Visit to Chalabesa Mission by Mission Medic Air
By Dr Edith Pola
On a bright Friday midmorning about 10.30 hours on 6th, a medical team from MMA met in Ndola and set off on a 10 hour drive heading north of the country to Chalabesa Mission.
The scenery on the way was breathtaking and significantly compensated for the long hours of travel. We arrived at Chalabesa just after 20.30 hours to find a wonderful meal prepared by Sister Martha and her team. When sleep came it was like falling into the arms of Morpheus, only to be woken by the dawn chorus of chirping birds at the crack of dawn.
Thanks to the efforts of Sister Martha the clinic was well organized and we were soon able to set up four (4) mini clinics:
- Dental Clinic
- Eye Clinic
- General Medical Clinic
- A theatre for minor operations
We were not disappointed in the turnout, which was good, as word had gone out in the community that a medical team will be coming. We were humbled by the sheer lack of accessibility to basic medical care and the great distance people have to cover in order to reach the health centre. In many cases the major barrier to getting any health care was the distance of the clinic from their village. In extreme cases people will stay in their village and just wait to die if they are unable to see or even walk.
We spent the whole day Saturday until early evening screening, treating and referring those who needed hospital facilities and equipment to treat their conditions. It was well worth the effort.
In total we screened and treated 258 people (men, women and children) as follows:
62 eye patients, 35 dental and 161 general medical patients Five (5) eye operations were done, One (1) vacuum delivery and One (1) for suturing of a traumatic amputated little toe.
Three (3) patients were referred to the District Hospital for further management. This was a very successful and fruitful trip in terms of the activities carried out and was a learning curve for all the team members, who are looking forward to the next trip. Many thanks to Sister Martha and her team for the gracious hospitality and God Bless you all.
Lily Medical Centre Celebrates Grand Opening
By Ed Bjurstrom
The grand opening of the Lily Medical Centre was held on July 29th in the township of Mophela in South Africa. A visiting team of volunteers from the United States representing the CareNow Foundation were able to help with preparations for the opening and participate in this historic event. CareNow has been supporting the effort to establish this new medical clinic near the Lily of the Valley Orphanage over the past 2 years.
Last year (2007) CareNow sent a container full of medical supplies, equipment and medicines to outfit the clinic. Since that time, the clinic has been regularly used by visiting healthcare professionals while the effort to hire a permanent nurse, pharmacist and part-time doctor was on-going as well as gaining the approvals needed from the local government for full operation. The official opening was a wonderful occasion that showed how important this clinic is to the surrounding community as well as the orphanage. Approximately 200 people attended the opening of the clinic and included representatives from emergency services, the local health department, local police, Department of Welfare as well as local community leaders.
Ed Bjurstrom presented a check for $10,000 to Noel Wright, the head of the Lily organization, to be used to purchase medicines for the clinic. The newly hired “Sister-in-Charge” (nurse practitioner), Shile Dlamini, was introduced as well. She has a Diploma in Health Assessment, Diagnoses, Treatment & Care from the University of Natal and is able to diagnose and treat patients on a daily basis with support from doctors at a regional hospital. This new clinic will make a life and death difference in this community as most of the local people have no access to any other medical care.
Who are the true Heroes?
By Ed Bjurstrom
Stories of heroes capture our imagination and stir our hearts with tales of brave deeds, selfless efforts and a lack of concern for their own lives while they serve the needs of others. Modern examples of true heroes include those fighting for their country on foreign soil as well as those who put their lives in harm’s way to protect citizens at home. So too are the heroes of a much quieter war, a war against sickness, poverty and ignorance. The drama of this war plays out in deceptively simple tasks that make a heroic difference day in and day out. Proper setting of a broken bone to prevent a child from becoming a cripple changes more than one life forever. The child’s family is released from a burden they likely could not carry. In places where “germ theory” is not common knowledge, cleaning and dressing a wound prevents life-threatening infections such as gangrene and often makes a life and death difference.
These endeavors are only bested by a program of training the local people how to do these simple, but dramatically important things themselves. This is the work of true heroes today such as Susan Hundshamer, a nurse from Southern California and Stephanie Brink, a midwife from Washington State, who work as a small, but powerfully effective team to serve the Tonga people of Zambia. The CareNow Foundation is proud to support Susan and Stephanie and their mobile clinic which serves thousands of people who literally have no other medical care available in this rural part of Zambia.
Training a New Crop of Community Caregivers
By Susan Hundshamer
One of the goals of our medical ministry is to train local people to be able to provide medical care to those in their community. The latest group we have been training consist of 6 people from the Sinazongwe community. They are very bright, have a heart for medicine and are very committed to excelling rapidly.
They have classroom study once a week for review of body systems, diseases, and treatment approaches. It has been slow going as we have to dispel the myths of this culture and give them truth with how God has made our bodies to work, but we are making steady progress. Once a week they assist at a clinic where they take vitals, assess patients, and clean wounds. It is always difficult to both see patients and train at the same time, but once that they have a basis of knowledge they are a big help. Twice a month they are required to volunteer in the local hospital to see medicine from a different capacity. 
It has been a big eye opener for them to know how things should work, but then often see it done incorrectly in the hospital. Within a few months Sinazongwe will have 6 new community caregivers trained to handle what the African bush can throw at them!
Medication Shipment to Zambia Mobile Clinic
By Susan Hundshamer
The CareNow Foundation, who have been huge supporters of ours for some time now, teamed up with Giving Children Hope and procured a shipment of medication for us. We were able to pick it up from the customs office yesterday. It is loaded with much needed antibiotics, tablets to de-worm, pain killers, and antiseptic cream. We are very thankful for this shipment, it will give us more resources to better care for the people in the Tonga Valley. Thank You CareNow!!
Medication Shipment to Lily Medical Centre
By Ed Bjurstrom
Giving Children Hope shipped out a container to Mapela, South Africa in conjunction with the CareNow Foundation. The shipment contained all of the necessary items to establish a community health clinic in a region where there is very little access to health care. The medicines, supplies and equipment, totaling 16,733 pounds of humanitarian aid.