Fighting the good fight in Africa

MOUNT VERNON — The closest government hospital to Dunga, a tiny fishing village in western Kenya, is only five miles away. But to the people who live there, it might as well be 500 miles because the chances of seeing a doctor there are virtually nil, laments Dr. Brad Berg.

And Berg, the head of pediatrics at Skagit Valley Medical Center in Mount Vernon, worries that in Uganda, the hospital in Kabale is just as useless. It has an untrained staff that is perpetually short-handed and gets only sporadic shipments of medical supplies.

So this summer Berg will pack up and head to the two African communities to set up medical clinics meant to bring basic health care where there has been little or none.

It's part of what has become the doctor's personal mission: to help children in developing countries where far too many childhood deaths are from illnesses as preventable as pneumonia and diarrhea.

"There's so much death and illness in these villages," where children under 15 make up half the population but most children don't live to be 6, Berg said.

Friends, family members and co-workers already have given $15,000 to Berg's new charity, Fight for the Children, and he's kicked in $20,000 himself.

Berg hopes the clinics will be run by locals for locals. He plans to recruit American doctors, especially pediatricians, to volunteer at the centers. But foreign doctors will treat patients and train staff while learning skills themselves.

During his first visit to Dunga and Kabale in November, Berg said he was shown buildings that had been intended for clinics but had never opened for lack of money. He figures it will cost about $8,000 a year to operate Dunga Children's Clinic and $10,000 a year to run the larger Kabale Children's Clinic.

Berg also has committed to setting up scholarship funds in each village where he opens a clinic. He already has sent money to Dunga so that seven students can attend high school in a neighboring town and has pledged to pay their way through college.

In Kabale, Berg is working with Dr. James Tumwine (pronounced Too-ween-ay), a pediatrician and medical professor based in Kampala, the capital of Uganda. Tumwine owns four buildings in Kabale that are being renovated to house the clinic.

"Brad's idea is excellent," Tumwine said. "He has good vision, and he hit the nail on the head — the two major interventions that will make a difference in Africa are education and health," Tumwine said.

"It's like planting a seed," he continued. "You start small and see how it goes."

Sara Jean Green: 206-515-5654 or sgreen@seattletimes.com