The Rocky Mountain Collegian

Issue date: 11/5/09 Section: News

Media Credit: Courtesy of Rhonda Parmley Rhonda Parmley, in white, stands with, from left, Khot, Kuier Atem and Manjung for a photo outside her Fort Collins home in August.

Kuier Atem fled from her home in Kongor Village nearly a decade ago, seeking peace after living in a region ravaged by a civil war that has burdened the country for more than 23 years.

And today, Atem, now a Denver resident, has partnered with a local counselor to better the lives of the people she left behind.

In 2000, the U.N. assisted Atem's move to the United States after a lengthy application process -- providing her with a plane ticket and a home.

"When we came to America, we don't know the language or the culture," she said, in broken English, to the roughly 15 people in attendance at Wednesday's Women at Noon program, hosted by the Office of Women's Programs and Studies.

After establishing herself in the country, Atem started mobilizing her own non-profit organization to send aid -- clothing in particular -- to the people in her village. To carry out this process she needed permits and a loan, and a year ago she was connected with Rhonda Parmley, a Fort Collins psychotherapist, who was interested in conducting similar work.

Parmley and Atem have since been developing a project -- with a five to 10-year timeline -- to build a clinic in Kongor that focuses on maternal care.

According to the World Health Organization, in 2006, out of 100,000 live births, there were 500 infant deaths. Untrained birth attendants performed 78 percent of deliveries.

The team is following a system outlined by the Ministry of Health, an international organization that aims to improve health care systems across the globe. The organization hopes to build a hospital in every capital city, a clinic in every county and an informal medical clinic, which would provide basic first aid, in every village.

The clinic Parmley and Atem are looking to open would replace those destroyed by the war.

Parmley and Atem outlined their plan with the specific goals to improve:

Water quality,

Education and promotion of healthy lifestyles,

Health care of special groups such as women and children, and

Immunization availability.

Parmley said Atem's stories of walking two days, carrying sick loved ones in a blanket, to reach the nearest hospital, have motivated her to pursue this goal.

Continued...

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