Coptic Orthodox church in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, Australia, helps draw dozens of overseas-trained doctors to town

Two Egyptian-born doctors helped establish a Coptic Orthodox church in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, and their work has drawn dozens of other overseas-trained doctors to the regional city. Dr Ayman Shenouda and Dr Samiha Azab moved to Wagga Wagga for work, expecting to stay for only a year. Instead, they have made the town their permanent home and, by Dr Shenouda’s account, attracted four dozen other overseas-trained doctors to the region.

Dr Shenouda credits the church with that result. “This church has sorted out the shortage of doctors in the Riverina, Murrumbidgee,” he said. “Forty-seven doctors were attracted to this church, and it made a big difference.”

As Coptic Orthodox Christians, the couple said the church is central to their spiritual and social lives. Within a few years of moving to Wagga Wagga, they set about establishing a place of worship there. They first persuaded their bishop in Sydney to establish a church in the region, then raised funds to buy an old church that was on the market. The building is the Church of St Mary and St John the Beloved.

In the years since, the church has helped attract a community of Egyptian-born doctors and their families to the town, who have in turn created a thriving GP practice. Dr Shenouda said he was proud to be part of bringing Wagga Wagga to a point where patients receive care comparable to that in big cities.

Dr Azab, also a GP, said she never expected to end up in a country town of about 60,000 people after leaving Cairo, a city of 9.5 million. “But everyone was very supportive,” she said. “We bought a house straight away, we anchored ourselves.” Welcoming newcomers as neighbours is an act of hospitality (Matthew 25:35).

The story also places the couple’s experience within a wider national problem. Overseas-trained doctors are a mainstay of rural healthcare in Australia, but recruiting them can cost upwards of $25,000 and take as long as 21 months.

A report by respected former public servant Robyn Kruk has urged national cabinet to make urgent changes that could make a big difference, including fast-tracking doctors from more countries.

Source: Read the original report