The Biography: Honouring the Memory of the Late Dr. Ding Col Dau Ding (Part 1)
7 min readThe Biography of Our Beloved Late Dr. DING COL DAU DING (MBChB; DPhil (PhD); BSc (Hons)): Nov 21st 1975 – Oct 28th 2015
“An Angel with Healing Hands (Ding-Dit de Wol)”
DEDICATION
November 27, 2015 (SSB) — This booklet is dedicated to those who are inspired by Ding’s achievements and performance in life. It is particularly pertaining to the dictum of Dr. John Garang De Mabior that brought him back to South Sudan:
“For those who did not experience bush life can still contribute in many other ways in a free, independent South Sudan.”
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
As we mourn the loss of our Beloved Ding, we, the family of Ding, acknowledge all the emotional, psychological and material assistance given to us by those who are in no doubt mourning Ding’s death. This support has indeed helped us to cope with the agony we have been faced with through this most trying and difficult time as a family. May God Bless you all.
GENERAL INTRODUCTION
This booklet is a biography of the life of the Late Dr. Ding Col Dau Ding (MBChB; DPhil; BSc (Hons)) from the day of his birth on November 21st 1975 until the day of his death on October 28th 2015.
EARLY LIFE AND EDUCATION
Ding Col Dau Ding was born on the 21st November 1975 in Exeter, Devon in the United Kingdom.
He attended Cuiken Primary School in Edinburgh, Scotland. After this the family moved to Aylsham in Norfolk, England, where Ding attended Aylsham Middle School and Aylsham High School. During Ding’s earlier years he was an avid footballer and played for his school football teams as well as being selected to play for Norfolk County Boys Football Team, Norwich City Youth Development Team and England School Boys Football Team.
Between the ages of 11-13, Ding was afflicted with a viral myositis (muscle disease), which temporarily stopped his junior football development. This was the turning point whereby Ding decided to focus his attentions away from sports and more towards academia, in which he excelled.
He then completed his Secondary School education at Paston Sixth Form College in North Walsham, Norfolk, where he received his A-Levels.
In 1998 Ding attended The University of Bristol where he was awarded with a Bachelor of Science degree with Honours in Pharmacology in 2001.
After completing his BSc in Pharmacology, Ding went on to join St Peter’s College, Oxford University, England, where he was awarded a DPhil (PhD) in Neuroscience in 2004. In one of the many peer reviews of Ding’s PhD thesis from Oxford, the following was written: “A timely piece of work. Well thought through; effectively argued and compelling cases made for this important and clinically relevant neural network to be understood – this may enable a better understanding of key players in neurological disorders. A first class and excellent item of literature”
Ding was a member of the Academy of Neuroscientists; where there are perhaps just a handful of Neuroscientists in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Ding then worked for a short period with CMC pharmaceutical company in Macclesfield near Manchester in England. However, his zealousness for academia made him decide to pursue studies further and subsequently he rejoined The University of Bristol to study Medicine where he was awarded a Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery (MBChB).
Ding practiced medicine and surgery in a number of hospitals in the United Kingdom, including St Mary’s Hospital in London.
Ding was a Physician as well as a budding Neurosurgeon.
DING’S NATIONALISM AND LOVE FOR HIS COUNTRY
Ding’s first visit to Sudan was in 2005 to attend the inauguration of our Late Great Hero, Dr. John Garang De Mabior. During this visit to Khartoum, which was the last time he met with The Late Dr. John, Ding was again deeply inspired and his passion and love for his country were reaffirmed such that when he was offered a post-graduate training position in the UK upon the completion of his junior medical studies, he turned it down and instead decided to first return and work in South Sudan.
In 2008, Ding returned to South Sudan and worked for 12 months in Juba as part of his general undergraduate medical training and research. He also served his nation by treating victims of the 2010 Weer Nyol and Jalle kidnappings and cattle raids, as well as treating approximately 130 orphaned children who fled from the violence in Malakal during the 2013-2015 civil war through the Airport Road Diagnostic Centre (ARDC) Charitable Outreach Program.
From 2013, Ding joined his Brother, Dr. Dau Col Dau Ding, at ARDC where he treated hundreds of patients, offering the very highest standards of life-saving medical treatment to the population of South Sudan.
FAMILY TRIBUTE
Dr. Col Dau Ding, the Father of Our Beloved Late Dr. Ding Col Dau Ding, states:
“My Son Ding was a remarkable gentleman; he started his life as a footballer, an amazing, great and promising sportsman who played at an international level as part of a Youth Development Squad in England when he was only 13 years old. Unfortunately, my Son Ding suffered a serious viral myositis that temporarily disabled him for over a year, as a result of which he decided to focus more on his academics whilst in recovery, and thereafter he became more interested in what he could do in his country.”
“He was an intelligent boy who acquired a DPhil in the rare area of Neuroscience by the age of 26. Ding was always hungry for knowledge, and indeed he published in various scientific journals pertaining to his speciality of Neuroscience.”
“People must know that he was a gifted Scientist and Clinician who practiced medicine under the maxim “treat what you know”; he was not just a blind prescriber but a prescriber for a disease that he knew.”
A particular characteristic of Ding was the length of his consultation time, which lasted up to 2 hours in some cases, so as “to get to the bottom of the patient’s problems.”
FAMILY OF THE LATE DING
Parents
Father- Dr. Col Dau Ding
Mother- Zeinab Bilal Lual Ayen
Siblings
Dr. Dau Col Dau Ding
Ayen Col Dau Ding
Atong Col Dau Ding
Extended Family
Ding grew up in Norfolk, England with his immediate siblings and the following cousins:
Dr. Kwai Abel Alier
Anyieth Manyang D’Awol
Awol Manyang D’Awol
Ding has left behind several members of an extended family on both the paternal and maternal sides, with whom he had very strong and close relationships with.
Ding’s death has also left behind an extensive network of close friends and colleagues, both within and outside South Sudan, and especially within the United Kingdom.
May Ding’s Soul Rest Forever in Eternal Peace.
The Family and Friends of the Late Dr. Ding Col Dau Ding, is currently following closely the official investigative and legal proceedings into their Son’s death as it has been formally reported as involving Foul-Play by the South Sudan Police Service.
Any enquiries or words of condolence to the Family may be sent to the following email address: info@ardcmedical.com
The opinion expressed here is solely the view of the writer. The veracity of any claim made are the responsibility of the author, not PaanLuel Wël: South Sudanese Bloggers (SSB) website. If you want to submit an opinion article or news analysis, please email it to paanluel2011@gmail.com. SSB do reserve the right to edit material before publication. Please include your full name, email address and the country you are writing from.
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