Back from the Jungle

This is story from Marcia a volunteer, who spent a month in Bolivia with Hospitals of Hope earlier this summer.

Last week was an amazing adventure! Early Tuesday morning our group of 10 people met up with Miguel and Franklin (missionaries with Cristo para la Ciudad) and Anghelo (a doctor with Hospitals of Hope) and began our journey into the Bolivian Amazon jungle.

The travel consisted of four segments: (1) a harrowing 5-hour drive through beautiful mountains that initially were covered by farms and then gradually began to look like the mountains in the show Lost. (2) then an hour drive on a bumpy road through banana tree groves (3) then a 40-minute ride on a carved wooden canoe. We all sat on the sides and had to bail water out the whole time. (4) and finally a short hike through huge jungle plants to the town. It was so awesome!

We were there from Tuesday early evening through Friday morning. The whole thing reminded me so much of Jim Elliot and those crazy missionary stories. We learned this morning at the international church we went to, in talking to a pilot with New Tribes, that a similar event happened with this tribe. In the 70s, when New Tribes missionaries were still establishing contact with the nomadic tribe, one man was shot with a bow and arrow by the Yuquis hunters due to some superstitious beliefs they have about death. He was rescued after lying on the jungle floor for 48 hours and later returned to the tribe. Amazing! In 1999 New Tribes had to pull out of the area because of the area becoming a Red Zone for cocaine production, diseases, and other reasons.

So about six years ago, Miguel and his wife through Cristo para la Ciudad went into the town, though not living there full time, and have ministered to the Yuquis until now. It was obvious how much the Yuquis respected and cared for Miguel by how they were always crowding around the house asking for help or with gifts and how the kids were always so excited to sing the worship songs Miguel played on his guitar.

During our few days there, we did a breast cancer presentation (which we think was the first time any of them were even informed about the disease), including breast examinations - THAT was interesting for me to say the least. We also made lunch for 70 school kids both Wednesday and Thursday, and thankfully God made the food stretch to feed everyone. In the afternoons we did a Bible lesson, which I did one day, singing songs with Miguel, and then playing games and coloring. We did dental presentations for both the kids and the adults, distributing toothbrushes and toothpaste, and putting fluoride on whatever remaining teeth they had. Their teeth were a pitiful sight; even many of the young children's teeth were rotting away and few of the adults had any.

Nevertheless, they were a beautiful and precious people who I now miss, after the short time we spent there. The kids were so affectionate, constantly clinging to us and saying they wanted to go with us when we leave, and were very sweet and happy. Even the adolescent boys (who are too cool to cooperate with anything in the States) were kind and respectful, attending the Bible classes and joyfully worshiping along with everyone else. That was such a beautiful sight. I spent as much time as I could talking, playing, and kicking the soccer ball around with the kids. One of my favorite things was how all of the kids would call me "hermana" (sister).

Being there helped me to see that I would love to work with a remote tribe like that in the future. Although the tribe has become more Christianized, many of the adults still maintain there animistic beliefs and need prayer.

You can read more from Marcia's time in Bolivia at her blog.

Haiti Team Builds Brighter Futures

Hospitals of Hope's Daniel White recently led a mission team of 19 from Central Christian Church in Wichita, KS to work with Mission of Hope in Titanyen, Haiti, a town 40 minutes north of Port-au-Prince.

During their week serving, the team spent the mornings putting on a VBS for the children of the surrounding communities. Anywhere from 200-450 kids came each day to play games, do crafts and learn from the Bible. They also were taught basic health care like the importance of washing their hands, how to brush their teeth and the need for proper exercise.

Another part of the team’s time was spent helping with the construction of a school at a satellite location. The school will open in September for elementary grades. The team was able to help by roofing the school buildings and installing doors. The group also did other projects for the community including clearing brush and painting houses.

The team had two nurses who were able to serve with their medical skills. They spent several days working at Mission of Hope’s clinic at the main campus and also spent a day in the mountains providing immunizations for about 200 people.

The team was also able to see a Clinic in a Can that Central Christian Church sponsored to give to Mission of Hope in the fall of 2010. The container clinic is located on the same compound as the newly constructed school and has been used for monthly outreach clinics, but will be staffed fulltime in September once the new school opens.

