One devoted worker in the health clinic in Narus, a
rebel-controlled town in southern Sudan, is Dr. Susan Nagele, a member of the
Maryknoll Mission Association of the Faithful (MMAF). What makes Susan such a
vital member of the Narus team is her method of healing that is based on
compassion and respect as well as on medicine. "There was no training in
kindness in medical school, but that is the most important thing people need,"
says Susan. She puts herself on the same level as her patients and tries to
understand their needs as people. Susan says, "We’re here to walk beside the
people and share their struggles, their dangers and their faith." She puts this
into practice when sharing a bunker with her patients during an air raid of
planes from the Khartoum government. "War brings you down to the bottom line,"
Nagele says. "When you are in the bunker and the planes are flying overhead, you
are all perfectly equal."