God's Provision and Generous Supporters

The Jericho Road Sierra Leone Gala was a huge success! 

We are excited and humbled to report that more than $185,000 was raised for Jericho Road in Sierra Leone! This is incredibly good news. It means that we will be able to fully fund the remainder of the capital costs (medical center, solar project and water tower) and we will have a good start on the operation costs for this coming fiscal year. This allows us to hire the staff Phebian will need to get the medical clinic fully operational.

 

May 22, 2014 was a special night. Phebian being present was great, seeing so many people excited to be a part of this work was encouraging and seeing so many people from Jericho Road working together to make this event possible was inspiring. 

 

So today is a time to be thankful. Thankful for how far we have come. Thankful for so many people who have decided to contribute. Thankful that God is faithful.

 

Tomorrow we will wake up and remember that there is still so much to do and we will all resolve to do it. The work is only beginning.

Final reflections

Last night we arrived in Freetown after a dusty and hot 10 hour drive from Kono. Today and tomorrow morning we will visit the American Embassy, meet with the in-country directors of World Hope and LOL (two members of Buffalo Sierra Leone Alliance), meet with the Cabinet Ministers who helped Phebian with the land dispute, and finally we will go to the hardware store to hopefully buy 800 pieces of Zinc roofing (crazy as it sounds the truck carrying our zinc finally arrived in Kono on Tuesday only for us to discover that they brought the wrong stuff!-so now we have to reorder and ship again all the way back to the site).

Tomorrow we leave this beautiful and challenging country. I will be sad to leave as there is so much to do here and one can make such a difference. This place has a way of touching one's heart and not letting go. But I am also excited to come home, to see Joyce and Peter and Tommy again and to rejoin the work of Jericho Road in Buffalo.

The highlights of this trip for me include the following:

1. Visiting the construction site daily and watching more than 30 men work by hand with no power tools to build the clinic. It is an amazing sight.

2. Doing the 6 medical clinics. Nothing matches the sense of fulfillment providing medical care to folks who so desperately need it.

3. Sharing this experience with my daughter. Seeing her work hard, connect to the people of Sierra Leone and experience firsthand the challenges of global health and medical missions is something neither of us will soon forget.

4. Building relationships with several key partners here in SL. Wellbody Clinic is doing great work here in Kono and they will be an excellent partner in the future. Jericho Road and Wellbody working together will greatly improve the access to quality health care in this region. Because we shared the same guest house with several of their key leaders we had ample opportunity to build friendship, learn from them and discuss ways to work together. This will serve us well in future.

The other key new relationship was with Karlin. As a nurse with experience working here in SL he was a huge help to our team. He shares our philosophy of mission and development and connected well with Phebian. We are discussing the possibility of him joining Jericho Road in SL for the next year working alongside Phebian and Pastor Joshua to operationalize the health center, build relationships with other NGO's, and to learn how to work with the Government Hospital and village health centers to improve the overall health care system in Kono. If he joins our team this will be really good news for Jericho Road and will provide Phebian with much needed support at a critical time in thus project.

5. Finally it is always good to be with Phebian, her family and Pastor Joshua. She is an incredibly committed and courageous woman and this rubs off on everyone around her. Her uncle told me that in the midst of the land dispute he asked Phebian to leave the country to protect her life and she refused. Now this man is one of the most faithful members of the construction crew showing up daily to do whatever is needed. He is faithful because he saw the courage of his niece.

When we visited the paramount chief this week he told us that his people were afraid that we would give up after hearing of the land dispute but that he is now reassured by our visit that we did not forget, give up or runaway.

Coming here so soon after the land dispute and in spite of the Ebola outbreak in Guinea (still no cases in SL) was a real encouragement to Phebian and the people of Kono that we support them, believe in them, and will stand with them to see this project completed.