“It was a blessing for our team to partner with Mission of Hope and the great work that they are doing in Haiti,” Daniel said. “We are excited to continue working with them in the future!”

A Reminder of the Need for Container Clinics

Sometimes it is easy for us to take for granted our access to even basic medical care in the United States. Read this account of an experience from our staff. It’s stories like these that remind us at Hospitals of Hope of why we are here and why we hope to bring change.

At the JFK Memorial Medical Center in Monrovia, Liberia, a man limped into the emergency room. He lived in a remote part of Liberia and had gotten bit by a poisonous snake while working in a field. Since no proper medical clinic was nearby, he first visited the witch doctor who basically just applied manure to his leg. After his leg only got worse and not better, he walked two days to the hospital for treatment. By the time he arrived, his leg was so swollen that he could barely walk. He desperately needed the proper anti-venom to counter-act the poison that had already worked its way through his body. He was immediately treated for the snake bite but he needed to have the leg that had turned gangrene amputated. Because in his culture he would be viewed as worthless if he did not have his leg he would rather die than have his leg amputated. His condition worsened and he died hours later.

It is tragic experiences like this that inspired Hospitals of Hope to find an innovative and practical way to provide the basic medical care that is needed around the world.

One of the most exciting ways we work to prevent unnecessary deaths and give quality medical care is with our Clinic in a Can program. Clinic in a Cans are self-contained medical clinics built in 40-foot shipping containers that can be sent nearly anywhere in the world, creating an instant, fully-equipped medical clinic.

We are thrilled we have been able to send a total of ten container clinics, but we know there is always a need. We hope to continue partnering with other organizations to bring these innovative container clinics to even more communities around the world to help bring change.

Bolivia Update From Leta

Leta updates us from Bolivia about the past couple of weeks as the new volunteer coordinator. Here is what she reported:

For nearly the first time since I arrived here, I have the house almost completely to myself. The volunteers are off adventuring, one group in the city at la cancha (the biggest open-air market in South America) and the other at Inca Racay (Incan ruins about a half hour away). I considered joining the group hiking to Inca Racay, but, since I’ve been a little sick, I decided to stay home and take it easy. (It’s just a cold, Mom, don’t worry!)

This last week has been crazy. A group of 5 volunteers went home (and we miss them!) and another 17 volunteers arrived. That would have been crazy enough in itself, but a lot of them had trouble with their trips — canceled flights, lost luggage, etc. But now we have everyone and their luggage here, so life should calm down a bit.

This last week we did checkups on the kids at the school in Anocaraire, the community down the road. There are 540 kids there, but we only managed to get through around 200 of them. They’re starting their winter break this week, but hopefully we can go back once their vacation is over. We treated a lot of kids for parasites and skin infections, and treated one intestinal infection caused by salmonella. The hardest cases to see were the malnourished kids, because there’s really not much we can do for them. I’m hoping to go back there later this summer/winter and do fluoride treatments and hygiene education.

This coming week we’re doing an English camp at a girls’ orphanage, the Casa de Alegria, as well as doing a couple of clinics at other orphanages. We’re also starting to send medical students to the AIDS orphanage in the city. There’s only one pediatrician in the city of Cochabamba that can prescribe ARVs, so HIV positive kids don’t receive a lot of medical attention. We’re hoping the med students can help the staff at the orphanage monitor the kids’ health. We’re also starting to send volunteers to help at the main government hospital in the city, feeding and doing physical therapy with malnourished kids, as well as working with kids in the burn unit. I’ve been working hard to set up these partnerships, so it’s exciting to see them panning out and the volunteers getting excited about them.

Well, that’s about all the exciting news. I think I’m going to go take a nap in the hammock — life in Bolivia does have its perks!

