 1 mile away.

Along with their emphasis on education, prevention, and treating illness and disease, staff members will also share the Gospel in order to promote "good health from the spiritual, emotional, and physical point of view." It is expected that children and pregnant women will be the largest groups of the clinic's patients. Therefore, staff members will focus on treating malnourished children, training parents in nutrition and disease prevention, and in reducing maternal and infant mortality.

To date, the hospital, administration, and education buildings are nearly completed. Water is secured through a mile long piping system. A laboratory and a surgical center are yet to be built. In August, CompassioNow submitted its first donation to the Good Shepherd Clinic for the purchase of medicines, medical supplies, and beds so that once the government licenses of operation are secured, the clinic staff can start treating patients.