From Kenya, with love Article

"From Kenya, with love," The Salem News. Janice and Dino Crognale say they knew, even as youngsters, that they were meant to go into missionary work. The couple has followed that calling and will soon return to the Kenyan hospital where they've trained doctors and treated patients with a host of ailments they had never encountered in the U.S., except in medical textbooks. Janice and Dino Crognale met in high school while working at the Papa Gino's in Salem, Massachusetts. They went to medical school at the University of Massachusetts, got married and started a family along the way, and worked for close to 10 years at family practices — she practiced in Hamilton-Wenham, and he worked in Danvers. All the while, their hearts were calling them overseas. In 2006, they traveled to Africa with a patient of Janice's who was a Ugandan native. While they were there, they toured Tenwek Hospital.

"Early on in life, we both felt called to be missionaries. It was just a matter of working out what that means," Dino said. "I think we were both exposed to missionaries through the church (growing up), and we thought that's what God wanted us to do." For two years, they worked in the hospital's emergency room and trained Kenyan doctors. The Crognales have learned to adapt and think creatively, treating patients with malaria, tuberculosis, and HIV and its complications — all without many of the resources, supplies and lab tests Western doctors call for without a second thought. "We (worked to) teach people to improve their own wellness, without a lot of resources," he said. “The most rewarding thing is being able to impact patients who otherwise may not have access to doctors," Dino answered. "For me, one of the most exciting parts is training these young men and women (Kenyan doctors) to go out to these further communities that I'll never see, to continue care and to share the love of Christ with the people there."

Associate Director of CMDA's Center for Medical Missions Daniel Tolan, MD: "Fourteen years of medical missions in Kenya, Africa, taught me many lessons. One of the most significant was the importance of training Kenyans at all levels of healthcare. In the early 1990s, the hospital board of directors set the future of Tenwek Hospital to be a teaching institution. Janice and Dino Crognale speak of the teaching programs now in place at Tenwek in the linked article recently published in the Salem News. It is a joy when I return to Tenwek to see more than 80 persons being trained at any one time.

"The early days of training were hard and at times we had difficulty deciding what motivated us – a selfish desire for additional help to carry the heavy load or a more noble desire to empower the national people. Maybe God used a bit of both to accomplish His plans!

"Today there are numerous opportunities for teaching positions, in both the traditional missionary hospitals, and in government operated hospitals and medical schools. Family Practice training programs are developing all over the continent and CMDA has open doors to all of these. CMDA’s Pan-African Academy of Christian Surgeons is a very active and growing program training surgeons all across Africa. The greatest need is for committed people like you who have not only skills and knowledge but the heart of servant-hood to be passed along as well. If you are interested in learning more about teaching positions please contact CMDA’s Center for Medical Missions at cmm@cmda.org".

Opportunities to Serve
Center for Medical Missions
Global Health Outreach
Medical Education International
Pan-African Academy of Christian Surgeons