Today CSL Danja is a multifaceted health center serving the rural community of Danja, south-central Niger, and beyond. CSL’s recognized expertise in skin conditions attracts a variety of other patients requiring long term wound care and others needing rehabilitation. CSL provides in-patient nursing care but also hostel accommodations for non-local patients needing only dressing changes. CSL’s operating room is used for more invasive wound care when anesthesia is needed. The physical therapy department assesses patients and provides exercises and treatments to strengthen and restore function.
The general dispensary serves patients suffering from a wide range of conditions with skin infections, malaria, intestinal diseases, heart disease and diabetes being the most common. Most care is provided by the nursing staff with referrals to the doctor. Poverty, ignorance and reluctance to seek professional health care prevent many people from coming to CSL until late in their illnesses, so it can prove challenging to provide the care they need for healing.
Providing palliative care is rare in Niger, yet a Christian hospital has a unique opportunity to be able to offer hope even when medical treatment is not curative but seeks only to lessen pain and suffering. We have the opportunity to impact lives of patients and the family members who witness this compassionate care.
CSL also offers an eye clinic. Many common eye illnesses are seen and treated. Cataract patients are seen and diagnosed and surgery is performed when visiting surgical teams come to Danja.
The Maternal and Child center provides immunizations and growth monitoring for babies. Nutrition counseling is offered and malnourished children are given ready-to-eat feeding supplements known as Plumpy Nut. Prenatal checks for pregnant women are provided as well as midwife-assisted deliveries. Culturally acceptable family planning services are also provided.
Chaplains are part of the interdisciplinary team praying for patients and staff and sharing the Gospel. These pastors also travel on outreach visits to nearby communities to follow up on contacts made at CSL.
Rehabilitation services programs teach sewing and literacy. Leprosy patients living in the community are targeted by programs offered through TLM and Raoul Foullereux foundation.
Shoes are fabricated on site which are specifically designed for patients suffering from deformities or with conditions needing special foot wear for correction.
The Christian preschool and kindergarten on the premises teaches children of the staff and local community. Introducing children to instruction in French is important for helping them get a head start in the school system.
