Ready to Serve–East Africa Update and Stories

“Dr. Kwan Kew Lai, from Belmont, Mass., recently worked with hurting people along the Kenya/Somali border for Medical Teams International – thanks to the support of Covenant World Relief.

She soon witnessed how difficult it was to reach people who desperately needed medical care. An estimated 4 million people in the region need assistance.

Fighting in the region as well as weather conditions complicate delivering care that people need. Sometimes, months of drought and famine turn roads into dust. Then, fall rains deluge those dirt roads, turning them into impassable, muddy ponds.

Volunteers, like Dr. Lai, had to be ready to move when a helicopter was available so they could reach people stranded at remote mobile clinics. Many of those people would not receive care for days and weeks.

“I saw a number of malnourished children, anemia, pica, worm infestation and fungal skin infections seemed quite rampant,” Dr. Lai said after visiting one clinic.

“I drained a foot abscess of a youngster who fell off a tree and poked his foot with a thorn, cleaned a machete wound on a hand.” She added, “A cute baby had a bad case of impetigo but was still smiling despite all that uncomfortable sores.”

Thank you for your continued prayers and gifts to help our Medical Teams International volunteers and staff deliver life changing outreach in 2012.”

Unfortunately, the conditions in East Africa are still incredibly devastating, yet the area is receiving little, if any, media attention. Please pray for our brothers and sisters in the Horn of Africa, and consider giving here.