As I prepare to leave Sierra Leone once again I thank each of you who are praying for Phebian and this work, who have given of your time (countless hours by our team in Buffalo to support this operation), your talents (fundraising, writing grants, accounting for money spent, buying the truck, writing medical protocols etc) and your finances (over 400 individuals have given to this project so far). Your involvement, hard work and sacrifice is making a real difference. Your investment may someday change the course of one of the remote and most forgotten parts of the world. You are being the hands and feet of Jesus demonstrating His Love on a daily basis.

Thank you!

Myron

Being the Hands and Feet of Jesus - Day 7

Our clinic will have a kitchen. Phebian has a vision to feed the people who come to the clinic especially the ones who stay overnight after delivering a baby or being too ill to go home. She is talking to various churches here to help her prepare the food. Usually when patients are admitted to the hospital here the family is required to go out and buy the medications, provide food and even clean the beds. This decision to build into our clinic a kitchen reflects our desire to be more holistic in the care provided and will give the local church a way to be involved in this clinic and directly be the hands and feet of Jesus as He commanded us to be in Matthew 25. Feeding the hungry in addition to treating their illness.

Our first day here in Kangama I took care of an 11 yr old boy who literally had abscesses over much of his body. The first day I drained 7 of them. We then transported he and his parents to Koidu to be with friends so that we could check him every day. We have had him on strong antibiotics and continued to drain abscesses. Today he is much better and returning to village. It was a real privilege to see him go from being terribly sick to smiling and happy again. Just seeing him smile made this whole trip worth it for me.

We concluded our 6th and final mobile medical clinic today in Koidu and again at the Blind School. Our team saw more than 85 pts today. Many of the patients we saw today were children (could have really used you today Paul) and the most common diagnoses were acute malaria, worm infestation, malnutrition and anemia. We made a difference today but it is clear that so much more needs to be done on many different fronts so that these children can be assured of a chance to grow up healthy. Probably the most heartbreaking case I saw today were 3 young children who came in with their blind father (rather they led him in) and I had to listen as they told me their mother had died earlier this year unexpectedly. Treating their malaria was the easy part. Imagining a life for these 3 little children was much harder.

The construction site continues to be filled with much activity. I visit every day and it is fun to see the steady progress. The roof is ready to have the zinc sheets nailed into place and the construction team really wants to get this started before we leave. However this is Sierra Leone and so things happen. This time the truck bringing the zinc roofing material from Freetown has supposedly broke down on the way. The myriad challenges of building this clinic by hand and far away from Freetown continue to amaze me. My guess is it will take 3-6 months yet to finally complete the construction and get us fully operational. I have no doubt that once operational we will be seeing 30-45 patients per day and delivering lots of babies. 

Tomorrow we will visit the local medical and political leaders. There is also the possibility that a group from the US Embassy in Freetown will be visiting our site. In addition I am hoping to be able to actually help on the construction site (maybe lay some blocks or nail down some zinc- if the truck comes in time).

Our team continues to do well. Yesterday we rested and part of the time was spent with Phebian and Joshua worshipping together and just talking and praying about the work. I asked them to list some prayer requests they have and this is what they shared:

1. Pray for faithful partners to help them do the work here. They know this work is more than they can carry on their own.

2. Pray for wisdom to make this work be a reflection of Jesus. To truly bring physical, emotional and spiritual healing and restoration.

3. Pray for God to continue to supply the financial resources needed to do this work.

4. Pray for their families. Phebian's husband (Braima and 3 children-Martha, Ruth and Emmanuel-who are in Buffalo) and Pastor Joshua whose wife and 18 month old son are in Freetown.

5. Prayer for courage to face any new challenges that may arise in the future.

So my challenge to each of you who read this email tonight is to pray for Phebian and Joshua on a daily basis and for this work.

Also keep our team in your prayers.

