A medical mission that started just over a hundred years ago with one man and a boat now treats 170,000 people a year and aims to grow even further.
Dr Frank Harpur, a CMS missionary from Ireland was sailing around the villages in the Nile delta, using his small craft to carry medical supplies and treat patients as best he could, when a gift from a local influential Muslim man, enabled a small permanent hospital to be built in the town of Menouf. Nowadays the Nile has changed its course and no longer runs past the town, but the Harpur Memorial Hospital has gone from strength to strength.
From having just one ward, the hospital now has both outpatient and inpatient facilities, as well as a seven-floor complex to house a nursing academy. At the end of May a graduation ceremony was held for 12 nurses, presided over by Archbishop Sami, bishop of Egypt who is very proud of what has been achieved.
If I need medical treatment, this is the place I’d come
Archbishop Sami
The hospital treats people of any religion or none but is keen to preserve its Christian ethos. That ethos is attractive to some of the doctors who have joined the staff from overseas. Dr Ian, a paediatrician from Canada moved here with his family three years ago. He was attracted because of the opportunity to meet need in a place with a spiritual ethos, sentiments echoed by the director of nursing, Dano, who hailed from Virginia. Harpur is a training hospital already, thanks to external funding. A new five-year scheme to train Christian doctors in internal medicine has just recruited two members. There is room for more.
The Hospital is on the same site as the local Anglican church, and services are held there for staff three times each week. Also, nearby is the Anglican School, attested as the best in the region, providing education for what in the UK would be described as Primary and Middle School ages. The availability of the school is attractive for staff, and their involvement in the school helps to maintain its standards. In an area with just 2% Christian population, there is a waiting list for the school.
Recent developments at the hospital include new facilities for outpatients, new A and E facilities, a new CT scanner and a new blood bank. At the moment there is building work in progress as the new children’s clinic begins to take shape. The hospital already has incubators and an emergency centre for post-natal care. There is no maternity provision. Dano explains that a culture of C-section birthing has grown in the area, and he hopes that more encouragement can be given for natural childbirth. The new clinic will also be an outpatient facility but with four beds used for observation as needed. 50% of its funds are provided by the Diocese of Egypt, and 50% from the hospital’s own income. Its charges are low and designed to enable the widest possible access.
Gynaecologist Dr Samir Mansour has been medical director since 2005 and has overseen some of the main developments but has great ambition for the future of the hospital.
I hope this place will be the biggest Christian health provider in Egypt,
Dr Samir Mansour
This hospital, along with its sister hospital, the Harpur Memorial in Sadat City are part of the Health sector of the Diocese of Egypt. Both witness to one of the five marks of mission of the Anglican Communion: to meet human need with loving care.
4th July 2023
