In Memory of Dr. Awad El Goun

It was with great sadness that I received the news of the sudden loss of our teacher Professor Awad El Goun. Although it has been years since I had seen him, I remember his generosity of spirit and his unique sense of humour. He was one of a handful of obstetricians trained by the British who decided to remain in Wad Medani in spite of the harsh difficult working conditions. Instead, he chose to continue delivering babies at Wad Medani Teaching Hospital, that crumbling , delapitaded institution , whom many chose to abandon (including myself).In the midst of the crowded halls, where often drifters from the adjacent "malaja" were seeking refuge and "niswan alshai" were busy brewing coffee and where even cats were having their own babies....in the midst of all this chaos....he could be seen holding a tall glass of water (he always asked for that at the beginning of every teaching session) and teaching us about the stages of labour....but there was one lecture that we all remebered...about the futility of birth control in Sudan and how fruitless it was to introduce condoms to the Sudanese!!!! We always laughed because he had a lot to say and he never held back and of course he always interjected his "original" sense of humour in everything.

He was a great teacher, an excellent healthcare provider who not only played a role in the delivery of generations, but also implementation of many preventive measures that surely contributed to the reduction of maternal morbidity and mortality in the Gezira province. He will forever be one of the essential figures of Wad Medani who has left an indellible mark.

On a personal note, I will truly miss his generosity of spirit that even his offspring inherited from him far before his loss. For those of not from Wad Medani or Al Gezira, who were essentially overworked, underfed, and homesick, the Al Goun residence was certainly our "home away from home". To Eaman, Innam, Ilham, Amal, Amira, Ihsan, Abdelazziz, to your great mother, to your children and spouses, I pass my deepest condelences. May he rest in peace with the blessings of ALLAH.

Sincerely
One of the many students of Dr. Awad, Hala Khogali Abubakr