Liberia's civil war is over, but many of its effects remain. Much infrastructure was destroyed--but, in some ways, this is the easiest problem to fix.
Up to 10% of children may have served as soldiers. Up to 75% of women were raped.
Unfortunately, the type of mentality that caused/was produced by 14 years of conflict is not easy to change, and Liberia's women and girls, in particular, are still facing its effects.
Rape, even rape of young children, is widespread. The government and NGOs are taking measures to change this, but there is still a long way to go. Check out Nicholas Kristof's opinion column in the New York Times for more information on the situation and the progress being made.
A team from Hospitals of Hope will be headed back to Liberia in a week and a half, where they'll be caring for patients at a couple of hospitals and working to refurbish the emergency room at John F. Kennedy Medical Center, the referral center for the entire country.
Pray for safety for our team as they travel, and pray for the patients they will see. Pray that they will be able to demonstrate Christ's love to those they serve, and pray that God will use them to bring a measure of healing in Liberia.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Thursday, July 23, 2009
New Inventory System: Volunteers Needed
Hospitals of Hope is in the process of transitioning to a new inventory system, built specifically for us by David McQuoid of Computers in Ministry and Mission Builders International. This system will make us much more efficient, decreasing our response time for requests, improving our record keeping, and freeing up staff time for other work, allowing us to do a better job of accomplishing our mission of showing Christ's love by healing bodies and souls.
We will be making this transition over the course of the next several months. During this time, we will need several volunteers who will commit to coming in on a weekly or bi-weekly basis as we work to enter our current and incoming inventory into the system.
Previous experience is a plus but not required, as training will be provided.
If you are interested in helping us with this transition, please contact Leta by phone at (316) 262-0964 or by email at leta@hospitalsofhope.org.
We will be making this transition over the course of the next several months. During this time, we will need several volunteers who will commit to coming in on a weekly or bi-weekly basis as we work to enter our current and incoming inventory into the system.
Previous experience is a plus but not required, as training will be provided.
If you are interested in helping us with this transition, please contact Leta by phone at (316) 262-0964 or by email at leta@hospitalsofhope.org.
Friday, July 17, 2009
Returning
Check out the final post from Thomas' blog about volunteering in Bolivia:
Our time in Bolivia has come to an end. Our bags packed, our goodbyes said, and with our souvenirs we closed the door to the guest house. Our ride to the airport is a long and bumpy one. There was a protest going on and most of the roads in Quillocollo were blockaded with tires and debris. Our driver, Manual, navigated through the busy streets finding unblocked routes getting us to our destination. My heart is heavy, my mind is torn between all the new memories from the last month and all of the tasks have to do when I return to my home. My emotions are high; I’m excited, sad, joyful, and somewhat fearful.
The biggest fear that I have about returning is that I will return to life in the states the same as before. I try thinking about all of the things I’ve learned and the transformations that have taken place and try imagining what will be different, but I don’t know what being different looks like. I know in my heart that the work I did in Bolivia was there to prepare me to do the work that exists in my life. I also don’t want to work on some kind of emotional high that leaves me burnt out and spawns no real sustainable change.
I’m still trying to figure out what this whole month has meant for the rest of my life, what will be different, or what will improve. I know that without a doubt that my trip was meaningful and purposeful and God had a reason for me to be there, but as I return home, I realize that it is time to start life again, to jump into the ruts and routines of the daily life. But I pray that in my ruts and routines I show God’s love, provide for the needs of others, and truly live a life of service to the people in my reach.
Thank you for reading this blog,
Thank you for your financial support,
Thank you all for your prayers.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Another article about our emergency base
The Cochabamba newspaper, Los Tiempos, has published a second article about our new emergency base. For the Spanish full text, see the Los Tiempos website.
Or, you can just read a (somewhat awkward, but accurate) translation here:
Unit Will Attend Accidents
Or, you can just read a (somewhat awkward, but accurate) translation here:
Unit Will Attend Accidents
The police will be able to arrive more rapidly to help the victims of traffic accidents that occur in the lower valley and the highway toward the west with the creation of the first Highway Rescue Unit of the country.
