The celebrations began on March 7th with the graduation of 71 new nurses from the St. John of God Nursing School in Mabesseneh, Sierra Leone. This was part of the celebrations that have taken place this week, marking the 50th anniversary of the founding of St. John of God Hospital by the Hospitaller Order in 1967.
The main events took place on March 8, the feast day of Saint John of God, and were attended by numerous figures from the Order, including Brother JesĂșs Etayo, Superior General; the Councilor for Africa, Brother AndrĂ© Sene; and the director of the Office of Missions and International Cooperation of the General Curia, Brother MoisĂ©s MartĂn.
On behalf of Juan Ciudad ONGD, a delegation made up of Brother JosĂ© MÂȘ Viadero, director, Dr. Fernando Rivilla, international volunteer and collaborator, and Xixco Muñoz, project technician, traveled from Madrid.
From Barcelona, Brother Fernando AguilĂł, who coordinates the twinning of the Sant Joan de Deu Hospital with the SJD Hospital of Mabesseneh, also attended this anniversary, as well as Amelia Guilera, director of the Sant Joan de Deu Teaching Campus, twinned with the SJD Nursing School of Mabesseneh, and Jordi Fabrega, member of communications/web content management of the Sant Joan de DĂ©u Hospital, among others, since representatives of the Order from different parts of the world have also attended.
Over the course of these days, the meeting was also used to hold several working meetings on cooperation issues with the director of the SJD Mabesseneh Hospital, members of the Order's General Council, Juan Ciudad ONGD, the Sant Joan de Deu Teaching Campus, the Sant Joan de Deu Hospital, and Ăfrica Vive.
Finally, on March 9, Brother JesĂșs Etayo and other representatives of the Order met with the President of Sierra Leone and the First Lady in Freetown, where they discussed the health challenges facing the country and the work of SJD Mabesseneh Hospital, its nursing school, and the Lungi Health Center.
You can see more photos in the Juan Ciudad NGO Facebook.
The photographs were taken and provided by Antoine from the Communications Department of the OH Province of France, Jordi Fabrega, and Amelia Guilera.
Text by Adriana Castro. Juan Ciudad NGO Communications.
