|
December 2000
Dear Supporting Churches,
Greetings from Mission Haven in Decatur, Georgia, where we are
currently on a home assignment. Returning to the States for home
assignment is always a difficult time for us. We are pulled in
so many directions with speaking engagements, conferences, continuing
education, medical needs, and family that it becomes very stressful.
This time was doubly stressful because we are only back for six
months and it is impossible to get everything done. Some things,
like completing Larry’s doctorate, just had to be put on
hold. It was
good to reconnect with some of you as we spoke at churches. We
apologize to those of you we did not get to see because of our
short stay. We are trying to get on a new term of service pattern
that will allow us to keep in better contact with you.
Congo
Congo continues to be trapped in a war without winners. Recent
studies confirm that more than 1,700,000 deaths, indirectly related
to the hardship of life brought on by the war, have occurred in
the country in the last two years. The rate of infant mortality
has elevated to one of the highest in the world. Despite the hardship,
the church has made major strides forward. The medical department
of the ECC (the coordinating body of all Protestant
churches in Congo) that Larry has been working with for the last
seven years, continues to successfully run health programs even
in rebel-occupied areas. Because of their success, they have attracted
the attention of USAID. The first phase of a five-year USAID program
is getting started at this time. If it is fully funded, it will
be improving the health care for about one fourth the population
of the country through church health services.
The "Health for All" project of the Presbyterian Church
of Kinshasa (CPK) in Kinshasa, which many of you supported through
the Medical Benevolence Foundation, continues to grow and improve.
This October, Boo Nsuba clinic opened a 20-bed maternity, Tshimungu
clinic opened a 5-bed maternity and Liboke clinic bought the land
for a 30-bed maternity. If money can be found for Liboke, its
maternity will be the only one for a population of 30,000. Another
major change in the program has been the election of a new medical
director. Mr. Lumbala has retired after more than 20 years as
director and has
been replaced by Dr. Makambo. Larry worked extensively with Dr.
Makambo at the ECC, where he managed an urban heath program for
the last five years. He brings the experience and connections
that will help make the CPK a leader in the health care system
of Kinshasa.
Cameroon
The last year has been a time of real change in the health work
of the EPC (Eglise Presbyterienne Cameroonaise). A year ago the
health department wrote a three-year plan to improve the witness
of their health ministries. It was felt that it had become too
much of a secular business. Part of the goal was to improve quality
and lower cost so that everyone would be more compassionately
served, especially the poor. To achieve this, they had to make
some hard choices. One decision they made was to downsize their
staff by 20 percent. This last year more than 100 people were
laid off or retired. Other choices, like a drug purchasing system
and equipment upgrades, were less controversial but just as hard
to implement. Essential drugs are now bought at 40 percent of
their former cost, and some of
the hospitals are operationally self-financing for the first time
in their history. A lot more needs to be done for the EPC health
system to be the witness it should be, but it has made great strides
and is heading in the right direction.
Other goals of the three-year plan were to improve and expand
the primary health care program and do more to address the AIDS
epidemic. A missionary with the Evangelical Covenant Church with
training and experience in public health has started work with
the EPC. She will be working with Dr. Bayeme of the EPC to transform
the 33 dispensaries of
the EPC into community-based health centers that work with community
groups to solve their health problems. Two areas that are getting
special attention are improved malaria prevention and treatment,
and low-risk births. For malaria, the promotion and use of insecticide-treated
bed nets is a central activity. The work is greatly hampered,
however, because there is no vehicle for the primary health care
department. For AIDS, the EPC is way behind in addressing the
problem. The HIV+ rate seen at the hospitals has increased
exponentially in the last four years from 5 percent to 17 percent.
The church now has a comprehensive system for testing and is doing
some counseling and education, but they will need to do a lot
more if they are to make a major impact on the epidemic.
Returning to Africa
We will be returning to Yaounde, Cameroon, on January 5. Our
children Lisa and Michael are looking forward to getting "home"
and being back in a familiar school with their friends. Please
pray for God’s protection on our family as we live and work
in Cameroon and for Larry as he travels frequently to Congo. Also,
Inge’s mother is currently battling cancer, and we ask for
prayer for her and for Inge, as she will be separated from her
mother and family during this time.
We thank each of you for your prayers and financial support
over the past years and the opportunity to work with our brothers
and sisters in Christ both in Cameroon and Congo. Please uphold
in your prayers the leaders of the churches in Cameroon and Congo,
and our colleagues in the medical field, that God would help all
of us to be an extension of His healing hand in this world.
Larry and Inge Sthreshley
The 2000 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p.
32
|
