Mr. Oneil Yosia Daima, the Director General for Cooperative Development at the National Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security - Credit: Moses Awan/Eye Radio, April 22, 2024

The Director General for Cooperative Development at the National Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security is appealing for $15,000 in financial assistance for his wife’s operation in Egypt.

72-year-old Oneil Yosia Daima, a father to 6 children, is also pastor of the Episcopal Church of South Sudan.

His 62-year-old wife Anna Jabir Said, first fell ill in 2015 when she was diagnosed in Khartoum, Sudan with a nerve inflammation, causing a stiff neck.

She was successfully treated for the illness but fell sick again of a similar condition in 2019.

This time, the family flew her to Egypt where she was operated on for a tumour in the neck.

According to the Yosia, following the surgery, his wife recovered – but the illness returned early this year.

He narrated the wife’s ordeal to Eye Radio.

“My wife has been sick for about 7 years. It started around 2015 with a stiff neck then we took her to Khartoum, the doctors said the nerves at the back of the head were inflamed, three of them,” Yosia narrated his wife’s condition.

“The doctors prescribed medicines and the illness disappeared totally but towards the end of February 2019 it came again very severe so we had to take her to Egypt upon diagnosis,” he said.

“The doctor said there was no way out except surgery, that surgery was done on 3 October 2019 and that tumour inside was removed and she recovered well but then this year the same symptoms of the stiff neck came back.”

Yosia said the same Egyptian hospital is now demanding 4,000 US dollars to conduct surgery for other parts of the wife’s neck.

Coupled with accommodation and other expenses in the hospital, they will need to raise to 15000 dollars -an amount the family can hardly raise.

The 72-year-old man is now appealing to well-wishers to come for his aid to save the life of his wife.

“We managed with our little resources to take her to Egypt, she is right now in Egypt and upon examination the doctor said the other part which was not operated on, has to be operated on again,” he said.

“The cost roughly of the operation is 4,000 USD apart from the cost of renting an apartment, feeding, internal transport and medicines so the total cost is around 15,000 USD.

“As the government servant, I am the director general for Cooperative Development, I cannot raise this money because we have stayed for quite a long time without salaries and as a canon in the church I cannot raise this money,” he stressed.

“I am appealing, this is a general appeal to the public he who hears me, I am appealing to him or her to come to my aid because as one person I cannot, but, I believe when we work cooperatively, this money can be found.”