The Malaria Factor And The Runway
We have often shared about the impact malaria has on the people of Mozambique. Caused by a parasite that is transmitted by the anopheles mosquito, according to the World Health Organization, malaria still kills over 2000 children a day in Africa! This is why mosquito nets are provided to the children in our orphan program and why we do our best to ensure our health posts have a critical supply of malaria treatment. You can help with a donation to our health ministry and put a note on it “for malaria medication/mosquito nets.” If a glass of cold water in Jesus name get’s God’s attention, I have no doubt a treatment of malaria medicine would do at least the same, and both save lives and give children a chance to become productive adults.
But it is not only children who suffer, often it is their parents who struggle to be productive at critical times of the year due to a bout of malaria when they should be planting or cultivating or harvesting their crop. And the delay of a week for a farmer at a critical time of the year can mean the difference between an adequate food supply or starvation.
Two weeks ago much of the heavy equipment showed up to begin the completion of the runway on the mission in Mozambique. Everything was set up and the contractor and engineer along with our team were prepared. But just as the equipment arrived on-site, Law the contractor came down with malaria and so badly that he ended up in a private clinic fighting for his life. Then after many delays waiting for a flat-bed that could transport the grader, one was found and the grader arrived on-site. No sooner had this happened but that the grader driver came down with malaria and was put out of commission. Thankfully both men will survive and we anticipate the work to be completed over the next few weeks, but this demonstrates so clearly the impact this disease has on us and the people we work with.
Thanks to Ron Wayner, Rick Neufeld, Tony Frank as well as others on our team, the work has progressed in the meantime with the mission back-hoe and tractor-drawn grader blade. And thank you for your prayers and interest in this project!
Health Home Visits
Health concerns at some of the new orphan homes kept health workers busier than usual over the past few weeks as they have accompanied Heather Neufeld on visits to these homes. One of the more elderly grannies, who cares for her orphaned grandchildren, complained of stroke-like symptoms so Heather and Celestino (pictured below) went to the home to do an assessment, provide care, and pray for her.
This granny’s eyesight is poor and she is hard of hearing, and yet she was the only one left to provide care for her orphaned grandchildren. Here, one of the children helps Celestino (health worker) ask questions by repeating them loudly into her ear.
As a routine part of all home visits, especially where a family member is sick, there is a time of prayer.
Providing basic health services to these grannies and the orphans they care for is a tremendous source of encouragement and hope where they had no other recourse before. When they first join the mission’s orphan program, they’re often in a poor state of health because of the extreme difficulty of their circumstances and poverty coupled with poor access to health care services. What a privilege it is to be able to minister to the needs of those who are so vulnerable!
We are happy to report that this granny has steadily made good progress in her recovery.
Snake Bite Recovery
With school summer holidays now on and most people off planting their fields, you may think health work would be a bit slower. But that’s not necessarily the case. When you couple warmer temperatures with people working in their fields, there are more work related injuries and snake bites as well!
Sometimes clinic work requires home visits to those unable to come to the clinic, and so it was with a young mother recently. She was busy about her work and didn’t see a Puff Adder nearby. She mistakenly stepped to close to it and was bitten on the foot. Several days passed before this came to our attention, but once we heard of it we immediately made our way to her home to do an assessment and provide care. She and her family were very happy for the help she received over the following few weeks! Her husband came in person to the mission this morning to express his appreciation. He also reports that the wound is much better and she can now walk normally again.
