Sometimes we forget this country has just come out of a decade-long civil war. The people are so peaceful and sharing. Some, however, have come to depend on foreign NGOs and it is now the responsibility of the church and other civil society organisations to help to change this attitude. The task is to teach a sense of independence, to realise they can stand on their own and enjoy the benefits of this beautiful country.
The Church, through its development office, is working with a number of villages and farming communities to create and implement long-term plans with the goal of sustainable development. They recently gave rice milling machines and other equipments to the farmers. This will enable them to add value to their produce and give them the opportunity to increase their potential yield – and thus their income.
We are happy to report an update on our own farm project. Although we are in the height of the rainy season, this is the best time for managing the farms. We have been having thunderstorms (with some very scary lightning episodes!!) which have caused serious damage to some houses in the surrounding villages. The hospital has started harvesting the groundnuts planted earlier during the year. Already the first plot has yielded nearly 10 bags, which is likely to decrease when the nuts are fully dried. The workers have started harvesting the second plot, so hopefully the final yield should be about 15 bags. We are hoping all will be pleased with the efforts.
The irony of this time of year is despite the heavy rains it is also the time when food is scarce. People may only have one square meal per day. The belief that - one hasn’t had a proper meal if they haven’t eaten rice- is proving to be a big challenge. The favourite brand of rice is most often imported and therefore more expensive – a classic problem. The government has of late mounted a publicity campaign to educate the population on diversifying their diet. The local cassava is (in M’s opinion) the best in the West African region. Maybe they will ‘discover’ this.
As a family we are about to complete a year’s service and would begin to review our activities. We can see some obvious changes but there are still many challenges that seem to be insurmountable and we are heartened by the story of Joshua and the walls of Jericho. It took 7 days of marching around the walls before they eventually came down. We are confident that probably we have only just started ‘day 1’. We live in hope that the ‘walls’ we face would eventually come down and have started thanking God for the change that is inevitable.
Saturday 9 August 2008
WITHOUT VISION, THE PEOPLE PERISH……
Since our return from Ghana it has been a very interesting time. The hospital has seen some changes – for the better – as the financial aspects have held up in such a way that we are looking forward to paying the end of July salaries from income generated by the hospital – a big and significant achievement.
The school will soon have the large classroom renovated as the windows and doors are in the process of being added to the building. Also, one of the rooms will be renovated for use as a library by the students – with tables and chairs to facilitate studying and reading. We are excited about this venture, as we look forward to welcoming a new set of students in October.
The obstetrics module has seen the students enjoying the hospital practical placement and presently on their village placement in the villages. There is evidence of improvement in the writing skills of the students and it has really encouraged J to continue with the struggle. She is now attempting to record and put in some order the outline of the course which can be used as a guideline for future tutors.
Most of these nursing students will be challenged by what they face in the placement communities as this is the first time in almost five years since students have gone out on an obstetric village placement. However they should take heart because of the courage shown by the nurses in charge of these health units. These nurses are (in many cases) young women in charge of health units with a target population of more than 8000. They are in charge of helping to maintain the health of these people, many of whom cannot read or write, have no access to media, or have never been to school. So their job is more to do with teaching health. They have to win the respect of the people, and to do this they have to work closely with the elders – the Chiefs, the Village elders and the Traditional Birth Attendants. They also have to become apart of the community, as they live and work within the village and need to respect the superstitions that prevail using wisdom to know which practice to laud and which to discourage. Our students have a great and important job, and part of J’s job is to encourage them in their pursuit, as they strive to become trained community health nurses.
M’s job is no less extensive, as he tries to identify and work out the ‘kinks’ in the hospital system (and try to institute the changes). These ‘kinks’ may sometimes be very high and deep. Initially they may look like systemic problems, but when investigated may even be the effect of higher managerial problems. A change agent’s job is not easy, but it’s a necessity if we need to move forward.
Prayer points:
Prayer warriors, please continue to pray for us along the following:
- Maintaining physical health, increasing spiritual (wisdom) and the emotional strength needed to deal with the systemic issues that many times feel and look bigger than us.
- Pray specifically for M as he has been suffering from a knee problem that is not healing as quickly as we had initially hoped;
- Heavenly protection as we travel during this rainy season on roads that maybe treacherous;
- Direction and guidance as we write a number of project proposals for the hospital;
- Wisdom as we seek a nursery teacher for Little J, and the other children on campus;
- God’s grace as the Managements of both the hospital and the school devise new intervention strategies that may help change some of the situations we face here.
We miss you all terribly, but God is with us all and is in control of all our situations – whatever we maybe going through. We also remember in prayer all our relatives and friends who have been going through some difficult situations. Be strong in the Lord; continue to trust in Him and He will continue to pull you through. Remember God ‘will never leave you nor forsake you’.
The school will soon have the large classroom renovated as the windows and doors are in the process of being added to the building. Also, one of the rooms will be renovated for use as a library by the students – with tables and chairs to facilitate studying and reading. We are excited about this venture, as we look forward to welcoming a new set of students in October.
The obstetrics module has seen the students enjoying the hospital practical placement and presently on their village placement in the villages. There is evidence of improvement in the writing skills of the students and it has really encouraged J to continue with the struggle. She is now attempting to record and put in some order the outline of the course which can be used as a guideline for future tutors.
Most of these nursing students will be challenged by what they face in the placement communities as this is the first time in almost five years since students have gone out on an obstetric village placement. However they should take heart because of the courage shown by the nurses in charge of these health units. These nurses are (in many cases) young women in charge of health units with a target population of more than 8000. They are in charge of helping to maintain the health of these people, many of whom cannot read or write, have no access to media, or have never been to school. So their job is more to do with teaching health. They have to win the respect of the people, and to do this they have to work closely with the elders – the Chiefs, the Village elders and the Traditional Birth Attendants. They also have to become apart of the community, as they live and work within the village and need to respect the superstitions that prevail using wisdom to know which practice to laud and which to discourage. Our students have a great and important job, and part of J’s job is to encourage them in their pursuit, as they strive to become trained community health nurses.
M’s job is no less extensive, as he tries to identify and work out the ‘kinks’ in the hospital system (and try to institute the changes). These ‘kinks’ may sometimes be very high and deep. Initially they may look like systemic problems, but when investigated may even be the effect of higher managerial problems. A change agent’s job is not easy, but it’s a necessity if we need to move forward.
Prayer points:
Prayer warriors, please continue to pray for us along the following:
- Maintaining physical health, increasing spiritual (wisdom) and the emotional strength needed to deal with the systemic issues that many times feel and look bigger than us.
- Pray specifically for M as he has been suffering from a knee problem that is not healing as quickly as we had initially hoped;
- Heavenly protection as we travel during this rainy season on roads that maybe treacherous;
- Direction and guidance as we write a number of project proposals for the hospital;
- Wisdom as we seek a nursery teacher for Little J, and the other children on campus;
- God’s grace as the Managements of both the hospital and the school devise new intervention strategies that may help change some of the situations we face here.
We miss you all terribly, but God is with us all and is in control of all our situations – whatever we maybe going through. We also remember in prayer all our relatives and friends who have been going through some difficult situations. Be strong in the Lord; continue to trust in Him and He will continue to pull you through. Remember God ‘will never leave you nor forsake you’.
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