Bolivia Update: Growing in Opportunities

Leta updates us from Bolivia about volunteers doing the World Race and about news from the hospital.

The volunteers we have right now are with the World Race, which means that they’re traveling around to 11 different countries in 11 months, volunteering in each country. Since they’re not medical, like most of our volunteers, I’m having them help out at a variety of different organizations. Several of them are helping out at a school for deaf kids, a few of them are painting the school down the road from the hospital, several are helping at orphanages, and a couple are working at an organization that provides support for kids who work (selling things, shining shoes, etc).

With help from them, Shelly, and Rachel (two nurses who are here long-term), I’ve been teaching an English class in the hospital for staff and interns. It’s been a lot of fun. I’ve always loved teaching but hated grading, and, in this class, I get to teach but not grade anything! It’s a lot of fun seeing them being able to start fitting sentences together and starting to understand the way a new language works.

Shelly and Leta in Bolivia

After going back home for a couple of weeks, Shelly is back here, working again as a surgical nurse. She and Rachel are also training to be intensive care nurses. Since we live right behind the hospital, they will be able to go to the hospital with just a couple of minutes notice. Most of the nurses here who are able to do intensive care live 30 minutes to an hour away from the hospital, so having Shelly and Rachel able to just show up and start work will be a huge help.

We have a volunteer coming in a couple of weeks who is studying for her Masters in Public Health. I’m really excited about the work she’ll be doing here – she is going to be working on developing materials so that future volunteers can give more presentations on basic health topics. It’s always sad to me to see how many people are sick with things that could have been easily prevented, or to see kids with their teeth rotting out because they don’t know how important it is to brush their teeth.

Thanks to all of you who are praying us!

80 Hours Makes a Difference

80 hours – the number of hours it takes to drive back and forth from Wichita to Las Vegas twice, the number of hours it takes in class credits to be considered a junior in college and also the number of hours our volunteers gave this month to help Hospitals of Hope.

September was a great month for Hospitals of Hope. We had a number of individuals volunteer their time and abilities to help us continue making progress on our warehouse. Several weeks in a row, we had students from Northfield School help us out. A group sorted materials so we could recycle the metal. Another group inventoried medical supplies. We also had a group of students help us clean our newly constructed Clinic In A Can. We were very appreciative of having these students be willing to do this for us. We also had six physician assistant students from Wichita State University volunteer with us last week. They tackled more inventorying medical supplies and entering them into our data base. Some more people wanted to help, but couldn’t make it into our office during the day. These individuals were willing to still help by looking up values of donations from their home.

We also had some volunteers join Hospitals of Hope in Bolivia this month. Shelly Humphries moved to Bolivia earlier in the summer, but had come back to the United States for a couple weeks. She returned to Bolivia this month to continue working in the hospital. Rachel Longton also moved to Bolivia this month to volunteer in the hospital.

Of course we can’t talk about our volunteers without mentioning our dear friend Bob. Bob is a dedicated volunteer who comes in almost everyday. He even came in on Labor Day to make sure our trash got taken to the curb so none of the staff had to come in on our day off to do it. Earlier this week, Bob had an accident while he was tearing down a barn. He is doing alright, but is very sore. Needless to say we will be missing him around here for a while as he recovers. We are praying for him to heal quickly and to not be in too much pain.

We are so grateful for our volunteers and supporters. It’s amazing our volunteers gave over 80 hours to help Hospitals of Hope continue in ministry. Our volunteers and supporters have been such an encouragement to the staff. It is refreshing to see others have a passion and desire to make a difference and help us continue in our mission to heal bodies and souls. Thank you to each and every volunteer who has served with us either this month or previously – we couldn’t help change lives around the world without your support!

Xelda Ministries Moves to Hospital

Leta shares some exciting news from Bolivia about the Xelda Ministries and the recent relocation of Café Xelda.

Xelda Ministries was born with the help of a donation from the estate of Xelda Ditmer, the grandmother of HOH’s founder, Michael Wawrzewski. She was passionate about sharing the good news about Christ and inspired Mike to take his first mission trip.

After her death, Mike decided that the best way to honor her memory was to start a branch of Hospitals of Hope that would be focused on building relationships and sharing Christ’s love through friendship. The original plan was to start a coffee shop in the city of Cochabamba, but, due to complications with finding the right personnel and a good location, it has now been moved to the hospital, where it can be a more integral part of our volunteers’ ministry and where it can better serve our staff and patients.


We have been serving coffee in the hospital for nearly three weeks now, and it has proved to be a great way to get to know those we interact with on a daily basis. It provides a welcoming environment, rather than a cold, sterile waiting area. Patients often take the opportunity to chat with us about their lives, sharing a bit about their hopes and fears. Sometimes they choose to just sit quietly, reading the Bibles on the center of each table.

We’ve got great plans for the future of the café, as well. In the next few weeks, we’re planning an English class that will meet in the café area, and we’re also hoping to bring in live music, as we’ve got some volunteers coming who play the guitar.

If you’re ever in the area, feel free to stop by for a cappuccino and a chat. We’d love to see you!

