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

Sierra Leone Gala: May 22, 2014

Register Here: http://jrchc.org/SierraLeone-Registration.aspx 


Please note:

• You must fill out the 'registration form' and click 'continue'

• Please fill out the names of the 'guests' at each table. If you are unsure write "your name guest" for example "Heather Quinn Guest." This will help with seating arrangements. Click 'submit'

• You can pay via credit card (authorize.net or paypal) or check.

• You do NOT need a paypal account to pay by credit card. All checks are may payable to Jericho Road Community Health Center and "SL Gala" in the memo.

Remember space is limited so get a table together of friends, family, or colleagues. Purchase early!

Hugs from and Prayers for Phebian

1 Peter 3:15 

"But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect."

Paul spoke with Phebian on March 17, 2014. She sends her love and hugs to all. She also has a few prayer requests.

#1  She misses her family a lot. She has been away from her family on this rotation for 8 months now!
#2  Phebian and Pastor Joshua are trying to change (or create) the health care delivery system in the Kono District of Sierra Leone. This is an incredible responsibility.
#3 At face value, nothing is easy in Sierra Leone!  Whether it is negotiating with leaders, trying to meet the overwhelming needs of the people, keeping up with the equipment breakdowns with no available parts or techical support, this is incredibly hard work!
#4 Most of all, to show the love and compassion of Jesus Christ to the people of Sierra Leone!

Thank you all for your support and prayers. It means so much. We are definitely better together.  

Solar Energy Project

Our next big project for the medical clinic and guest house building is the Solar Energy Project.  We have very exciting news in regards to this project!  The Sierra Leone Alliance through the Chapel at Crosspoint has generously donated $25,000 to our Solar Energy Project.  What a blessing!!  We need roughly $40,000 in order to have this project completed.  All of our power/electrical needs will be supplied via solar energy with a back up generator installed as backup for emergencies.

We have a contact in Sierra Leone who designs and installs Solar Energy Systems.  We were able to meet with him during the October 2013 trip.  So far, he has been great to work with by providing us with all our options, and taking into careful consideration the solar energy needs for our buildings.  He also has been providing us with a lot of guidance in other areas of need as well.  He works closely with a number of NGO's in Sierra Leone and has been doing this for over 10 years.  We look forward to this continued partnership!

If you are led to give to our Solar Energy Project, please go onto the donation page on our website at http://www.jrchc.org/Support/Donate.aspx.  Under 'purpose' select 'Global Outreach - Sierra Leone' and under 'other' write 'Solar Energy Project.'