Bamenda, Cameroon
Luke Society Bamenda, Cameroon
Dr. Paul Atem’s two passions drive his ministry life. They also happen to be the two that steer the Luke Society ship as an organization.
“We believe in bringing people to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ in addition to taking care of their health and emotional needs,” said Atem, director of the Luke Society Bamenda, Cameroon.
The Luke Society has partnered with Atem since October 2004. The primary component of the ministry is the Mount Zion Clinic, a 20-bed facility complete with a lab, ultrasound equipment and maternity services. The Luke Society provided financial assistance to help construct the Mount Zion Clinic which was dedicated in 2018.
The ministry has also overseen work in the rural village settings of Okwala and Tingoh. However, due to safety concerns with the ongoing civil war in Cameroon, those clinics have remained closed indefinitely.
The clinics regularly treat cases of malaria, typhoid fever, diarrhea, pneumonia and respiratory tract infections.
Dr. Paul Atem
About the ministry:
Name: Mount Zion Clinic
Location: Bamenda, Cameroon
Director: Dr. Paul Atem
Partnership: 2003-present
Staff: 16
Our mission:
“Our mission is to meet the needs of our target populations in health care and evangelism. Our goal is to bring about holistic health care by caring for the total man: body, soul and spirit.”
Why I love being a director:
“Being a ministry director has helped me to find meaning in the purpose of my calling in serving as a Christian medical doctor. I have found fulfillment in providing tender, loving care to people in the rural villages of Tingoh and Okwala and in the city of Bamenda.”
About Cameroon:
Population: 28.5 million
Size: 457,440 sq. km, or slightly larger than California
Capital: Yaoundé
Borders: Nigeria to the west; Chad and Central African Republic to the east; Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon and Equatorial Guinea to the south; Atlantic Ocean to the southwest.
Religious groups: Catholic, 38.3%; Protestant, 25.5%; Muslim, 24.4% Other Christian, 6.9%.
Primary language: French and English
Literacy (age 15+): 77.1%
Physician density: 0.09 doctors per 1,000 people.
Population below international poverty line: 37.5%
Life expectancy: 62.8 years
Infant mortality rate: 50.1 deaths per 1,000 live births.
Major exports: Crude oil and petroleum, lumber, cocoa beans, aluminum, coffee, cotton.
Climate: Varies with terrain from tropical along the coast to hot in the north.
Terrain: Coastal plain in the southwest; dissected plateau in the center; mountains in the west; plains in the north.