Container Clinic Featured in Local Media

Hospitals of Hope’s Clinic In A Can has recently been featured in local Wichita media including the tv news station KAKE and also the radio station KFDI. You can see our stories by clicking on the following:

KAKE TV Broadcast

KAKE TV Article

KFDI Article

Hospitals of Hope is sending a three-unit Clinic In A Can to Southern Sudan later this year. The Clinic In A Can is converted from 40-foot shipping containers. This container hospital is Hospitals of Hope’s tenth Clinic In A Can. The first Clinic in a Can was sent in 2005 to Jefferson parish in Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina. Another six Clinic in a Cans have been sent to Haiti after the 2010 earthquake.

While the news that Southern Sudan is set to become the world’s newest country in early July brings hope for many refugees, the infrastructure there is still unstable including access to adequate health care.

“The Clinic in a Can is a practical solution to not only the immediate healthcare needs but also the long-term healthcare needs,” said Michael Wawrzewski, founder and CEO of Hospitals of Hope.

Hospitals of Hope is working with Covenant Presbyterian Church and the Healing Kadi Foundation in Omaha, Neb. to send a Clinic in a Can hospital to Kajo Keji, Southern Sudan. This portable hospital is constructed in three forty-foot shipping containers and will be set up in a “U” shape. This small hospital will contain exam rooms, a laboratory, a pharmacy, and surgical and radiology suites. It will contain a generator and water system, enabling it to be self-sufficient regardless of the surrounding infrastructure.

The Healing Kadi Foundation eventually plans to construct a larger hospital, but that will take several more years. In the meantime, the Clinic in a Can will provide much-needed medical care to the more than 450,000 refugees living in Kajo Keji.

The public and media are invited to tour the three-unit Clinic in a Can before it ships next week at Hospitals of Hope’s office at 3545 N. Santa Fe in Wichita, Kan. For questions or more information contact the Hospitals of Hope office at 316-262-0964.

Container Clinic Continues Bringing Relief in Haiti

Hospitals of Hope’s Clinic In A Can was mentioned as continuing to bring to relief work in Haiti.

The American Jewish Joint Distribution Center (JDC) recently reported on the relief efforts continuing to help Haiti recover from the devastating 2010 earthquake.

“Through Partners in Health, (known in Haiti as Zanmi Lasante), the international health organization founded by Paul Farmer, they have brought a “clinic in a can,” a fully equipped medical facility set up in a container to provide services to Fondwa and its environs.”

This container hospital is one of Hospitals of Hope’s ten Clinic In A Cans. The first Clinic In A Can was sent in 2005 to Jefferson parish in Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina. Another six Clinic In A Cans have been sent to Haiti after the 2010 earthquake. Hospitals of Hope will send a three-unit container clinic to Southern Sudan later this year.

To read the rest of the article from JDC click on the following link: http://jdcambassadorscircle.blogspot.com/2011/06/jdcs-efforts-in-haiti-highlighted-in.html

ELWA Makes Plans to Expand

Hospitals of Hope’s partner ministry in Liberia, ELWA (Eternal Love Winning Africa) is making progress on drawing plans to expand its hospital in Monrovia.

Kedrick White, the director of ELWA in Monrovia, Liberia, has been working with a volunteer architect to develop plans for the new hospital. The current goal is to build a new a new 80-90 bed hospital to replace the current 40-year-old 30 bed hospital.
The plans also include an entry way area with seven wings coming off of it. The different wings house all the essential care facilities like an emergency room, surgical rooms, an outpatient clinic, children’s ward, male and female wards, a dental clinic, pharmacy, lab, counseling services, a chapel, a cafeteria, and administrative offices.

ELWA hopes to complete this project with in the next five years. However, they may be able to accomplish it sooner because Samaritan’s Purse has recently expressed interest helping with the project.

The current ELWA Hospital was built in 1965 and is too small and out-of-date to meet the needs of the community. With only 1 doctor for every 28,000 people in Liberia, ELWA is swamped with patients, and their limited resources are stretched thin.

Hospitals of Hope has sent volunteers to serve at ELWA the past four years. Also in early 2011, Hospitals of Hope partnered with the Brother's Brother Foundation to send necessary equipment to the hospital, including a much needed x-ray machine.HOH staff member, Daniel White will be traveling to Liberia next week in order to install the donated equipment.

Hospitals of Hope is committed to helping bring change in Liberia, through sending essential equipment, training hospital staff, and providing patient care.