September 11: When Volunteers Became Heroes

Not single September 11 comes around without us thinking back to where we were that morning, how we heard about the attack and how it’s changed life forever. One of those changes was actually a positive change. After September 11, 2001, volunteers became more of a hero than a volunteer. You saw people giving their time, efforts and resources to treat survivors, clear wreckage, comfort the families of the victims. In the ten years following that fateful day, we have seen more people willing to volunteer and help others in grave need. While it has been tragic to see loss of life over the past ten years from hurricanes, tsunamis, earthquakes, war, tornadoes, and most recently famine, we have been privilege to see people step up and become heroes.

It is no different than what we’ve seen at Hospitals of Hope. Our volunteers have given their skills, time, money and more to help bring relief, healing and hope to people all over the world. These heroes have treated earthquake victims in Haiti, car accident victims in Bolivia, brought new life into the world in Liberia, as well as so much more all over world.

We are honored to have some of the best volunteers in the world. Our volunteers have not only a desire to serve, but a passion to see change and give hope.

“There is just such a pressing need for help in this country [Liberia] ... [Serving here] has been a renewed fuel to the passion and fire I had to become an international physician,” one of our volunteers said. “I really hope to someday come back and serve in a country like this, if not maybe here.”

While it is always solemn to pause and think about all the lives lost ten years ago, we have been honored to see the positive change of people becoming heroes and respond to the needs not just in the United States, but around the world. Thank you to all of our amazing heroes who make Hospitals of Hope happen.

Friends of Kibimba Hospital excited to send third container to Burundi

One of our partners, Friends of Kibimba Hospital, recenlty filled another container of HOH supplies to send to Burundi. Read more from a blog post about the container and where it is going.

The Friends of Kibimba Hospital board is excited to inform you about another opportunity to send a container of equipment and supplies to the hospital at Kibimba in Burundi, Africa.

Our friends at Hospitals of Hope have recently decided to change the focus of their ministry from shipping equipment & supplies to hospitals and clinics around the world to that of creating Clinic In A Can. These inexpensive, portable container clinics have been used in many countries already, including in Haiti after the earthquake there. You can learn more about them at www.clinicinacan.org.

Because they are changing their primary focus, they needed to clear their warehouse here in Wichita to make room for work on the clinics. Due to our close relationship with them, FKH was given the first opportunity to choose from 200 pallets of medical supplies, as well as gurneys, x-ray, ultrasound, baby warmers, etc. We have enough to fill another container to send to Burundi! Praise God from whom all blessings flow!

You can imagine our gratitude and excitement at the prospect of sending the THIRD container in as many years and the impact that this can have on the patients, families, and community in and around Kibimba Hospital. The ability to show Christ’s love through the healing work of Dr. Elisee and the staff is priceless.

We would like to invite you to participate in this undertaking. The cost to ship a container to Burundi is several thousand dollars. We also have needed to purchase parts to repair & update some of the equipment. Would you consider making a donation to help cover the cost of shipping the container and other costs associated with preparation? You can send your tax-deductible contributions to: Friends of Kibimba Hospital, c/o Connie Young, 3220 S. Oak St., Wichita, KS 67217. If you cannot support us monetarily, please continue to keep the Kibimba Hospital and our FKH Board in your prayers.

Doctor hopes to help with Clinic In A Can

The Omaha World-Herald recently featured the Clinic In A Can being to sent to South Sudan. Click here to read the feature article and learn more about why this container clinic is very much needed in South Sudan.

Earlier this summer, the three-unit Clinic In A Can was sent to Omaha, Neb. as part of the first leg on its journey to South Sudan. The container clinic is being held there until the proper funds can be raised to send to South Sudan. While in Omaha, the converted shipping containers have generated much interest.

This portable hospital is constructed in three forty-foot shipping containers and will be set up in a “U” shape. This small hospital contains exam rooms, a laboratory, a pharmacy, and surgical and radiology suites. It also holds a generator and water system, enabling it to be self-sufficient regardless of the surrounding infrastructure.

Covenant Presbyterian Church is sponsoring the container clinic through The Healing Kadi Foundation which 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 Kaji.

You can find more information about Clinic in a Can at our new website www.clinicinacan.org

New Clinic In A Can Website and Facebook Page

We have a new Clinic In A Can website! Visit www.clinicinacan.org to check out all the information, latest pictures and videos of Clinic In A Can. We also have a new Facebook page at www.facebook.com/clinicinacan where you can “like” us.

We are very excited for this new phase in our ministry. Over the years, many people and organizations have asked for assistance to build a hospital for their community in developing countries. While we would like to help everyone, we simply cannot reproduce ourselves on that level. The cost, time, and government limitations make it impractical and unobtainable. However, we recognize that medical needs exist and something must be done to bring hope to the communities with no health facilities for hours or even days away. We had built several Clinic In A Cans before, but beginning this year, we decide to shift the focus of our ministry to converting shipping containers into clinics. We cleared out our warehouse to make more space for construction. We also have dedicated much time to making new contacts of people interested in Clinic In A Can, new marketing material like the new website, and laying the foundation so we can have a strong Clinic In A Can ministry.

We are taking these steps in faith that this is the new avenue for us to bring quality health care to the underserved. We are excited for the future as we partner with more organizations to utilize a more effective and efficient way to bring medical facilities to remote communities. More than this, however, we seek to continue to share with those we serve the hope we have in Jesus Christ.