In This Issue...
> Firsthand News of IMCK/Good Shepherd Hospital
> From the Executive Director
> Because We Are Christians
> Shelley Ulrich Reports on Kenyan Women and HIV/AIDS
> See How Your Gifts Make A Life-or-Death Difference
> Miraj Neurology Center Up & Running
> Missionary Son Everett Morgan Passes Away

Winter 2008  |  Volume 15  |  Issue 4

Rare Opportunity for Firsthand News
of IMCK/Good Shepherd Hospital

Left to Right: Elder Bernard Kabibu & Dr. Leon Mubikayi

From the Executive Director

       HIV/AIDs hit the world like a Biblical plague multiplied to Nth power. It has killed and bereaved millions. The reality turned out to be far worse than the early words indicated. It caught us all in an embrace of fear and need and it gave us a call from God to compassionate action. Our ability to respond seemed almost overcome by the realities of people suffering and dying. The pathos of villages of orphaned children and the grandmothers who care for them is almost beyond comprehension. We are haunted by the stunned and weary faces of elderly women who can’t give up because the need of the young is so great.
       We have seen the church at its worst – judgmental or in denial – and at its best – becoming the one place where the dying could come for care without judgment and where the formally taboo topics could be discussed in the context of Jesus’ grace and hope. We have seen the indifference of the West torn apart as the disease jumped borders and proved respecter of no status and few safeguards.

       God’s call has been heard. The world has rallied. Where delivery is possible, there is progress, free medicine is available, and there are reasons for hope. Yet, our partnership with churches and with people still suffering from HIV/AIDs means God still calls and we still have much to do.
       We want to thank you for the generous support you have given, and will give, to our partners through MBF in their efforts to serve God’s people with healing and hope and grace.

-Will Browne

Safety A Concern For Haiti Nursing School

       "It is not safe to live outside . . . I want my students in the dorm," said Hilda Alcindor, Dean of the School of Nursing in Leogane, Haiti. Board members of the school had suggested that Alcindor live in one of the dorm rooms at the school, which would have meant that some students would have to live off campus as she does now with no electricity or running water. Because of Haiti’s civil unrest, Alcindor sometimes requires an armed guard.
       That’s why the school is rejoicing for news of a recent ASHA grant which will not only build a security wall around the school, but will construct a small house within the compound for Alcindor and additional dorm space for 64 students. As always, MBF must raise $200,000 as part of the grant agreement.

Because We Are Christians
by Janet Guyer, Missionary

        "Why is it that Christians are always the first to get involved with these diseases everyone else is afraid of?" It was 1987 and Betsy Guyer¹ had just finished a presentation on HIV and AIDS for science instructors at McCormick School of Nursing. From early days, Presbyterian partners have been working to respond to the AIDS pandemic.
       Today it is clear what is needed to respond to the AIDS crisis. Prevention must be revisited with new enthusiasm and vigilance. This ranges from addressing unsafe individual behavior to risky traditional practices to societal injustices that put people at risk. Many congregations in our partner churches have taken time to give AIDS-related prevention messages to their members. The Evangelical Presbyterian Church in South Africa is currently running a series of workshops, which include support from MBF. These workshops train trainers from individual congregations to bring them up to date on AIDS information to share with their home congregations.
       People need to have access to the medical treatment that can keep them alive, whether for opportunistic infections or antiretroviral. It is an ongoing challenge to keep medications in stock. Congregation or Synod based AIDS programs face the challenge of connecting their clients with clinics that are within geographical proximity. They also must provide support and knowledge on the necessity of taking medications regularly and the general care of someone with a chronic illness. Unfortunately the needed medications are not always available. Globally only one in three people who need to be on antiretroviral drugs are at present.
       Testing for the HIV virus must be readily available, with good quality pre and post test counseling and ongoing support. Testing must become a normal practice, free from stigmatization and discrimination. Presbyterian partner hospitals have HIV programs that test and provide follow-up care for those infected. The Livigstonia Synod AIDS Control Program, Malawi, is running mobile HIV testing units in remote areas. The Circles of Hope programs of the Zambia Synod of the Church of Central Africa Presbyterian (CCAP) are peer support groups for people who have tested HIV positive.
       Finally, there is the need to care for those affected by AIDS as well as those who are infected with HIV. The numbers of orphans in the world are rising fast. Added to these are the widows and widowers, and the elderly who have lost adult children and are now caring for their grandchildren. It is important to look at the physical, emotional, social, and spiritual needs of both the children² and others who have been impacted by

AIDS. Many Synod AIDS Departments and congregations have programs to care for and feed children during the day so the children are able to stay with their families at night. Many also have scholarship funds to help children attend school, creating hope for a better future. The Synod of Zambia CCAP is running community schools to bring in children who have fallen through government safety nets. The United Presbyterian Church of Southern Africa is looking at ways to provide holistic support to the elderly affected by this pandemic who are often neglected.
       In the six years that I have lived in Southern Africa I have watched the churches becoming more and more responsive to the HIV and AIDS pandemic. In visiting volunteers, I often ask what it is that compels them to take on and carry on with their work. Frequently the response is first a puzzled look as if to say ‘why are you even asking this question?’ followed by the response "it is because I am a Christian".