Myron

Koidu Clinic - Day 6

Our day started this morning with a tour of the Wellbody Clinic on the other side of town from where Phebian's clinic is located. Founded in 2008 by an American physician from Princeton University and a Sierra Leonian physician this clinic seems to be the only example we have found in Kono District where excellent medical care is provided. Our interactions with them have been uniformly positive and I have much hope that we will find good ways to partner here on the ground in Koidu. I believe that a fully functioning Jericho Road clinic and the Wellbody clinic will significantly improve the health care available here. Both clinics will deliver babies, provide primary medical care and do innovative outreach programs to the outlying villages. Maybe together we will be able to promote systemic change in the Government Hospital and the village health centers.
Today was another interesting day at the construction site for me. We have contracted with World Hope to build the solar system for our clinic so today they sent several of their electricians out to see the project and to decide where the electrical grid will be placed. So for one day Phebian and I became electrical engineers as we walked room by room through the clinic telling the World Hope team where each light fixture, electrical outlet, computer, and medical equipment will be placed. It is quite an experience to be a part of this building process and to know how much this place will mean to the people of this community. 
Our clinic site for today was the Blind School. This school is located right next door to Phebian's clinic site. They have been strong supporters of Phebian from day one. By the time we had set up, Phebian had registered over 100 people for us to see (at our other clinics this week we have seen 30-45 per day) . The people of this community now know about Phebian and so it is not hard to find patients to see. By this evening we had seen over 70 and decided to come back on Monday and do another day here to meet the demand. 
Keep Phebian in your prayers. She carries such responsibility managing the construction, providing medical care and just generally being here for so many people. Everywhere she goes people know her, reach out to her, and she is so tireless and gracious. I have remarked to her several times that I have never seen her happier. But today she was tired and I think overwhelmed by all the people who came to see us. 
To be present where there is suffering is a basic part of what it means to follow Jesus. Today we saw about 15 of the blind children from the school. We mostly could only offer our presence as there was little we can do to give them sight again. All are blind due to completely preventable diseases such as measles or onchocerciasis. But we showed up and this I believe is what Jesus would do. As we found out yesterday in the pediatric ward and daily in our clinics this week, sometimes this is all one can do. 
Tomorrow our team will rest and reflect. God is faithful even in the suffering we see here. And the faith of so many of the people we meet here is inspiring
Our team is doing great. Today during the busy part of the clinic with many people waiting to be seen Phebian and I needed to pull out to be at the construction site. Our remaining team continued seeing patients nonetheless. My daughter has been amazing and I am really proud of her.
Happy Mothers Day to all tomorrow
Keep us in your prayers
Myron

Woama - Day 5

Our clinic today was in a village called Woama. Of note is this area is known for palm oil production and so as we traveled the bumpy dirt road leading to the village we passed people selling the oil (can be used for cooking and also can be fermented and turned into a popular alcoholic drink) and we passed farmers harvesting the palm nuts by climbing 50-60 foot palm trees and knocking down the nuts. It follows then that our sickest patient today was a man who fell out of a palm tree two weeks ago and sustained an open fracture of his wrist. He went to the local village centre and they pushed the bone back in (remember there is no X-ray machine in all of Kono) and sewed up the laceration (not the wisest thing to do). He went home and for the last two weeks has been treating the arm with traditional medicines. He came in to us today asking for pain meds. His whole forearm was swollen, deformed and infected. We did what we could and hopefully he will survive. Another reminder of something we take for granted in the USA, like good orthopedic care, is not even possible in this place. 

Also on our journey today we had to drive right alongside the large Koidu Diamond Mine that towers over this town. In an almost absurd moment I was again reminded of the great injustice present here. Phebian stopped by some mango trees along the road across from the mine and said this is where we obtained all the crushed stone needed for our building project. Unbelievable as it sounds we saw 15-20 children and adults sitting each by a pile of rocks and were using hammers of various sizes to break up the rocks into crushed stone! All of the stone needed for our site was crushed by hand at this place. I could not believe it. But the absurd part is that while I was digesting this new information I looked up across the road and over the large fence and saw a earthmover rumble past in the mine. Phebian's people crush stone by hand and the mine uses large earthmoving equipment to get us all diamonds. This is not justice.

