Susu Gospel Ministries
A cross-continental partnership since 2000 — rooted in faith, sustained by commitment.
Your gift is matched, dollar for dollar.
Two Clackamas County families are matching every donation up to $100,000 through December 31. Whatever you give today counts twice.
Rev. Sam & Pastor Josephine Sesay
In 1999, at the age of 50, Rev. Sam Sesay left behind a secure position as pastor of Wilberforce Baptist Church in Freetown and director of the Southern Baptist Convention compound in Sierra Leone. He and his wife Josephine walked away from stability — with no funding whatsoever, depending entirely on God — to reach the Susu people of their home country.
The Susu communities they moved into were burdened with poverty, poor medical care, and hopelessness. Sam and Josephine came anyway. They planted themselves in the rural villages and began building something from nothing. They are the heart of the growing ministry they have led ever since.
SGM and Canby Alliance Church
At the same time in Oregon, Canby Alliance Church planned trips to seek active ministries among the Susu. Through faith, a CAC team met the Sesays in Guinea in 2000. Encouraged by Rev. Sesay's vision, SGM and CAC began a cross-continental partnership that has grown stronger every year since 2000.
100+ trans-Atlantic flights
Dozens of people working together to serve the Susu
$700,000 invested
A well, farm, 3 churches, 2 preschools, 3 primary schools, and a clinic
Gospel access
For the first time in Susu communities
A trained surgeon
The Sesays' son Joseph became one of very few surgeons in Sierra Leone
Dr. Joseph Sesay
Dr. Joseph Sesay grew up watching his people suffer. That experience never left him. Because of his early academic promise, Canby Alliance Church supported him through his medical doctorate and surgical specialty at Ternopil National Medical University in Ukraine.
When he finished, his classmates took lucrative positions in the developed world. Dr. Sesay came home. He served five successful years as Medical Superintendent of Makeni Regional Hospital — one of the largest hospitals in Sierra Leone — and in 2026 was appointed District Medical Officer of Bonthe District. He earns a salary less than one-tenth of what his classmates make. He is experienced in general surgery, obstetrics, pediatric surgery, and other fields. He is the driving force behind the hospital project.
“As a child, I saw the need: my people were suffering. I know that I am just one person, but I believe that I can make a difference.”
In Sierra Leone
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Bosco Kamara
Director, Modia General Clinic since 2006
Licensed community health worker with 3 years of additional training in tropical medicine. Known locally for fairness, competence, and high-quality care.
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Esther Bangura
Head Nurse, Modia General Clinic since 2006
Prior experience at Kamakwei Hospital. Holds a certificate in State Enrolled Community Health Nursing. Central to the clinic's success.
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Pastor Basiru Deen
General Secretary, Susu Gospel Ministries
Ordained minister and educator. Oversees clinic finances. Led the clinic through the 2014–2016 Ebola Crisis to become financially self-supporting.
In the USA
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Pastor Tim Barton
Senior pastor, Canby Alliance Church (1985–2023)
First visited SGM in 2006. Made eight trips to Sierra Leone to encourage and support the ministry.
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Paul Knopp
Canby Alliance Church — Agricultural advisor
Championed the hospital project since its inception. Helped create the SGM farming project, drawing on decades of nursery and agricultural experience.
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Pam Wilson
OB nurse — Providence Willamette Falls Medical Center
Traveled on medical missions to Mexico, Guinea, and Sierra Leone. Trained medical staff and saw patients at the Modia General Clinic.
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Mel Yamase
Church elder, CAC — Medical advisor (retired)
MD from University of Hawaii (1986). Former Chief Resident in Internal Medicine at Providence Portland Medical Center. Led private practice 1990–2021.
Project Partners
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John Hudson
President, 100Fold Studio
Architectural firm with 61 projects in 26 countries for Christian-led ministries. Created the hospital renderings and the probable construction cost estimate.
A New Chapter
By 2023, twenty-three years of partnership had proved something: that Susu Gospel Ministries could build institutions that last, and that a church in Oregon could stand behind them without taking them over. The clinic is the proof. It has logged 85,000 patient visits, survived Ebola, and pays for itself.
A hospital is a larger undertaking. It needed an organization built for it.
Kapok Care was incorporated in Oregon in 2023 as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit for exactly that purpose — to raise and steward the funds for the Susu Gospel Hospital, and to keep the project accountable to the people it serves. The partnership came first, by twenty-three years. The organization was built to match it.
We are not the ones building a hospital in Sierra Leone. Dr. Sesay and SGM are. Our work is to make sure they have what they need.
The Kapok Care Board
Rick Ellis, President · Pam Wilson, Vice President · Rock Shetler, Secretary · Luke Ellis, Treasurer · Joshua Stager, Executive Director · Bill Crumley · Paul Knopp · Jeff Reister
All eight board members serve as volunteers. No one at Kapok Care draws a salary.