dr. Kwabena Donkor is on a mission to get much-needed supplies for his hospital in Ghana.
Donkor, a physician, testing specialist, pulmonologist and longtime resident of Farmville, recently returned to the community to gather supplies and raise money for the Ama Nyame Memorial Medical Center – the clinic he is running in honor of his late mother in Ghana. has founded.
In an interview on July 22, Dr. Donkor explains the history of the clinic and the importance of the supplies and donations he wants to add to a much-needed service.
Born in Kumasi, Ghana, Donkor’s parents both worked as farmers. His mother and father were both uneducated, but his father, who was the local chef, was able to take steps to learn through nighttime study programs.
Donkor spent his childhood going to school. Growing up, he graduated from the University of Ghana Medical School and became a general doctor. Shortly after, he arrived in the United States at age 29 to continue his medical studies at Tulane University Medical School in New Orleans, Louisiana. Here he was inspired to become a pulmonologist.
“There were a number of people I considered mentors to me at Tulane University Medical Center. I’ve met some great people, very smart people,” he said. “They gave me certain things that helped me figure out what I wanted to do. Out of all the different things I saw, I just wanted to be a pulmonologist.”
Donkor said there were a few special things he liked about his mentors in college — one of which was that they were pulmonologists. He wanted to follow in their footsteps.
During his education in Tulane, his mother became extremely ill back in Ghana, news that took almost a year to reach him in the US
Due to the country’s superstitions, her illness was considered a “mental illness” and she was placed in a camp for those believed to be possessed by demons. Donkor flew back to Ghana to nurse her and was able to take her to the regional hospital in Kumasi.
“The woman I left behind was not the woman I saw,” Donkor said of coming home to help his mother. He said she had been “a little cheeky and helped everyone” and that she had been a hard-working farmer. He thought she looked “white as white paper” and unable to walk alone. “And that was difficult for me,” said Donkor.
Once she was treated, doctors discovered she had a common “tropical parasitic infection” caused by a hookworm. After the treatment she was able to eat again after two weeks, but she remained very weak.
Donkor’s mother recovered enough to be discharged from the hospital and return home. He said, however, that the infection’s years of toll took a toll on her heart, causing her to have difficulty breathing.
Donkor said he left Ghana to resume his studies once he was sure his mother would be okay based on how she was improving. Three days after his return to the US, however, he was informed that she had passed away.
“I promise…if I ever get the chance, no one should go through this again. As long as I live.”
This was the beginning of the Ama Nyame Memorial Medical Center. In 2004, Donkor was successful in acquiring land near Kumasi, despite the problems of traditions that remain strong in that region.
After sharing his story with friends and colleagues from Virginia, news of his project spread and he was able to complete the construction of the clinic thanks to fundraising and the help of missionaries. However, over the past eight to ten years, the clinic has needed significant supplies to accommodate both patients and staff.
“We do have basic facilities,” he explained, noting that when the hospital started offering its services, people in the community found they needed more. In addition, as more people heard about the services, they noticed that the demand was exceeding the existing capacity.
Likewise, Dr. Donkor went into great detail about how important the clinic needs support, telling the story of a time when a patient did not survive.
“We did what we could. In the end, the woman died,” he said. While this outcome is not uncommon, what followed was because the corpse had to remain in the bed of the women’s ward shared by up to four others, as she had no have private rooms.
“There is no one awake who will be able to stay in the room with a corpse,” said Donkor, noting that there is no air conditioning. “So that department is now completely empty. And that’s the easiest thing about it.”
Hospital officials then faced the dilemma of finding out that the family didn’t have the money to move the deceased, but they hoped to pick it up in a day or two. Plus, they had no way of getting their loved one to the nearest hospital with a morgue 30 miles away.
“So now we’ve got a body in the ward all along, and there’s nothing anyone can do about it,” he said. “Three days later I have a delegation from the family and two other families,” he said. “They’re asking me to make sure I build a morgue in my center the first chance I get.”
Donkor said he is willing to build a morgue as soon as the funds are available.
“It’s sad… but there’s nothing we can do about it, except do exactly what they ask of us,” he said. “But we don’t have the money right now to build a morgue. So how do we do it? I have to go to the people and say that this is what we need. If we have money, we’ll do it.”
As such, Dr. Donkor ran a supply campaign in Farmville with Justine Young, chief executive officer of Piedmont Senior Resources and a friend of his for over 25 years. The drive is aimed at raising funds for the morgue and collecting important smaller medical items. Contractors estimate the morgue will be about $25,000 for the construction project. Young states that the drive is open to the public and to anyone who wants to help.
“The main goal right now is to… provide supplies that they can’t get or can’t afford,” he said. “But right now we’re just doing little things.” He said he is asking for small donations, such as baby aspirin and multivitamins with iron.
Donkor said he will assure everyone in the Farmville community that their donations will not be in vain.
“The only promise… we can make is this – every dollar contributed to and into this morgue will be put into it. Every dollar,” he said, pointing to the need to get this done. “When people say they’re contributing, that’s where it goes.”
Cash donations to Ama Nyame Memorial Medical Center can be sent to this address: Ama Nyame Memorial Medical Center Inc. PO Box 353, Farmville, Virginia 23901.
Medication donations may be dispensed at: Piedmont Senior Resources, 1413 South Main St, Farmville, Virginia 23901
If you have any questions, please call (434) 767-5588.