Koutiala, Mali
Koutiala Christian Medical Center St. Luke
Dr. Joel Dembele has an eye for need. And as an ophthalmologist, he has his own eyes focused on addressing those needs.
Dembele is the director of the Koutiala Christian Medical Center St. Luke. He operates a private vision clinic in Mali’s capital of Bamako, but he also reaches out to an underserved areas near Koutiala where he provides general health care and outreach services.
His work is living out a lifelong calling to return to his home community of Zamblala, a village where he lived until he left for school at age 12. Zamblala is special for another reason. It’s the only Christian village in an area overwhelmingly Muslim. Dembele used his own personal savings to help Zamblala build a medical dispensary. Eventually, his dream is to build a large medical complex along the village’s main road.
Besides eye consultations and general health care, Dembele works with evangelism teams to bring the Gospel to patients and members of nearby villages. His mission is to bring holistic health in the name of Jesus Christ.
Dr. Joel Dembele
About the ministry:
Name: Koutiala Christian Medical Center St. Luke
Location: Koutiala, Mali
Director: Dr. Joel Dembele
Partnership: 2020-present
Staff: 6
Our mission:
“Our main mission is to provide quality medical care to our patients, praying for them and sharing the Gospel with them for their salvation and for their holistic healing — body, mind and spirit.”
Why I love being a director:
During medical school training, my dream was to establish a Christian medical hospital where I can truly serve my Lord Jesus Christ through my profession and expand this vision to other Christian health workers. I love being a Luke Society ministry director because the great support from the Luke Society helps me to achieve and fulfil my dream of serving my Lord through my profession.”
About Mali:
Population: 20.1 million
Size: 1.2 million sq. km, or about twice the size of Texas
Capital: Bamako
Borders: Senegal and Mauritania to the west; Algeria to the northeast; Niger to the east; Guinea, Côte D’Ivoire and Burkina Faso to the south.
Religious groups: Muslim, 93.9%; Christian, 2.8%
Primary language: French
Literacy (age 15+): 35.5%
Physician density: 0.13 doctors per 1,000 people.
Population below international poverty line: 42.1%
Life expectancy: 62.0 years
Infant mortality rate: 62.3 deaths per 1,000 live births.
Major exports: Cotton, gold, livestock.
Climate: Subtropical to arid; hot and dry from February-June; rainy, humid and mild from June-November; cool and dry from November-February.
Terrain: Mostly flat to rolling northern plains covered by sand; savanna in the south; rugged hills in the northeast.
