Phebian Update

Phebian is doing well overall.  She is as motivated as ever to see the health clinic be completed and advocate for her people who desperately need basic health care.  She admits that the move back to Sierra Leone has been difficult.  After being in the United States for 13 years, she had gotten used to the comforts and conveniences.  This includes things such as running water, a flushing toilet, a grocery store with fresh fruits and vegetables, smooth roads, and pizza.  Pizza is her favorite food and she also loves Buffalo chicken wings.  If we could, we would mail her some.

She needs our prayers as she continues to adjust, sacrifice, and face a lot of opposition.  She has forged good relations with the Koidu Government Hospital staff as well as the health providers in the five target villages.  She has provided basic medical care in each target village as well as Koidu town.  She has recruited and utilized volunteers to help with the building of the medical clinic.  She has continued the hernia repair program and the community focus groups in each village.  The people trust her, God is with her, and she perseveres.  She is an amazing, Godly woman.  She says, "Life here is hard but the love that God gives me for my people keeps me going."

Phebian on the beach of Freetown, SL.

Phebian on the hillside just outside of Freetown, SL.

                                     

Phebian with the head nurse of the Jaima Village Health Center.

                                       
                                     

Phebian speaking with the leaders of Kangama Village.

Meet Pastor Joshua

Pastor Joshua joined the Jericho Road Sierra Leone team as a volunteer 4 years ago. He worked as an accounting teacher at one of the local high schools in Freetown while leading a local church. In February of 2013, he resigned from teaching and joined Jericho Road as the full time Chief Operating Officer in Sierra Leone. He felt called by God to leave his secure life of teaching and join the mission of bringing hope, health, and healing to the Kono District through working with Jericho Road and Phebian. In fact, he group up in Jaima Village which is one of our target villages.  

He first met Phebian because she had shared the gospel message of Jesus Christ with him 23 years ago. He accepted this message and became a devote disciple of Jesus. Phebian and her husband discipled him for several years until they were separated by the war in the late 1990’s. Pastor Joshua ended up taking over the church that Phebian and her husband helped establish in Freetown. He’s been a Pastor now for 17 years. Although they were separated for over 13 years, their friendship continued and when Phebian was ready to make the move back to Sierra Leone, he was one of the first to know.

This is a video interview of Pastor Joshua's life journey and how he became involved in this mission project. Please check it out at: Pastor Joshua Interview 10.2013

Pastor Joshua in the flatbed of the Toyota Tundra Truck.

Pastor Joshua.

Pastor Joshua showing Dr. Kirk Scirto the well on the Jericho Road property.

Successful Hernia Repairs

The Hernia Repair Program continues to be a benefit to the Sierra Leone people.  This program helps the men, women, and children in our 5 target villages with either large, painful, or obstructed hernias to get a hernia operation.  They first get put on a waiting list and the most severe cases are helped first.  Many of these people have lived for years or their whole life with a hernia that deforms their body and deflates their self esteem.  Often times it prohibits them from working or going to school.

A hernia repair operation is one of the few that can be successfully done in Sierra Leone currently.  Phebian helps with transportation, pre-operation and post-operation care, as well has assisting the physician in his work during the actual procedure.  The cost is $45 US dollars.  The patient has to come up with 2/3 of the cost and Jericho Road will pay the rest.  This cost includes the operating room time, the proper medications and equipment, the hospital stay, the physicians salary, and other appropriate care.

On September 10, 2013, Phebian successfully assisted 8 people obtain hernia repairs.  Below are a few pictures of patients and their operations.  Phebian is in the pink scrubs and the patients are in the green scrubs.  This is Phebians comment on that joyful day:

"In all 3 women and 5 men, it was a long day in the hot theatre that

day, but it was worth it because lives were transformed.  They can not

express enough what a blessing Jericho Road Ministries has been in

their lives."

The Laying of the Foundation

Tuesday, December 10th, 2013 marked an exciting day for Phebian in Sierra Leone.  The foundation of the medical clinic was laid on that day. It has been a busy 2 months of making all the bricks for the foundation out of the donated sand.  The land was cleared, the ground was leveled, and the bricks were laid one by one.  The community members have been volunteering their time and energy to help Phebian move this project forward. We thank God for them and all the progress being made in Sierra Leone.  Below are some pictures of the land being cleared, the leveling of the land, the foundation being laid, and the community meeting. 

We will continue to keep you updated on the progress. In Phebians' own words:

"We laid the foundation of our clinic yesterday, that will be a day I will never forget. It is a day I have been long waiting for and thanks to everyone who made this of my dream, vision become a reality.

I had most members of the community present including our blind neighbors, and we offer prayers for our parent body in the U.S and everyone that is working to make this project a success.

I want to thank everyone and it's a blessing to be a part of such a wonderful family, the Jericho Road family.

Greetings to all, I will keep sending pictures as the work progress."

