Who We Are
Lasting change cannot be imposed. Lasting change cannot come from outside. Change comes from within communities themselves. HEAL Africa works with communities in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo to recognize the potential for development and facilitates the steps at the medical, economic, and social levels.
Formed in 1996 by Congolese orthopedic surgeon Jo Lusi and his wife, Lyn, a prominent social activist, HEAL Africa functions with a staff of 16 Congolese doctors, 28 nurses, 70 community development advocates and educators, an administrative team, and hundreds of Congolese volunteers.
The US HEAL Africa office was created in 2005 to support the activities on the ground in DRC and to promote advocacy efforts in the US about the situation in central Africa. The US team consists of 4 staff members.
Based in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo, HEAL Africa works in a region of the country that has been brought to its knees in a bloody regional war which began with the spillover of the Rwandan genocide into DRC in 1994. Claiming over 5 million lives over the last 12 years, armed groups from Congo and from neighboring countries continue to vie for power and natural resources in a country endowed with the largest amount of mineral wealth per square kilometer in the world. A peace agreement was signed in January 2008, but stability is yet to be seen and violence continues.
HEAL Africa began as a small training clinic to demonstrate better surgical practices. Responding to the needs in Goma, it expanded its specialties to orthopedics and fistula repair. HEAL continued to develop its vision as it became clear that just treating medical ailments did not touch the root cause of the existence of these health conditions. Recognizing that health problems are the visible symptoms of greater societal ills, HEAL Africa made a commitment to not just improve healthcare, but to tackle these issues at the individual community level through education, training, economic empowerment, and reconciliation efforts.
HEAL Africa works with committees of local village and religious leaders (Nehemiah Committees) to develop plans to care for the area’s vulnerable populations. This manifests itself through:
- Training rural healthcare professionals
- HIV AIDS prevention and treatment programs
- Public education about the law and human rights
- Micro-grants and collective insurance
- Widows and orphans support structures
- Community reconciliation efforts
In Goma, the 180 bed HEAL Africa hospital treats people from surrounding rural areas. The patients, who are identified by local volunteers, 
rarely have to pay for their treatment as most are from war-torn, poverty-ridden regions and are incapable of even paying a small amount. HEAL Africa performs over 1000 orthopedic operations a year.
As one of the most prominent actors against sexual violence, HEAL Africa performs over 300 fistula repair surgeries a year and has done over 1400 successful reparations since 2004. Fistula is a tear in the vaginal wall occuring from either brutal rape or prolonged labor complications in birth, which results in incontinence. HEAL Africa also provides economic support for survivors of sexual violence and is taking legal action of behalf of the victims.
Our mission is to provide holistic care for the people of the Democratic Republic of Congo: training health professionals, strengthening social activists and providing physical, spiritual and social healing.