Good health is key to enjoying a full and productive life, yet many people around the world have limited access to quality medical services.
From providing care to pregnant mothers and their babies to stocking medical clinics, or fighting epidemics like Ebola and providing Bible-based education on hygiene and preventable diseases, Samaritan’s Purse improves people’s health and points them toward the love of the Great Physician, Jesus Christ.
$35 can provide 1 safe birthing kit
$150 can provide patient navigation
$300 can provide training for 1 Traditional Birth Attendant
Our Jumla Nutrition project in Nepal helps groups of moms keep track of whether their babies are growing properly, and this is information that can save the lives of infants and young children.
Before the program, children in this Nepalese community under five years of age regularly lost their lives due to malnutrition, and parents did not know why it was happening, says Amitdan Gurung, who works with our partner in Nepal that oversees this program.
In the last three months alone, more than 1,400 mothers have received training through mothers groups.
Staff explains what is required in a balanced diet and why it is important. They teach them about how to get the most nutrition out of locally-sourced, readily available food and also discuss topics like vaccination and breast feeding. The nutrition level of children is also monitored monthly.
Throughout 2018, Christian doctors and nurses from across Canada were responding to one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world. They were serving with Samaritan’s Purse in Bangladesh to bring desperately-needed medical care to Rohingya refugees from the neighboring country of Myanmar who were forced to flee brutal violence.
“There were children and adults who sustained gunshot wounds to various parts of the body—chest, abdomen and bones—who needed surgery,” said one member of our team, Dr. Wingko Yung.
In addition to mobilizing medical personnel, Samaritan’s Purse built a 70-bed clinic to treat diphtheria patients as the deadly disease spread rapidly through the camp housing Rohingya refugees in late 2017 and early 2018. In July 2018, the clinic was transitioned to a treatment center for waterborne diseases as the rainy season brought an onslaught of new problems. In October, the clinic then became an urgent care clinic providing care for as many as 70 ill or injured people daily. Samaritan’s Purse also constructed two 24-bed wards at nearby Memorial Christian Hospital for patients needing advanced surgical care.
Bangladesh is just one of the places where we are providing expert medical care in Jesus’ Name to those in need. Whether we are helping children in Nepal receive life-saving heart surgeries, enabling pregnant women to give birth safely in Cambodia and Vietnam, or providing end-of life care for inmates in Central America, we are working to follow Christ’s command in Luke 10 to be Good Samaritans to a hurting world.
In Nepal, Samaritan’s Purse partners with local ministries and hospitals to deliver a Patient Navigation system that refers children in need in remote areas to better equipped hospitals in major cities. With help from our donors, impoverished families are able to receive life-changing treatment they otherwise couldn’t afford.
When nine-year-old Radhika Budha fractured her left hand, it became painful and infected, and the once active, joyful youngster could no longer move her hand. She then fell in neighbor’s courtyard and broke her other hand. That wound also became infected.
Samaritan’s Purse partners stayed beside Radhika through three months of surgeries and therapy. “The staff were very helpful, and we are very thankful,” says Radhika’s mother.
Every opportunity we have to provide health care is a tremendous opportunity to share the love of God and tell suffering people about the One Who was sent “to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives…” (Isaiah 61:1b. NKJV).
We would appreciate your prayers for our efforts to help provide care to the sick and suffering around the world. Please also remember the medical professionals who are motivated and inspired by the love of Christ to serve with Samaritan’s Purse around the world.
Your donation to Medical Care Projects helps Samaritan’s Purse Canada meet the needs of some of the most vulnerable people around the world providing funds for life-saving medical equipment and surgical assistance, disease prevention initiatives and community health programs and training opportunities. We also offer spiritual support and eternal hope by meeting these critical needs while sharing the love of Christ.