A new medical research center, which will be run by Loma Linda University, California, was opened at the Kabul University medical school, Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, on July 4. The Loma Linda center is designed to help rebuild the teaching program at the medical school, which has been decimated by years of civil war. The center is equipped with four computers, a copy machine, a small library of books, as well as offices for visiting Loma Linda University teaching staff.

“It’s a pleasure and an honor to do something to help the people of Afghanistan,” said Dr. Joan Coggin, associate dean for International Programs in the Loma Linda School of Medicine.

“Care of the sick transcends politics, governments, and even cultural differences,” said Coggin. “Through the years this is what Loma Linda has stood for, and here the need is so great. We’ve come here to help the people of Afghanistan.”

“For more than two decades Afghanistan has suffered from civil war,” said Dr. Mike Ryan, a member of the International Affairs Committee at Loma Linda University. “The country is struggling in terrible economic conditions, and we hope that this new center will help touch the lives of many needy people in this country.”

From the beginning of negotiations between Loma Linda and Afghan leaders, the right of women to use the center has been upheld as a condition of Loma Linda granting help. A renovated reading room in the center has partitions that will allow both men and women to study at the same time.

Attending the opening were university officials and government leaders, including Qari Deen Mohammed Hanif, minister of Higher Education for Afghanistan. Also attending were other guests affiliated with Loma Linda University. They included Karl Schwinn from Maranatha Volunteers International, who constructed the center, and Dr. Gordon Hadley, who worked for many years in Afghanistan and has played a vital role in Loma Linda’s relationship with that country.

Founded in 1905, Loma Linda University is a health sciences university located in southern California and operated by the Seventh-day Adventist Church.