The hardest part of today for our team was visiting the pediatric ward in the government hospital. It is the busiest ward, sometimes with 2 children per bed. It is poorly lit, hot, dirty and an incredibly sad place. There are no fans, no oxygen and no ICU. The nurses wanted us to meet each patient and so we slowly made our way through the ward asking about the patients, praying with the families and fighting an overwhelming sense that something needs to be done about this place! One baby we saw was dying in front of us and hardly anything could be offered. 

One of the key questions our team has discussed with Wellbody this week is whether the hospital is so broken (one recent seasoned international medical doctor to Wellbody told them this is the worst hospital he has seen in the whole world) that to try to fix it working with the current system is impossible? Do we create our own system of health care in Kono and rely on hospital as little as possible hoping that someday things will change? Or do we do our best to build relationships at the hospital and try to help this broken system heal? I tend to think we need to stay committed to see systemic change in the government hospital and village health centers if we truly are to see this district have a decent health care system. But when people are dying needlessly everyday due to a horribly broken system it does force one to reconsider this thinking. 

Our team is doing great. Today's clinic was our toughest one yet. The village health center CHO had been out sick for one month and so lots of people needed our help. But we survived and saw everyone who needed help today. 

Tomorrow we will do our clinic in Koidu by the blind school and then we hope to help at the construction site. They were hoping to start putting the zinc roof on tomorrow but the truck carrying the zinc from Freetown broke down and so now we hope to see the zinc go on Monday. Such is life in this crazy place.

Thank you for praying and supporting this work! God has been incredibly faithful to Jericho Road in Buffalo and now the same thing is happening here in the Kono district of Sierra Leone. Your faithfulness is making a real difference.

Myron

Tefeya Village Visit Day #4

So if you define poverty as the relative lack of material things then it is clear that the Sierra Leonian people we are engaging and building relationships with here are poor compared to us Americans. But if you have a more holistic definition of poverty that not only includes a lack of material things but also a broken relationship with self, others and God then it is not so clear who is truly poor.

It is said here that it is difficult for a Sierra Leonian to be lonely. Suicide rates are very low in this country. People here work together in the fields, play together and live in close proximity to each other. Little children seem to be always running around playing with each other, older folks sit under the mango trees talking and watching the world go by. Minivans built for 8 can have over 20 people packed inside and motor bikes often carry 3-4 people. Today in Tefeya our clinic was hosted by several village churches and the pastors worked together helping us translate, checking patients in and praying for the sick. Muslims and Christians alike were welcomed. I see a richness in the relationships of these people with each other and a dependency on God that is quite challenging to me and makes me question some basic assumptions about poverty.

Enough about philosophy... Today our clinic in Tefeya was challenging again. Lots of really sick patients and difficult cases. In fact I told Phebian that one test of our success here should be that if we visit Tefeya five years from now we have a clinic like the one in Jaima yesterday which was mostly filled with folks who had chronic diseases such as arthritis and hypertension. The very first person I met today was a young mother of 7 who 8 months ago had a  hypertensive stroke leaving her paralyzed on the right side . She walks by dragging her right leg and using a homemade walking stick. No cane, walker or motorized wheelchair here. 5 months ago she stopped taking her BP medication and today her blood pressure was 190/110! 

Another challenging question that is not easy to answer is how do we prioritize what we focus on when we have limited resources in a land with seemingly unlimited need? For instance there seems to be a real need for an ambulance for our clinic to serve the outlying villages, especially once the clinic is completed and Phebian is delivering babies. The one ambulance in all of Kono is often broken and families first have to buy the fuel needed before the ambulance is dispatched  Just this week alone we have used our Toyota twice to transport really sick patients to the hospital who if left in the village likely would have died. But the $20,000 needed to buy a vehicle could instead go to hire community health workers, give them each a motor bike and a cell phone and have them work in the villages screening everyone for high blood pressure, making sure that those with dangerously high BP are taking their meds and leading educational classes on how to prevent a stroke. This intervention could also save countless lives. How does one choose?

We visited the construction site again this evening as the sun was setting. It is a beautiful and peaceful setting nestled on a mountain away from the bustling streets of Koidu. One of the design elements of the clinic that I especially like is the presence of many large windows giving one unlimited views of the mountains and also letting in lots of natural light.

