“Why is PCP building 108 clinics?” I am often asked. “Why not a nice round number like 100, or 110 clinics?”
First, lets dispel the notion. We are not building clinics.
Furthermore, we are not making these clinics pretty.
The question we should be asking is, “how can we support the 108 clinics?”
The one hundred and eight clinics are part of a broader medical system owned and managed by the CEUM, the Covenant Church in Congo. In fact, these clinics have been the frontline of healthcare in this corner of the world for over fifty years. These clinics, in addition to five hospitals, have provided healthcare for 800,000 people in the region.
The physical structure of each clinic varies significantly. The clinic varies from one to three rooms in size, typically a thatched-roof building. Some of the buildings are structurally sound while others are in complete disrepair. Some are nothing more than a tarp stretch between two trees. Although PCP hopes to provide funding to local business people to rebuild and refurbish clinics, this is not the emphasis of the Congo Clinic Initiative.
The Congo Clinic Initiative is about preventative healthcare to stem the tragic overwhelming mortality rate. In this corner of the world, where one out of every five people in this region dies by the age of five, PCP is standing in the gap to provide essential health care measures to save lives and impact the quality of life. This is why CCI is investing in solar energy for light, refrigeration and sterilization, and clean water. Research shows that the investment in electricity and clean water will make the greatest impact for a people suffering from easily treated diseases. Whereas the clinics have been in existence, all have yet to see electricity and clean water.
This is about to change.
This month, the first shipment of 63 solar panels arrived to Kinshasa and is on their way to Equateur to be installed on the first clinics. Local Congolese businessmen have already been trained on installation and are ready for their arrival.
And for the first time, all 108 communities will see solar electricity in their clinics.
If your church would like to sponsor one of these clinics to improve the healthcare in northwest Congo, consider taking advantage of the Church Matching Grant opportunity. Your church, plus another church, can provide two-thirds of the support needed. The remaining third will be provided by the matching grant for the first year of the clinic sponsorship program. Your congregations can do something together that will make a lasting difference.
