The country is devastated. The work conditions are challenging. But Canadian nurse Dorothy McEachern is glad to be in Mozambique, working with Samaritan’s Purse to help injured and traumatized survivors of Cyclone Idai.
“All the staff here are absolutely amazing, dedicated people who can work with very little, in difficult conditions,” said the Ontario resident, who’s serving for a month in Samaritan’s Purse’s Emergency Field Hospital.
“They sleep on the ground when needed and still maintain a demeanor of a caring, loving person. It’s all from God; there’s no other way it could happen.”
Dorothy is one of five Canadians serving in the impoverished east African country, helping pregnant survivors give birth in one of the few functioning medical facilities.
Mozambique suffered the most when the cyclone slammed into four African countries in March. More than 600 people died, and thousands are still missing. Damage from wind and flooding is estimated at more than $800 million.
“Mozambicans are industrious, and in the couple of weeks here I’ve seen many improvements to cleaning up debris and rebuilding,” said Dorothy. That said, she noted many residents have returned to destroyed or severely damaged homes.
“One family went back to their house to clean out the mud and found it contained 20 poisonous black mamba snakes that they had to kill before they could move back in.”
There’s also been a terrible economic cost. Said Dorothy: “All their coconut and fruit trees are gone, so the markets are without their usual fruit, bananas, mango, pineapple, and coconut.”
At the emergency field hospital (funded by generous Canadians like you), Dorothy spends most of her days in the operating room, so she hasn’t had many opportunities to speak with survivors in recovery. But she has heard amazing reports from other nurses.
“One nurse told a patient, Angelina, who had an ectopic pregnancy (where the embryo attaches outside the uterus) which she carried to term, that she was a gift and God has spared her because of His love and plan for her life.”
Even though the baby did not survive birth—a sadly common result of ectopic pregnancies—Dorothy said Angelina “was a miracle because she is alive with the (painful and dangerous) physical situation that was presented to us.”
There was another very positive outcome to Angelina’s stay at the emergency field hospital: As a result of the loving care she received, Angelina decided to place her faith and trust in Jesus Christ, who said “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted” (Matthew 5:4, ESV). Praise God!
Through your donations and prayers, you can be part of this Kingdom effort to provide physical and spiritual comfort to disaster victims in Mozambique and elsewhere. Please link arms with us in this vital work.
Samaritan's Purse responds to humanitarian crises with physical aid and a message of spiritual hope for victims of natural disasters, famine, poverty, and war. Your gift will allow us to share Jesus' love through clean water, food, shelter, medical supplies, personnel, and other aid.