The decision to do so was made over 14 years ago
This evening, a doctor from Peru spoke about a modern missionary hospital at Haus Patmos in Siegen. 50 doctors listened attentively to the presentation and asked a number of interested questions. One of the listeners sitting in the audience on November 19, 2011 was a medical student named Elias Kugel. He immediately sought a direct conversation with the speaker at the end of the event. It was obvious that in those moments, a young doctor-to-be had caught fire for an idea. “Mr. Kugel, first complete your studies and then your five-year residency!” The German-Peruvian remained brief and to the point. First the solid training, then the assignment at Diospi Suyana. That was the answer.
December 26, 2025: Dr. Elias Kugel conscientiously performs a colonoscopy in the endoscopy suite. The internist, who graduated from Charité, has never lost his enthusiasm for the hospital in the mountains of southern Peru. He is now married to Nifin, a Christian woman from Damascus, with whom he is raising two beautiful children.
A year ago, he spent the Christmas holidays at a language school in Cusco and now he is back in the thick of things in medicine. Committed, intelligent, hard-working and with a social streak. Elias Kugel has the best prerequisites for working as a doctor at Diospi Suyana.
Normally, volunteers (missionaries) have to commit for at least three years. In the case of Kugel, however, we will modify this rule to ten years. What must be, must be. /KDJ