The Unit became reality with the momentum of Hospitals of Hope of Anocaraire (Vinto), the best-equipped medical service of the department [like a state] and located strategically in the lower valley. The Police Command consolidated the creation of the Rescue Unit, designating a team of 11 police officers, so that the station will be alert 24 hours a day and will be able to respond rapidly to accidents. The first Highway Rescue Unit is composed of the police, the fire department, and Hospitals of Hope of Anocaraire. The Unit is prepared to offer different services, like an anti-fire brigade, an emergency medical system for pre-hospital care, and a rescue brigade for accident victims in ravines and on the high mountain.
Website back up
Our website, hospitalsofhope.org, is back online. It's still got a few problems, due to changes with our web host, but, for the most part, it's functional.
For those of you who read Spanish, you might want to check out the article about Hospitals of Hope's new emergency base in Bolivia in Cochabamba's main newspaper.
For those of you who read Spanish, you might want to check out the article about Hospitals of Hope's new emergency base in Bolivia in Cochabamba's main newspaper.
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Website Down
Our website is currently down due to server issues that our web host is having. Hopefully it will be up and running again in the next few days. Sorry for the inconvenience.
In the meantime, check out our Flickr page (www.flickr.com/groups/hospitalsofhope) and our Twitter page (www.twitter.com/hospitalsofhope).
Have a great Fourth of July!
In the meantime, check out our Flickr page (www.flickr.com/groups/hospitalsofhope) and our Twitter page (www.twitter.com/hospitalsofhope).
Have a great Fourth of July!
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Street Kids
Here's another post from Thomas' blog (http://boliviablog.wordpress.com/):
Today we had the privilege to teach street kids about sexual education and basic hygiene. We worked last night on our presentation and tried to make sure we included all of the facts about STDS and proper teeth brushing rituals. Our ride to Cochabamba was one filled with nervousness and final preparations. When we arrived in near downtown Cochabamba in a small park with many trees, we met up with Ami Johnson, a independent 29 year old missionary who focuses solely on street kids. She gave us some insight on what to expect and warned us to make sure we don’t leave things sitting around that could be stolen. After the short meeting she left to meet the kids on a street corner a few blocks away.
The kids work on various street corners either juggling fruit in front of cars in busy intersections or washing car windows. This particular group lives under a bridge in a small tunnel. Ami told us that most of the kids are between 9-18, all are sexually active, most to all have STDS, they have lice, are malnutricitioned, and 100% of the kids are addicted to sniffing shoe glue. These were very disturbing facts which were difficult to fathom.
About 15 minutes after she left, 2 taxis with about 20 kids crammed like sardines in the small subcompact arrived at the park. They started walking towards us, some with their window squeegees in hand all with dirty clothes. We brought a soccer ball so many of them started to play around with the ball in an open area of the park, others came and introduced themselves to us, whereas many just sat down on a ledge next to a flower garden and talked to each other. After a couple of minutes I went up to the ledge and started talking to them. As I was making small talk with a boy probably 15 with a large stained faded blue coat, I noticed he had a small plastic bottle hidden in the sleeve of his coat while he surreptitiously placed it under his nose and breathed in slowly. I in mid-sentence lost my train of thought and mumbled in my words for a few seconds until Ami came up and sternly told him to put it away until they leave the park. Needless to say, he was sniffing a shoe glue locally called Clefa which is very potent and very dangerous. After about 5 minutes I started noticing that everybody had one of those little plastic bottles and would constantly breathe in the fumes.
I’ve known for quite a while that street children in South America sniffed glue, I’ve read articles about it and have been told by many different people at home and here. However, when I saw the faces of young teenagers stumbling and slurring their speech, it occurred to me that knowing the facts doesn’t mean a thing until you see it right in front of you.
We were told that we had about 30 minutes before the kids would get bored and stop paying attention. When we started, we lost their attention in about 4 minutes. It took games, skits, interaction, prizes, and pictures of infected penises for them to stay engaged about half of the time. Some would just walk around, some would climb in the trees and all of them would sniff their glue. After our presentation was over, we passed out some toothbrushes and toothpaste, gave them some food and got to interact with some of the kids.
