History
On November 24, 1964, Dr. Paul Earle Carlson was killed by Simba rebels in the Congolese city of Kisangani, then called Stanleyville.
Dr. Carlson had served a six-month term in Congo in 1961, and he fell in love with the Congolese people. In 1963 he returned as a career medical missionary with the Evangelical Covenant Church, bringing his young family with him.The Congolese people welcomed them with open arms and gave him the name Monganga Paul — Doctor Paul.
When the rebellion arose Paul evacuated his family, then returned to continue treating those in need. He was captured and taken to Kisangani, where he tended the sick among his fellow prisoners. He was killed when rebel soldiers opened fire on a group of hostages just as Belgian paratroopers arrived overhead.
Dr. Paul was mourned by many people in America and in Congo. He is buried in Karawa, site of the largest CEUM hospital. The hospital at Loko, acquired by the CEUM soon after he died, bears his name.
Following Paul’s death, his widow Lois and other friends and relatives formed the Paul Carlson Medical Program. Their initial goal was to raise money to support the Loko hospital, but soon they expanded with agricultural programs to teach nutrition, agronomy, and microenterprise.
Now doing business as the Paul Carlson Partnership, the organization devotes its primary resources to medical and economic development. Our mission is to catalyze sustainable communities even in the face of the deepest poverty in the world.