Article from the Winter Newsletter '13

adapted from the Global Health Outreach newsletter by Heather Quinn, published in Jericho Road's Winter Newsletter 2013. Read the rest of it here: http://jrchc.org/About/Publications/Newsletters.aspx

Our partnership with Phebian in her vision to bring healthcare to Sierra Leone continues with the most recent trip from the Global Health Outreach team. JRCHC Staff Kirk Scirto, MD, Vicki Ip, MD, Heather Quinn, FNP-BC, and Olivia Gerhardt (Hope Refugee Drop-In Center Coordinator) traveled there this October to provide additional medical outreach and community assessments.  Phebian and the team visited five target villages, four of which they conducted medical clinics in (treating a total of 327 patients!), and all five in which they performed community health education trainings. 

The medical care often involved diagnosing and treating tropical and/or preventable diseases such as malaria, river blindness, scabies, ringworm and TB. Still, Phebian and the team were deeply affected by the death of one of their patients, especially as they felt his death would have been preventable in other circumstances. The community education workshops included three topics: basic CPR training, helping babies breathe for the first time, and usage of birth kits for traditional birth attendants in the community. Additionally, Olivia Gerhardt conducted public health research throughout the villages, assessing needs and exploring how to best address them under the larger scheme of holistic community health. Although at times it was a difficult and sobering experience for the team, they express gratitude and feel that their souls have been refreshed, their minds renewed, and their bodies energized to continue the work they are called to.  Motivated to continue in her role as a medical missionary, Phebian shares, “Life here is hard but the love that God gives me for my people keeps me going.”

At Jericho Road, we are deeply grateful for your support in prayer and financials. Both of these enable us to extend Phebian’s vision of accessible healthcare for the underserved people of her country. We hope you will continue to partner with us in this endeavor as we progress in understanding the challenges, begin building a medical clinic, and remain hopeful for the future of Sierra Leone and its people.

Global Outreach Newsletter

Thank you for the interest, support and prayers for our medical mission project in Sierra Leone, Africa. Please check out this newsletter from Global Health Outreach which is our committee that is committed to helping make this project succeed. Thank you again and Merry Christmas!


GHO Newsletter

Leaving Sierra Leone

by Heather Quinn

We had a good day off yesterday. We spent the day in Freetown doing a few errands such as meeting with the solar panel contractor, and going to a local pharmacy. There was a nice pool at the hotel that we took advantage of. We took a walk along the beach and swam for an hour or so in the ocean. The water was warm, the sun was setting, and the views were beautiful.

The team at the beach in Freetown, SL

There were multiple soccer teams practicing and others selling things. At one point we look up from swimming and see Phebian amidst a newly formed soccer game. They were playing around her. We move down the beach a little to get out of their way. Phebian told us that she uses to come to the beach as a family outing. We had a great time talking and just having fun! 

We get cleaned up and head for dinner. As we were talking, Phebian tells us a story of a young girl, 15 years old now, who her parents - out of complete desperation to send her to school - agreed to give her to an older man in marriage in order for him to pay the school fees. She was 12 at the time and the parents told the man to not lay hands on her until she's 18. She was sent away to live with him. Unfortunately, she got pregnant at age 13 and had to stop going to school. This girl now lives with Phebian's  family on her compound and Phebian has agreed to assist her with the school fees. She got her back in school after begging the principle - an old school friend - to allow her back in even though she was behind. Without advocacy, this girl would never had a chance. Phebian says this sad situation is common because of the poverty and lack of ability to pay for school fees. We got to meet this young girl while visiting Phebian's family. She was a sweet girl with a precious child. 

As I write this, we are sitting here now at Lungi airport waiting for the flight to Brussels then to Newark then to Buffalo. Apparently we will gain 6 hours in time. We hope to sleep on the flight. We got off at nine today after a good breakfast with birthday cake to celebrate Vicki's birthday. The water ferry left at 11 and we wanted to plan enough time to travel through the congested Freetown city. We got there by 10 and waited patiently to leave. The views were amazing. Blue sky, shining, hit sun, and green rolling mountains. We observed the smog over the Freetown city and commented on the garbage everywhere. The sanitation has been a huge problem that we have noticed. There has been a lack of adequate bathrooms and water in both the city and villages. We laugh as we remembered our 'bush breaks' as we called them instead of 'pit stops.' That's probably TMI but it's true. The ferry began the 45 minute journey across the bay from Freetown to Lungi. During this trip a Muslim then Christian preacher take a turn on the mic yelling their views to the passengers. Thankfully, they stopped mid way and some young men started selling their Sierra Leonian music videos while giving previews on a small TV. There were people selling their goods everywhere. We made it to the airport with plenty of time and stopped for lunch. 

After, we say our goodbyes and hugs all around. We agreed that our trip was productive and successful in Jesus' name. We realize that without God, this mission would not go on or succeed. Phebian gives a hug to all and thanks everyone for the prayers. I've given her plenty of hugs, kisses and squeezes while being here.  We all have. We are grateful to be coming home but can't wait to come back to Sierra Leone.