Struggle For Healthcare

Hello my dear friends at St. John and St. Anne!!! I am happy to once again post some pictures for you. Today I send some photos that are a bit more challenging for me. Today I send some pictures of some children who are really suffering because of the lack of health care here in Gisiza and Rugari. Some of this is because of the war, but more of this problem is rooted in the lack of finances and education. We are on the right track when we seek to help children go to school and when we help to fund hospitals.

These first pictures are of a young boy who is 9 years old. He was born with what we call “club feet.” This means that he is actually walking on the sides of his feet and ankle joint. He would have had corrective surgery when he was an infant if he lived in the United States, but now he walks to school every day with great courage. He deserves so much more, perhaps some day we will be able to build the hospital for Rugari and we will be able to intervene for children in the future. For this young boy…it remains to be seen…

The third picture is of a young boy who has lost his eye to an injury, surely if there were excellent health care in this area he might have been helped to preserve his eye. This boy is one of those I visited at Gisiza, but I do not know whether he is a resident of Gisiza or a refugee from Nkokwe. This photo, also from Gisiza, shows a young girl with a fungal infection on her scalp. I see this often in rural areas; fortunately it is an easily treated problem. These types of skin infections occur frequently in the tropics, what it takes to erradicate it is a functioning school with a health class in their curriculum and a place for medical treatment. Both of these components are currently missing in Nkokwe and other areas of war here in eastern DRC.

This last photo is of fishing boats on Lake Kivu. The boats are using tightly woven nets in which they catch a small fish called "Dagala" in the Swahili of Congo, "Dagaa" in the Swahili of Tanzania. They are salted, then fried in oil, and are the most delicious treat, I love to eat Dagala. One day I will take a picture of me eating Dagala and you can see the actual little fish of which I speak.

I took this photo from the Caritas Guest House. It is a beautiful facility and they serve excellent food, when you come to visit we will see about a room at the Caritas Guest House for you and your family!!! I hope to go back to Rugari this week, but today there was no car available and so I get time to post again. Blessings as you continue through Holy Week and thank you for your comments. Please ask questions and give ideas of things you want to see, let’s make this an interactive blog. I am just glad that for now it is working…Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Bye for now. I send my love and prayers, Jackie