 |
Sister Elaine Kohls Sister Elaine Kohls is one of 650 Medical Mission Sisters in 19 nations trying to be present to others in the spirit of Jesus the Healer. Born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio, Sister Elaine joined Medical Mission Sisters at age 18. After college studies, her first overseas assignment was to Ghana, where she spent nearly 15 years. "I originally came to Africa in 1968, to Berekum," she recalls. "The first year was one of orientation and language study. I worked as an Administrative Assistant at Holy Family Hospital, Berekum, up until October, 1970, when I was asked to do administration at Holy Family Hospital, Techiman." In addition to seeing the importance of public health, she says, "My Ghana experience also taught me the value and necessity of working with communities in solving problems which they identified." Returning to the U.S. in 1983, Sister Elaine earned her Master's Degree in International Development at Iowa State University, where she was recognized for high scholarship. In 1984, she took on the administration of Attat Hospital in Ethiopia. At that time, Attat Hospital's service area included 1.5 million people, with one physician for every 250,000 people. The hospital initiated programs for immunization, clean water, and integrated development. In 1991, it won the World Health Organization award for health education in Primary Health Care. Sister Elaine became general manager of the brand-new St. Luke Catholic Hospital and College of Nursing in Wolisso, Ethiopia, in 2001. The hospital, which is owned by the Ethiopian Catholic Church, has steadily increased services and outreach programs in the past 4 years. "I need to be here in this place at this time, to be with people in their struggle," says Sister Elaine, who has served in Africa for over 35 years. "To be Christ bearers with all that can entail, and to let them be Christ bearers in turn, to us and to those they live and work among."
home
|
|
|
||||||||
