From the Field

A few weeks ago, Peniel came into the pediatric ward.  He had fallen a few days before he came, and his parents were concerned because he was having some fevers, developed seizures and quit moving the L side of his body.  Susan did an ultrasound and thought maybe she was seeing something abnormal on the ultrasound of his brain.  Shortly thereafter, Ben and Jim were draining an abscess in his head.  A few days after surgery, I took care of Peniel for a week on the ward.  Each day his mom and dad would tell me the little improvement he was making, but as I was examining him, he was still far from normal.  I left the pediatric ward and went back to medical ward and wasn’t sure what happened to him, until this week. As I called for the next patient, this happy child is carried into my room by his mom.  I looked at his book and started to read the history and then realized who this kid was.  I couldn’t believe that this was the same kid.  He was moving his L side without any problem, he was smiling and interactive, he  certainly seemed like he was a normal kid.  Without the book, I would never have guessed this kid just had a brain abscess.  We don’t do neurosurgery too often, but I think we are all definitely glad we did it here, and I am sure his parents are too.
Source: Peniel from Erin Meier – Asia Pacific

 After a week of rains, we have had almost 2 wks of no rain.  The tanks are getting low, the mangos are growing, fires are easily started and have lots of fuel to keep them going. Last night, just after finishing dinner with Ben and Katherine Radcliffe, we heard crackling outside.  I looked out the window and saw a large fire in the garden.  Ben and I grabbed buckets of water and ran to try and put the flames out.  The fire was quickly spreading and as we turned to go and get more water, the McCoys, security, Don and Andy were there coming to help, soon a number of kids were there too helping to put out the fire.  The villagers were on the other side of the fence, also trying to help and put the fire out, and watch us as we worked.  Thankfully, we were able to stop the spread of the fire, but not before it destroyed the brush along the fence.  As we were finishing up our fire, another fire broke out on station and many went to help put that out.  Thankfully the fires were squelched without damage to houses.  Today, while surveying the damage, we noticed the vegetables near the fire had also suffered some burns. The lack of rain has now shut down our hydro electric power.  We don’t have enough water to keep the canal full and the power coming.  We are now relying on our large donated generator for power,…
Source: Drought and Fires from Erin Meier – Asia Pacific

5th grade studentsSchool in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) isn’t free. Schools can cost anywhere from $5US to $50US/per month. The more expensive the school, the better the education. Imagine being the sixth or eight child in a family of ten children and hoping your parents will be able to afford for you to attend school.The South Katanga District in Southern DRC has seen this need and has a vision to build schools, giving quality education to families who otherwise wouldn’t be able to afford it.  One of these schools has officially opened in the neighborhood of Katuba, in Lubumbashi.1st grade classWhen construction on the school in Katuba began in July of 2014, children would gather around as the first bricks were laid and walls started to come up. When we would ask the children where they attend school, they would respond, “Here.” “No, where are you attending now? This school isn’t open yet.” Again, their response was, “Here!” That’s when we realized so many children were waiting for a good education at an affordable price. On October 5th, Complexe Scolaire du Nazaréen opened its doors to the community of Katuba hosting Kindergarten through 5thgrade for $6.50 per month. Currently, there are over 100 students in attendance and more coming to enroll each day. Students are learning French (since most come from homes where only Swahili is spoken), Math, Science and Bible. Quality education with a Biblical foundation!
Source: Gettin’ Schooled from Fothergill – Africa