In April, 2025 I went to Angola, Africa with my girlfriend, Kim to photograph the Hospital de Kalukembe. She was in residency with one of the doctor’s there, Dr. Priscilla Cummings. She & her husband, Dr Daniel Cummings, both help run the hospital. Kim & Priscilla both are OB/GYN, while Daniel is an ER Physician. They live & work at the hospital full time & have been for the past 15 years. They have 3 kids as if what they do isn’t enough!
Kim has had this on the top of her bucket list for years now & we finally had a chance to cross it off. We stayed on the grounds of the hospital for 8 days. We saw & learned a lot. We met so many of the locals inside the hospital & out. When not helping out with the hospital, we did everyday life things like going to the outdoor markets, which were so much fun! We hung out at Pricilla & Daniel’s house. We also went to an Easter service, since we were there over the Easter holiday. We were sat up front & were guests of honor. We actually felt that way the entire time we were there. Everyone was so nice. We even watched the 1959 movie, “Ben-Hur” or tried to. The DVD was acting up, but we eventually got through it. Towards the end of our time there, we did a community outreach in the village of Calepi. From Kalukembe, it was about 25 miles each way, but those are 25 miles of off road conditions where you barely shift out of 2nd gear & actually drive through a few creeks too. That was a long day but so much fun! The people in the village were very appreciative of the medical treatment & supplies that were given out.
Some of the highlights for me were being in the OR & watching Kim perform surgery. I was mere feet away from her & the patient(s). They have 2 operations going on at the same time, in the same room. One of the many differences between here & standards back in the U.S.A. The outdoor markets were great to walk around in as well. The colors are so vibrant & they matched the people’s personalities. People would come up to me & want me to take their picture. I took a great selfie with a group of children that was following me around. Because it took so long to get to Angola, we built in a 17 hour layover in Lisbon, Portugal & after our time in Angola, we flew to Cape Town, South Africa. Both beautiful countries that we hope to go back to for further exploration.
All in all, the experience was amazing & I am very proud of the images I created while there.
Scroll down & see some of what I saw!!