One boy, Mosais, was timid and friendly, he asked us about a couple of American movies and let us take pictures with him. He stood out to me from the crowd because he really appeared as if he hated the lifestyle he was living. He looked as if he had hope of getting out of the streets. Many of the kids have accepted and enjoy their life of sex and drugs and having nobody telling them what to do, most to all street kids do not live past their 30s. Mosais is the only one in the group I felt had a chance of truly overcoming this dangerous lifestyle.
As we said our goodbyes we starting walking towards the main road, Ami flagged a taxi and many of the kids crammed inside. 2 kids, Alexandra and Jose walked next to Ami and held her hand. They would touch her long blonde hair, sniff it, and smile. After a couple of blocks the rest of the kids disappeared from our sight. We walked down the long busy road, boarded a small bus, and left traveled home.
Today we had the privilege to teach street kids about sexual education and basic hygiene. We worked last night on our presentation and tried to make sure we included all of the facts about STDS and proper teeth brushing rituals. Our ride to Cochabamba was one filled with nervousness and final preparations. When we arrived in near downtown Cochabamba in a small park with many trees, we met up with Ami Johnson, a independent 29 year old missionary who focuses solely on street kids. She gave us some insight on what to expect and warned us to make sure we don’t leave things sitting around that could be stolen. After the short meeting she left to meet the kids on a street corner a few blocks away.
The kids work on various street corners either juggling fruit in front of cars in busy intersections or washing car windows. This particular group lives under a bridge in a small tunnel. Ami told us that most of the kids are between 9-18, all are sexually active, most to all have STDS, they have lice, are malnutricitioned, and 100% of the kids are addicted to sniffing shoe glue. These were very disturbing facts which were difficult to fathom.
About 15 minutes after she left, 2 taxis with about 20 kids crammed like sardines in the small subcompact arrived at the park. They started walking towards us, some with their window squeegees in hand all with dirty clothes. We brought a soccer ball so many of them started to play around with the ball in an open area of the park, others came and introduced themselves to us, whereas many just sat down on a ledge next to a flower garden and talked to each other. After a couple of minutes I went up to the ledge and started talking to them. As I was making small talk with a boy probably 15 with a large stained faded blue coat, I noticed he had a small plastic bottle hidden in the sleeve of his coat while he surreptitiously placed it under his nose and breathed in slowly. I in mid-sentence lost my train of thought and mumbled in my words for a few seconds until Ami came up and sternly told him to put it away until they leave the park. Needless to say, he was sniffing a shoe glue locally called Clefa which is very potent and very dangerous. After about 5 minutes I started noticing that everybody had one of those little plastic bottles and would constantly breathe in the fumes.
I’ve known for quite a while that street children in South America sniffed glue, I’ve read articles about it and have been told by many different people at home and here. However, when I saw the faces of young teenagers stumbling and slurring their speech, it occurred to me that knowing the facts doesn’t mean a thing until you see it right in front of you.
We were told that we had about 30 minutes before the kids would get bored and stop paying attention. When we started, we lost their attention in about 4 minutes. It took games, skits, interaction, prizes, and pictures of infected penises for them to stay engaged about half of the time. Some would just walk around, some would climb in the trees and all of them would sniff their glue. After our presentation was over, we passed out some toothbrushes and toothpaste, gave them some food and got to interact with some of the kids.
One boy, Mosais, was timid and friendly, he asked us about a couple of American movies and let us take pictures with him. He stood out to me from the crowd because he really appeared as if he hated the lifestyle he was living. He looked as if he had hope of getting out of the streets. Many of the kids have accepted and enjoy their life of sex and drugs and having nobody telling them what to do, most to all street kids do not live past their 30s. Mosais is the only one in the group I felt had a chance of truly overcoming this dangerous lifestyle.
As we said our goodbyes we starting walking towards the main road, Ami flagged a taxi and many of the kids crammed inside. 2 kids, Alexandra and Jose walked next to Ami and held her hand. They would touch her long blonde hair, sniff it, and smile. After a couple of blocks the rest of the kids disappeared from our sight. We walked down the long busy road, boarded a small bus, and left traveled home.
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