Priest founds medical school in Tanzania

"That's my life," said Rev. Peter LeJacq, MD, a native of Long Island. "I've either been at school or at Bugando."

He was referring to the Bugando Medical Center in Mwanza, Tanzania. He is a driving force behind the University College of Health Sciences at Bugando Medical Center. An unprecedented cooperative venture among the Catholic Church, the Tanzanian government and the Weill Medical College of Cornell University, the medical school at Bugando aspires to meet the acute need to improve medical care in the Third World country.

The medical school, which opens in January with an enrollment of 20 students and four faculty members, will eventually house 800 students in five-year medical, dental, nursing and pharmacy programs at an estimated cost of $21 million.

Modernization

"In the Third World, they have skipped telephone lines and gone straight to cellular phones," explained Father LeJacq.

Weill-Cornell, which has donated computers to the school, "sees the potential for this medical school to be a template for how medicine can be taught with minimum expense and maximum use of technology."

Doctor and priest

Half of Tanzanian children are malnourished, and there is only one dentist for every 300,000 people.

According to Maryknoll, the Bugando hospital, an 850-bed facility, treats eight million of the country's 33 million people, and the school will be only the third medical school in the entire country.

Inspired

A lack of resources once forced Bugando Medical Center to operate in ways that would be "unfathomable" in the West, according to Dr. Kim. Today, it is much the same: Beds must be shared, medicines have to be applied for more than one purpose and gloves are used on more than one patient. When Father LeJacq first came, some parts of the hospital did not even have running water.

"It would discourage a lot of people, but Father Peter stayed there for ten years, established contacts with the States, and secured deliveries of donated and recycled supplies and medicines to distribute," said Dr. Kim, a former parishioner of St. Pius X in Loudonville.

'Symbol of hope'

"He can't reverse the poverty, but he is a sign that somebody on the outside actually cares about them," Dr. Kim said. "The medical school is the evolution of that hope. His work there is as close to saintly work as I can envision for somebody in this day and age. He doesn't have to be there, but he has chosen the most destitute conditions to try to make a difference."

Currently a surgery resident at the University of Pittsburgh's hospital, Dr. Kim looks forward to finishing his training and "helping Father Peter out with missionary efforts."

Pitching in

"This project is serving the needy and the underserved from a medical perspective," Dr. Marthy said. "The fact that they will be able to train medical students at a level comparable to developed countries will be a tremendous resource, one that other African nations could utilize. Quality physicians will have a tremendous impact on the welfare of the patients."

Dr. Marthy, who calls himself "somewhat retired," took two teenage grandchildren to a fundraiser at Maryknoll headquarters in Tarrytown last year. He was surprised at how excited they became after talking with Father LeJacq and Tanzanians directly involved with the project.

"It was wonderful. Everyone was extremely energized and uplifted and excited about supporting the project. I'm personally hoping that we can continue to find ways of supporting and promoting this venture in our area," Dr. Marthy said. "Father has qualities that remind you of Will Rogers, Jimmy Stewart and St. Francis. He's a very captivating, unique and unpretentious guy."

On his way

"We're trying to start small, so we can learn how to do this," he remarked. "As with all Church efforts, we are doing this out of a faith motivation. Anything the Church does is motivated out of the fact that Christ healed the sick. Healing is what Christ did, so that is what we do."

Father LeJacq has traveled extensively through the Albany Diocese, preaching at weekend Masses in local parishes and soliciting support for the initiative. He recalls good memories of the area.

"I see more similarity than difference in the Church around the world, whether it is in Albany or Africa," he said. "The faith community is universal. The Albany faith community is consistent with that experience: They have a worldview and are not limiting themselves to their local community."

(12-12-02) [[In-content Ad]]