Medical staff in South Sudan start Chinese language course

JUBA, July 17 (Xinhua) -- The fourth Chinese language course for medical staff in South Sudan commenced Wednesday, attracting about 100 students eager to learn and seize opportunities that come with learning Mandarin.

In his opening remarks, Isaac Maker, medical director of Juba Teaching Hospital, encouraged the students to learn one of the most important languages globally.

Maker said that proficiency in the Chinese language would create opportunities for medical practitioners to advance their studies and acquire new knowledge under the people-to-people exchange program being currently implemented by the Chinese and South Sudan governments.

"I would like to express my sincere thanks to the work being done by the Chinese doctors in Juba Teaching Hospital. They are really helping the people of South Sudan and I thank the Chinese government for sending doctors here and across Africa," Maker said in Juba, the capital of South Sudan.

Gift Gibson Natana, deputy director-general of Juba Teaching Hospital, noted that learning Chinese presents opportunities for enhancing career development for medical practitioners at the hospital.

According to Mu Jianjun, the counselor for Economic and Commercial Affairs at the Chinese Embassy in South Sudan, the people in the African country have warmly welcomed the Chinese language and traditional culture.

Mu noted that the Chinese language course aims to help the staff of Juba Teaching Hospital better communicate with the Chinese medical team, understand the Chinese language and culture, and deepen the friendship between China and South Sudan.

"The Chinese medical team has been known and loved by more and more people in South Sudan. The second phase of the Juba Teaching Hospital project, built with China's assistance, was officially opened on Monday, marking another milestone project in China-South Sudan medical and healthcare cooperation," he said.

Chen Si, team leader of the 11th batch of the Chinese medical team, said the Chinese language course aims at deepening mutual understanding and enhancing friendship between the two countries and peoples.

The course will see students attend two lessons each week from July to August, Chen noted, adding that they have provided a regular training schedule for each student that covers food, music, sports and other aspects of the program.

"Through this cultural exchange, we hope our colleagues here can have a basic understanding of China, especially those who are about to visit China for further training, enabling them to familiarize themselves with China in advance," Chen said.

Since 2021, the medical staff of Juba Teaching Hospital have been attending Chinese language classes.