DANVERS — Janice and Dino Crognale say they knew, even as youngsters, that they were meant to go into missionary work.
The couple have followed that calling and will soon return to the Kenyan hospital where they've trained doctors and treated patients with a host of ailments they had never encountered in the U.S., except in medical textbooks.
The Crognales will speak about their time at the Tenwek Hospital in Kenya on Saturday at the First Congregational Church in Hamilton.
Janice and Dino Crognale met in high school while working at the Papa Gino's in Salem. They went to medical school at the University of Massachusetts, got married and started a family along the way, and worked for close to 10 years at family practices — she practiced in Hamilton-Wenham, and he worked in Danvers.
All the while, their hearts were calling them overseas. In 2006, they traveled to Africa with a patient of Janice's who was a Ugandan native. While they were there, they toured Tenwek Hospital.
"Early on in life, we both felt called to be missionaries. It was just a matter of working out what that means," Dino said. "I think we were both exposed to missionaries through the church (growing up), and we thought that's what God wanted us to do."
In December 2008, the family set off for Tenwek Hospital in the western highlands of Kenya, roughly four hours from Nairobi.
For two years, they worked in the hospital's emergency room and trained Kenyan doctors. Tenwek is a 300-bed teaching hospital, roughly the size of Beverly Hospital, Dino said.
The Crognales have learned to adapt and think creatively, treating patients with malaria, tuberculosis, and HIV and its complications — all without many of the resources, supplies and lab tests Western doctors call for without a second thought.
Due to the level of poverty in Kenya, most patients don't come to the hospital until they are seriously ill, and won't have medicines they might need in their home village once discharged, Dino said.
"We (worked to) teach people to improve their own wellness, without a lot of resources," he said.
In August 2010, the family returned to their home in Danvers, but plan to return to their work in Kenya in October.
Their daughters, Elizabeth, 9, and Isabella, 6, were home-schooled in Kenya, and made fast friends they are eager to return to, Dino said. The Crognales will soon be a family of five, as Janice is due to have another baby in July.
The family is sponsored by several churches, including Byfield Parish in Georgetown and Calvary Baptist in Peabody, for their work in Kenya with World Gospel Mission.
The most rewarding thing?
"Being able to impact patients who otherwise may not have access to doctors," Dino answered. "For me, one of the most exciting parts is training these young men and women (Kenyan doctors) to go out to these further communities that I'll never see, to continue care. Also, to share the love of Christ with the people there."
Staff writer Bethany Bray can be reached at bbray@salemnews.com and on Twitter @SNewsBethany.
IF YOU GO
What: Meet-and-greet and talk by Dino and Janice Crognale, missionaries and doctors at Tenwek Hospital in Kenya
When: Saturday, 6 p.m.
Where: First Congregational Church, corner of Route 1A and Cutler Road, Hamilton
More information: Open to the public, refreshments served
