What do you do??

I have been out here in Bere for 10 weeks now working with the community. Some of you may be wondering what in the world I am doing out here in Tchad. Many of you knew that I was planning on going to Tchad, but didn't know the full details. Here is a short explanation of what I am doing out here.

            I am working as one of the coordinators for Project 21 along side with Zach Gately. Project 21 was developed and implemented by Marci Anderson about two years ago. It is called Project 21 because it works with 21 different quartiers (towns) within Bere district. The Project was made to create a connection between the community and Bere Adventist Hospital. It also is trying to empower communities to take care of their health. Many times people don't come to the hospital because 1. Don't have the funds 2. Don't know how much procedure costs or if free 3. Don't think health problem is that serious 4. Wait till they have money to come to the hospital 5. Seek someone else to help them.

            What the project comprises of currently are doing health lectures to people staying at the hospital, feeding malnourished kids, and training workers of the quartiers. The health lectures are done everyday expect Thursday and Friday. We talk about different health issues so that they know the signs, how to treat, and when to come to the hospital. We want them to understand some basic things that will help them to take better care of their health. We strive to prevent some of the health issues that are prevalent in this area. On Tuesday we do a cooking lecture and demonstration for mothers by pediatric ward. What we have been making is a local dish called bouille, which is rice porridge with peanut butter. We do a demonstration on how to make it more nutritious, which is especially helpful if one has a malnourished child. We allow people to taste the bouille after it is completed. The difference with the one that we make is that it has peanut butter, flour, lime, and Nido (powered nutritious milk). What we have started to do more recently is give it to the malnourished kids that are staying at the hospital. We are hoping to do more feedings so that it can make a difference with their weight. On Wednesday we have dental day on the hospital grounds. Jamie Parker is the main dentist, but we may assist him. Some of the student missionaries have already taken out some teeth. The purpose of dental day is to extract teeth from people at a low price. The extraction itself is free, but they have to pay for the medication that is needed. A dental lecture is presented to those that are waiting to get their teeth extracted. On Thursday we use this day as a day to do other things that may need to be done. Whether this means going to a different town, cultural awareness, or other matters. For Friday we do a combined lecture on diverse health topics to community health workers and traditional birth attendants. These people are the ones that are to help out in their communities to ensure that people go to the hospital when they need to go. They range from old to young, educated to uneducated, Muslim to Christian. We train them to not be nurses or doctors, but health assistants. They are apart of one of the 21 quartiers that we serve, which helps since they know what their communities most need.

         There are so many different things that we are involved in here. We have grand dreams in the future to help even more people and add more components to the project. Some of the main things that we want to alleviate or stop are malnutrition, malaria, and basic health issues related to bad water (typhoid). I didn't know why I was supposed to come here, but after being here I know exactly why. With so many people in need and so many things that can be easily avoided one can only be passionate.  I wish I could save everyone, but that is not possible. I can do my best to help those who are in need with what we have available. 

Please check out Project 21's blog for more information on what we are doing and how you can help. Every prayer, encouragement, and dollar makes a difference.    www.berep21.wordpress.com

~"When you do to the lest of these you have done to me"~