THE SSSIO’S EAST AFRICA MEDICAL MISSION

Between March 31 and April 9, 2024, 64 international health professionals and volunteers of the Sri Sathya Sai International Organization (SSSIO) traveled by road across remote areas of Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania to deliver ‘Medicare’ to 5,605 patients in medical camps. These were the very countries our beloved Swami visited in 1968 to heal and comfort the hearts and minds of the people in East Africa.

The first patient was served on Easter Sunday, March 31, 2024, in a medical camp at the Sathya Sai Center in Kampala Uganda, and the last patient was seen in a camp in Mwanga, Tanzania on April 9, 2024. Free consultations, treatment, and medicine were offered in several specialties, including Internal Medicine, Pediatrics, Cardiology, Gastroenterology, Gynecology, Neurology, Ophthalmology and Optometry, Anesthesiology, Surgery, Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation Medicine, and Dentistry.

For the international medical team, the healthcare mission was a remarkable opportunity to offer a unique yagna of selfless, devoted seva. Each journey from one camp to the next started with a variety of multifaith prayers to invoke the love, blessings, and healing hands of the divine doctor, and every bus ride was filled with the celestial tunes of bhajans and hymns.

As they arrived at the next camp, the team was greeted by lines of patients, some of whom had waited since 3 a.m. to be seen. Local health professionals and helpers were on standby to offer assistance. The socioeconomic deprivation these people face has directly or indirectly contributed to multiple illnesses in some, who had to be seen in more than one specialty. In total, about 12,000 consultations were held.

As they arrived at the next camp, the team was greeted by lines of patients, some of whom had waited since 3 a.m. to be seen. Local health professionals and helpers were on standby to offer assistance. The socioeconomic deprivation these people face has directly or indirectly contributed to multiple illnesses in some, who had to be seen in more than one specialty. In total, about 12,000 consultations were held.

Various diagnostic facilities were available, including blood tests, urine tests, visual acuity tests, ECG, echocardiogram, ultrasound, endoscopy, and even gynecological evaluation for cervical cancer. Minor surgical procedures and dental extractions were performed. Reading glasses and physical aids were distributed as required. Free medication worth thousands of dollars was dispensed via pharmacists and doctors.

The experienced nurse specialists and specialist doctors in the international team worked with local students, nurses, and doctors, offering many unique learning opportunities.

On completion of the camps, some patients pleaded: “Please come again, and do not forget us.” The international healthcare teams and the SSSIO are deeply grateful for the opportunity to be instruments of God’s love and His response to the prayers of the people served.

Jai Sai Ram. 

Media Committee
Sri Sathya Sai International Organization