----------
1 Dr. John and Betsy Guyer were missionaries with the Presbyterian Church in Chiang Mai, Thailand from 1952-1990

2 For further information on the needs of children see "Africa’s Children: A Church Response to Children’s issues in Sub-Saharan Africa". Available through the Presbyterian Church (USA) PDS # 25384-07-003

Shelley Ulrich Reports on Kenyan Women and HIV/AIDS

“Before I went, I knew about children becoming the heads of households when parents have died with AIDS, But, I can’t even describe what it was like to see it firsthand.”

For the past 8 years, Shelley Ulrich, MBF Trustee and Outreach Director for Glenkirk Presbyterian Church in California, has  visited the church’s partner hospital, Tumutumu, in Kenya. Three years ago, the Mt. Kenya Women’s Guild of the Presbyterian Church of East Africa asked Shelley to bring women from the United States to help them with the special health problems of women in this developing country, especially HIV/AIDS and its devastating affect on families. We talked with Shelley in early December, shortly after she returned from a conference attended by 50 leaders of the Guild. MBF provided $20,000 to make it possible for Kenyan women to attend the conference.

MBF: Did your group from the U.S. plan and run this conference or did the Guild women participate?

Shelley Ulrich: The Mt. Kenya Women’s Guild chooses the topics they want us to present and we have a planning committee with 3 women from the Guild, 3 from Tumutumu Hospital, and 3 from Glenkirk Church. This year the women wanted to discuss how to recognize and deal with the stigma of HIV/AIDS. They also wanted us to talk about female genital mutilation, a practice foreign to us here in the States, but very common there. A nurse practitioner from Glenkirk and a couple nurses from Tumutumu taught the classes and helped the women brainstorm ways to help stop the spread of HIV/AIDS in Kenya.

How do the women of the Guild use the information you bring them?
Our hope is that they will train other women in their churches to help prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS. There are 60,000 women in the Women’s Guild of East

Africa and 11,000 in just the Mt. Kenya region. The goal is to train all 60,000 women to become peer educators and home-based care providers.
       We went with women of the Guild to visit a family where a 12 year-old girl was caring for 4 toddlers. There was no food in the house and no water. Her father had died of AIDS and her mother was HIV Positive and in the hospital, very ill. The Women’s Guild will try to help that little family, as they’ve helped many families this year.

How is Tumutumu Hospital handling the AIDS pandemic?
They are now able to give over 1000 patients monthly ARVs (anti viral drugs) because of the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) program. One of Tumutumu’s goals is to teach Guild members how to help families realize the importance of taking the medicine regularly to prevent additional infection.

What about the trip stands out in your mind?
Before I went, I knew about children becoming the heads of households when parents have died with AIDS, But, I can’t even describe what it was like to see it firsthand. We experienced first hand the life and death reality of HIV/AIDS and poverty.

How can American churches help?
First, we must become more aware that the HIV/AIDS pandemic is worldwide. Second, we must be willing to give sacrificially. Our church began sending teams of people to listen and build friendships in Kenya. Together, we became more proactive financially to defeat poverty and HIV/AIDS. We have so much to offer in terms of leadership, education, ad ministry and so much to learn. Our Kenya friendships make it impossible for us to ignore the pandemic.

See How Your Gifts Make A Life-or-Death Difference

From Barbara Nagi in Malawi:
Because they were not given iron when they were pregnant, three young women at Nkhoma Hospital required emergency blood transfusions. Barbara says, "we have daily struggles to buy most basic medicines [but] we have prioritized buying medicines for antenatal mothers... this is possible only because of the faithful support by the many people who donated".

From Mike & Nancy Haninger in DR Congo:
At Good Shepherd Hospital, a mother with 8 children would have died without blood transfusion and surgery made possible with your gifts. "The help you give is their greatest hope," write Mike and Nancy. "It literally means their lives."

From a Kenya trip volunteer:
Dr. Chip Lambert, MBF's Director of Mission Service is helping to assure that today’s medical students will choose medical mission as their goal. Recently, Chip lead a group of students to Kenya where they visited PC(USA) partner hospitals. One student wrote, "This trip ratified my desire to work in medical missions..." Your gifts to MBF make it possible for Chip Lambert to continue this outreach ministry.

Missionary Son Everett Morgan Passes Away

Everett Morgan, son of mission workers Les & Cindy Morgan, died Saturday December 27th of bone cancer. Les writes to their supporters and friends:

       Our son Everett, 23, died early this morning.
      Cindy & I were by his side. He had been under
      treatment for bone cancer -Ewing’s sarcoma- at
      the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston
      for over a year...

      With grateful hearts for you and the son we
      loved,

      Les & Cindy

Our hearts and prayers at MBF go out to the Morgans at this time.

Miraj Neurology Center Up & Running
Thanks to MBF Donors

       At Miraj Medical Center in India, the new Neurology Center is already filled with grateful patients as Dr. Nathaniel Sase, the neurologist, sees 90 to 100 people each day.
       "You are so gracious and considerate that I have no words to express," writes Dr. Deepak Kamle, Director of Miraj Medical Center in response to MBF’s approval of a grant for CT scan equipment.

"Please, on behalf of the entire Miraj Medical Center, convey our thanks and gratitude."
       The Neurology Center was built with a grant from ASHA for both the center and a new cobalt radiotherapy unit. From MBF’s share of $227,500, funds must still be raised for equipment and furnishings.

Mission Connection is published by the Medical Benevolence Foundation,
a validated support mission of the Presbyterian Church (USA)
PO Box 770636, Houston, TX  77215-0636  |  info@MBFoundation.org  |  800-547-7627
Editor: Catherine Davis