Our team is doing well. Phebian as usual is taking excellent care of us. We are eating lots of fish, rice, pineapples and bananas. Our guest house is owned by the Wellbody clinic (this clinic does great work) and several of their American staff also stay here which is giving us a great opportunity to build a relationship and learn from each other.

I do miss all of you at Jericho Road and especially Joyce, Tommy and Peter (Michel you are away at school anyhow so I do not miss you more than usual). It has been a real privilege to share this experience with Stephanie! I am sure we will not soon forget. She is doing great and is a natural for this work.

Continue to keep our team and this mission in your prayers.

Myron

Construction Update - Day 3

Imagine constructing a large clinic (hospital?) of more than 20 rooms on a hill with the following:

        Over 22,000 concrete blocks made by hand on site

        The wood for the rafters was obtained in the forest about 15 miles away. Our crew went into the forest, identified the trees, cut them down and then paid young men to literally carry out the logs 5 miles to the nearest road to load on a truck and take to the sawmill in Koidu.

       The foundations and septic tanks all dug out by hand. The clinic is on 3 levels because it was built on a hill and so lots of leveling has occurred. No tractors, caterpillar earth moving equipment etc.

       All rafters cut to length on site with hand saw

       No concrete mixer

       Scaffolding is all homemade

       No building inspectors

       No hard hats 

       Homemade ladders

       Conduit for electrical wiring is chiseled out of the concrete block wall

       Plumbing is chiseled out of the concrete floor

The basic crew is about 28-30 men led by a construction engineer (think Mark Herskind) with Phebian and Joshua providing overall decision making and support. Phebian also provides housing for the engineer and some of his team and also feeds them every day! 

Volunteers from the community help Phebian feed the workers and help the construction team with various jobs. Yesterday over 100 youth from Koidu volunteered all day. The local radio station even interviewed them giving the project some nice publicity.

At one time the site buzzes with activity. Men making blocks, carrying large buckets of sand on their heads, nailing rafters, laying block, sawing wood, mixing concrete.

Two unintended, but excellent, consequences of this building project is that it is providing meaningful work for at least 30 men for much of one year. Also it is abundantly clear that this community is engaged and incredibly excited and proud of this project. It truly is being built by Sierra Leonians for their community. 

When I first saw the site earlier this week I was excited and overwhelmed by the scope of the project and the challenge of keeping this place going. But I was also a little impatient to get it done. But now after being here a few days I am realizing how amazing it is to see this being built in such have manner by hand. And I am confident the clinic will succeed because the community has invested itself.

Our mobile clinic today was in Jaima. Much calmer than yesterday. Mostly chronic diseases (has abundant clean water, 2 well functioning clinics and a high school). Gives one Hope that better health is possible if done in a more holistic fashion.

Tonight Steph, Karlin and I went on a 45 minute run (could not get Phebian to run). We braved the stares and smiles of the villagers and I almost got heat stroke at the end. But it was worth it.

Tomorrow another clinic. This time in Tefeya. Probably the village with greatest need.

This country is an amazing and vibrant place. It has a way of grabbing your heart and not letting go.

Keep us in your prayers

Recently completed well on our property in close proximity to the medical clinic. Thank you World Hope for the donation!

Dr. Glick visits Kangama Village - Day 2

Tired but satisfied we did what we could today. I am sitting in our Toyota at dusk on a dusty and noisy street in Koidu waiting for Phebian to get our supper. Marveling at the sights and sounds overwhelming our senses just now. Screeching horns of numerous motorcycles, the blaring of an outdoor DJ belting some mixture of gospel songs that I sort of recognize, seeing a cyclist go down the street with a mattress on top of their head and another one transporting 5 people! Definitely an experience.

Hungry. Have not eaten since breakfast (except for a ripe mango) and that was a long time ago. 

