Thank you to the Zarephath Christian Church team and all others who assisted to bring the team together. A special thank you to the efforts of Dr. Min Cha. The team arrived on July 8th, and in an action packed week, successfully brought hope and healing to over 350 Liberians living in and around the Yarnee District! We provided free care and treatment over the course of 2 days and saw everything from a gunshot wound to many, many, many cases of Malaria.
Bernice (pictured) was one of our patients. At 1 yr and 4 mos. she is suffering from severe malnutrition. In the medical world we would call her Failure-to-Thrive. She is so weakened from malnutrition she can’t even hold up her head. Malnutrition weakens the immune system and making children prone to other illnesses as well; Bernice has pneumonia. We were able to provide her mother with antibiotics to treat the pneumonia, and a can of fortified, powdered milk to help with the nutrition. However, Bernice needs an in-patient feeding program- the closest of which is in Buchanan, over 5 hours from the clinic… by motorbike, canoe, then car. Her mother already walked over 2 ½ hours just to get to our clinic in Po River.
As part of opening the clinic we not only want to establish an out-patient feeding program, but we want to work with St. Francis Hospital in Cestos to establish an in-patient program as well. Allowing malnourished children, like Bernice, to receive the treatment they need much closer to home.
The clinic was a team effort. All hands were on deck to help with treating patients, dispensing meds, translation, and praying with families. The week went by fast and was overwhelming at times, but the team was amazing. We’re looking forward to having them back again soon!
Po River Medical Clinic 