Vanga Evangelical Hospital

Vanga Evangelical Hospital is three-hundred miles West of the DRC capital, Kinshasa. Making this remote jungle hospital, best reached by small plane. Originally founded in 1908 and was supported by the service of many missionary doctors.  Dr. Axel Osterholm and his wife Luetta Margaret (Belgians) worked at Vanga from 1925 until their retirement in 1959.  During that time Dr. Osterholm had not only treated 125,000 patients each year but translated the Book of Acts into Kihungana and trained nurses throughout the area.  He also trained a national named Mr. Musiti to perform many medical procedures.  

After Congo became independent from Belgium on June 30, 1960 there were a series of civil wars.   The story goes that as rebels entered the area, Dr. Osterholm handed the hospital keys to Mr. Musiti with enough cash to pay the staff for the next four weeks.  He gave him the instructions to close the hospital when the money ran out. Thankfully, Mr. Musiti did not listen.  For the next year and a half, Mr. Musiti, relying on the 12 years of training under Dr. Osterholm, performed many live saving C-sections, including on his own wife.   

When Dr. Dan Fountain arrived, he found Vanga, once a foreign based hospital, now a functioning well-run national based healthcare center. Dr. Dan Fountain and his wife, Miriam, were medical missionaries in Congo for 35 years.  He always let the nationals take the lead.  Many of Dr. Fountain’s books, such as Let’s Build Our Lives are the cornerstone of community development.  He tells the story of Vanga Hospital in his book Health For All. 

Today, Vanga Evangelical Hospital serves a needy population of 350,000 per year and receives patients from 50 health centers in the Bandundu region. Vanga is significantly committed to training the next generation of indigenous healthcare workers and is known for its dedication to excellence.  There are over 50 Congolese medical students in their final year and 300 nursing students being trained at Vanga as well as informal lab and anesthesia programs.