Ever since he was six years old, Dr. Johnny knew he wanted to be a doctor.
“I visited my uncle, who was serving patients in the rural areas of Eastern Congo, and I saw how he was treating his patients. I loved the way he was dedicated to them. And I said, ‘I want to be like you.’ I want to help people in my community by treating them.”
A couple decades later and many years of medical training under his belt, Dr. Johnny has stayed true to his word. Today he’s the perfect fit to lead the team at Asili.
“As the Medical Coordinator, one of my goals is to make sure patients across all four Asili clinics, even in the poorest areas, have access to high quality levels of healthcare,” and where “even my kids, everyone’s kids, can be treated.”
Growing up in Eastern Congo, Dr. Johnny knows just how critical this really is. And launching the Asili overnight stay service is a big part of that.
Yesterday, we helped get the new overnight stay service off the ground with a prelaunch community study that helped move the team to action.
Today, we’re getting back to the basics—furnishing the overnight observation room with all the equipment the team will need to start seeing patients.
“We have been working on and planning to implement this for more than one year now,” said Dr. Johnny. “The main barrier was determining how we were going to buy all the additional equipment.”
Now, the observation service will have two dedicated spaces, one for men and one for women, with four beds available in total.
“We needed more beds because of course, we’re expecting more patients!” said Dr. Johnny. “And since they’re also staying the night, we need all the materials and equipment to make sure we’re treating and serving them according to the good standards of Asili.”
Dr. Johnny is so proud to launch this service—it means better care for the people and the cause he’s devoted his whole career to. “What we need to do is continue to help this community fix what we can fix.”
Photos by Lens on Life photographers, Operation Goma (DRC): Kennedy Ngoa and Michel Basizi
