Mothers With Small Children receiving Mosquito Nets
In Fall of 2010 we opened a small dispensary in Dono-Manga, Chad. The purpose was to dispense drugs for minor illnesses that often lead to major life threaten conditions, especially for very young children. When we visited Dono-Manga in 2010 we took an initial supply of medications and priced them in such a way as to make them affordable to the local people and enable us to replenish drug supplies with the funds we received. Our initial supply and subsequent restocking has been done through Dr. Eni who is on the surgical teaching staff of the University of Maiduguri Hospital in Maiduguri, Nigeria. His connections there enabled us to purchase medications at a very low price. Pierre Rimorbe, our key man in Dono-Manga, has until recently, traveled to Maiduguri as necessary to keep the dispensary supplied.
Recent terrorist activity in northern Nigeria by a group called Boko-Haran has killed hundreds of people over the last few months. In a defensive move the President of Nigeria recently closed all Nigerian borders. Although this violence is hundreds of miles away from Dono-Manga the closing of the borders has now halted our ability to restock our dispensary and it could not come at a worse time.
In the last few months our nurse has been seeing over 1000 patients per month. Many people walk for days bringing their loved ones for treatment. Our dispensary has been so effective in saving lives that it was just awarded Health Center status by the Chadian government. This means that our personnel may now preform minor surgery and aid in mid-wife services. But because of not being able to restock our drug supply from Nigeria our Health Center is about to run out of medications to treat those who continue to come. Here is a portion of a message we received a few days ago from our representative in Nigeria after he spoke to Pierre Rimorbe in Dono-Manga.
This man's family carried him for over 20 miles to the Health Center. He and the 5 members of his family became Christians.
“Presently there are 12 inpatients being managed by our nurse at the health center. The inadequate drug supply is posing a problem given the fact that people in and around Dono-Manga have come to see the Health Center as a haven for the less privileged who otherwise would have stayed home to wait for death since they cannot afford the cost of treatment, let alone the challenges of long travels in search of medical care in one of the large cities, which our health center now provides easily and readily. “
While the simple solution would be to purchase medications in Chad we are faced with prices that are thousands of dollars more than we were paying through Dr. Eni in Nigeria and the cost would be out of reach for the people that we are treating.
The Health Center has become such an important part of our outreach and has saved hundreds of lives since it opened. It is a vital and important part of the work we are going in Dono-Manga. So here is what we plan to do. I have spoken with Dr. Eni and Rambi Ayala, our Director of Operations for Africa, and we are making arrangements to fly them with a supply of needed medications to Chad. They will also be tasked with the responsibility of meeting with representatives of the Chadian Government to establish relationships with local Pharmaceutical companies that will enable us to purchase our needed medication locally at a discounted price.
We have a wonderful working relationship with the Chadian government and we feel certain they will be able to help us open this door. But we must act quickly as many lives are now at risk without the needed medication for our Health Center. We estimate that the total needed for this emergency relief effort will be $11,000. This will include air and land travel for Dr. Eni and our representative, a large supply of medications that will be purchased in Nigeria, and air freight to allow the drugs to travel with them. At this time we have $3,500 of the $11,000 that we need. This leaves a balance of $7,500 that we need to raise as soon as possible.
We treat many children at the Health Center.
Our Health Center is so much more than a place where people receive medical attention. One of our local ministers is at the Health Center daily to share the message of Christ with all families coming for medical assistance. We have seen so many people come to Christ through his work, and new churches are being established through these new Christians who have been reached at the Health Center.
There are at least two ways you can help. First, if God has blessed you with the ability, make a donation. Any amount will be a blessing and will save lives. Second, help us spread the word about this need and encourage others to give. 100% of what is given in response to this appeal will go to meet this need! Write “Health Center” on your check and mail it to Hope Springs International, 118 Wessington Place, Hendersonville, TN 37075, or if you give at our website: www.hopesprintsint.com note that it for the Health Center when you donate. Thank you in advance for your response! We deeply appreciate each of you who make this great work possible.
