While we celebrate the successes of PCP and our partners in Congo, we also take a moment to reflect on the all too frequent tragic losses. I was in Congo last month when I witnessed such a loss.
This grandfather had walked 22 kilometers (13.7 miles) with his malaria-stricken grandson clutched to his chest. His sights were set on Karawa Hospital. Although the hospital treats many cases of malaria, the boy had been sick for too long. Within minutes of arrival, the baby boy died.
The nurse wrapped up the deceased child in the blanket that had swaddled him on the long trek from the village. He was handed back to the grandfather who turned to begin the long walk back to his village. We watched him depart with his dead grandson in his arms.
Access to medical care is a luxury in Congo. The human toll is needlessly staggering. Almost 400 children die of malaria each day in Congo – nearly all of them preventable if health care is available. Every day hundreds of people are being handed back their children to be buried.
To address this injustice, Paul Carlson Partnership is proud to announce our Congo Clinic Initiative, to increase access and raise the standard of health care by developing the local village clinics. Currently these clinics operate without electricity or clean water. Limited pharmaceuticals are available only intermittently. The head of the clinic has the equivalent of a high school education with limited training options. But with a united and coordinated effort, we can overcome this tragic reality.
Through programs such as our Medical Ambassador’s “train the trainers” and by providing sustainable electricity to the hospitals, we have already saved hundreds of lives. We believe that through the Congo Clinic Initiative we can do far more than some dare to ask or imagine.
Paul Carlson Partnership is seeking 108 churches, small groups, or individuals to partner with each of the 108 Covenant clinics to collectively change the reality of healthcare in the Equateur province. Deaths from treatable diseases will be prevented with a dependable supply of pharmaceuticals. Salaries will allow 3-4 staff members to feed their own families. This translates into nothing short of saved lives. Consider supporting one of these vital improvements:
Sustainable solar kit $5,000
Medical supplies for a year $1,800
Pharmaceuticals for a year $1,200
Salary (3-4 staff) for a year $1,000
Clinic operation for a year $750
Onsite medical training for a year $500
Be a part of the Congo Clinic Initiative. Sponsor a Covenant clinic in Congo, and together we can raise the collective accessibility and standard of healthcare that will save lives. And with your help, a local clinic will be able to treat a little baby boy for malaria, and he will grow up to know his grandfather.
