We are moving forward with things here but in "Africa Time." Africa time is a unique thing. People here take their time with just about everything except when they get behind the wheel of a matatu (taxi van) or car! But, not to go into details, we are slowly creeping ahead with the Bethany Kids Wing and also the water project and the CT Scanner and the Mother child health building and the Palliative Care (Hospice) building! That is a lot in one mouthful!
We are in the process of previewing contractors that we might hire to do our wing. We went to see one this week that is in the process of finishing up the house for the vice president of Kenya. We toured the house, and it was quite extensive. Here is a picture of the house:
This last picture is for Darrell to see the quality in the finish trim!
It is amazing how things are built here. We are qualifying contractors just for that reason. The hospital got stung recently with someone they hired to do the new operating theaters. We want to at least try and pick someone that will do an honourable job. But, as far as the finishing in the vice president's new house, they should have hired my brother in law Darrell!
I want to post something here about the main focus of the Bethany Kids at Kijabe Hospital (taking care of kids). Most of the missionaries here work in that world so I wanted you to have a taste of it. Here is a post from a friend of ours, Dan Poenaru from Canada:
Young girl with disability waiting to be seen
in her wheelbarrow
37 degrees (Celsius = about 100 F) in the shade, sand and dust - back in the Dadaab refugee camp, it felt like I couldn't be any further away from cool Canada... On this first mission back in the camps since August when security issues led to closing all movement between the camps (several health care workers were abducted and/or killed by militants), the problems we were seeing were very much the same - malnutrition, extremely limited access to specialist care, advanced disease... For the half a million Somali refugees, many of whom had lived for 20 years in this closed camp away from their country, the hopelessness and despair was evident. Late last year the world had paid attention to them for a few weeks because of the great famine which had hit the region. Now, away from the public attention and media hype, people continue their destitute lives as before. The children I see are the same as for the past 6 years I have been visiting the camp -children of all ages suffering from various congenital conditions which should have been treated years ago. We screen the children, promise them surgery sometime in the next months or years when we will get to them and they will be sent to us, and hope that we can keep our promise... After recently working in Montreal, the contrast in resources and quality of care is even more striking - why does almost every child with hydrocephalus (like the one in the photo) get too late to surgery, why do we have nothing to offer to children with orthopedic problems (again like in the photo)?
Why, why? Or in the words of Habakkuk, “Why do you make me look at injustice? Why do you tolerate wrongdoing? Destruction and violence are before me; there is strife, and conflict abounds.” (1:3). May God use us to bring justice and healing to those in need…
Dan (like many other doctor's here) goes to Dadaab refugee camp and sees patients there. The cases that need surgery are most times referred here to Kijabe. They come, when they can get the travel money, and have life changing surgeries. Many have waited too long for the surgeries to do the most good. They wait because they do not have the funds to get it done when they first see the problem. That is why many issues here are well advanced before the doctors can do anything about it. It is an extreme challenge here, but it is the reason why most of the doctors do what they do. It feels like an air of "no hope" sometimes, but with the work that the amazing doctors do, they are providing a gleam of hope and showing the love that God has for these people.
Here are a few silly pictures of last Sunday. We got together with the other sponsors of the sophomore class and ate enchiladas for lunch. It was just before school started again on Tues of this past week (Yea!! and the crowd cheers! - The crowd being Jim and I):
Trevor and Chris (Chris really likes Trevor!)
Jullie and Dorothy
Jim with a scowling face to Sallie taking his picture
We hope you all have a great week. We really appreciate your prayers for this upcoming week and the movement of the projects past the speed of the slug I saw yesterday!
In His Hands,
Jullie T.
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