Another amazing day doing a medical clinic here in Sierra Leone. This time in Kangama, a remote village 1 1/2 hrs from Koidu. Beautiful drive on bumpy single lane road passing through unspoiled tropical rain forest in a mountainous area. I did not visit this village last year. The village had come to Phebian begging her to include their village and she accepted in part , I suspect, because this was the village her mother was working in as a midwife in 1981 when she had a stroke and died several weeks later.

Our team today included Stephanie (our pharmacist), Phebian (our leader, translator and guide), Karlin Bacher (an RN who works in Freetown and a Mennonite friend from South Carolina), and our driver. Pastor Joshua stayed at construction site to manage the building project. A great team to work with!

Typhoid with acute abdomen

11 yr old with severe malaria 

Draining ear infection

Young man with pus in foot that needed draining

Hernias

Big lipomas (making a list for Dr Saravanan)

Onchocerciasis 

Hypertension

One yr old twins with molloscum

3 yr old girl with seizures, micocephaly and developmental delay whose is cared for 24/7 by her grandmother who is doing a great job but has no meds to control the seizures. She told me with tears in her eyes that the child sleeps with her and when she seizes all she can do is hold her close.

We made a difference today but there is so much to do and so much systemic injustice to overcome. We visited one of our pts this evening in the hospital and the wards were dark, no electricity and so little to offer the sick people who need their help. Both doctors who I met last year have transferred to Freetown. The village health centers we visit have constant turnover of personnel due to poor pay and lack of basic supplies. Yes there are some faithful people here like Phebian, Wellbody Clinic and others we have met in the hospital and village clinics but they are fighting against so much.

Well. We just got our dinner. A whole fish and French fries. I took a picture for Tommy. Steph is not blinking an eye and has eaten the fish whole. 

Phebian as usual is taking great care of us. What an amazing woman! Her courage in this challenging place is inspiring to watch.

God Bless all of you who are praying for us, supporting this work and covering for me at Jericho Road in Buffalo while I am gone.

Tomorrow another village.

Dr. Glick visiting Sierra Leone! Day 1

After 3 flights, 9 hrs on the road and most of two days of travel we arrived in Koidu this evening.

These two days traveling and experiencing Sierra Leone again have reminded me of the incredible challenges this country and our mission present. Flying into Freetown last night this teeming city of over 2 million people was mostly dark with scattered pockets of lights the only evidence from the air that this city even exists. Everything seems harder here. The first rains have settled the dust but have left huge craters one has to drive carefully around. Farmers still cut down trees by hand, burn the land to prepare for planting and then place the seeds one at a time. Women still cook on an open fire using charcoal that was home made. Children walk miles to school. It is hard to find clean water and harder still to find a doctor or nurse or medicines when your child is sick. 

In the midst of the incredible logistical challenges Phebian and Joshua are being faithful to this mission of bringing quality medical care to one of the most remote part of the world in the name of Jesus to demonstrate His love.  Seeing their faithfulness gives me the courage to go on.

It was awesome experience to visit the clinic site this evening. Last year it was just an empty piece of land. And a dream. Now it has become a reality. Phebian's dream has become bricks and mortar. As the general contractor and Phebian and Joshua took us through the site I felt overwhelmed by the scope of the project (it is big!), excited, proud and scared all at the same time. I was deeply moved by the joy of the villagers, neighbors , the builders and Phebian. This project means so much to them. We are now standing with the people of Koidu and this building demonstrates that someone cares. It is bringing hope. Already sometimes people are traveling from close to the border Guinea looking for help from this clinic and person they have heard about. It is remarkable to witness and to be a part of this. What a responsibility we have now! To complete the work and to equip this clinic to do what it is intended to do.

Having my daughter Stephanie join me is a great experience. She is doing great. Already reaching out to children. Even survived a roach jumping out of her pillow this evening! She just calmly shook it out, put her own pillowcase on and is using it now.

Tomorrow we travel 90 minutes to a village called Kangama to do our first clinic. Keep us in your prayers. Keep this work and this beautiful and most challenging country of Sierra Leone and it's brave people in your prayers and thoughts

Myron