Hi All. I have just got back from our VIEW Club Luncheon & the guest speaker was from 'Mercy Ships'. It was apparently started in Texas USA in 1978 & is similar to 'Doctors Without Borders' but they use volunteers for not only medicine but for agricultural aid etc.
http://mercyships.org.au/
What an eye opener. I wanted to get on a plane & head off to volunteer straight away. We do not realise just how lucky we are in this country & yours as well I should imagine, despite all the complaints that we can have about our health systems. We think we are hard done by if we have to wait a week or two for treatment. These people may never get their sometimes dreadful aflictions seen to. We often think it is a bit crook if we have to wait an hour or so to see our doctor. These people, sometimes with horrific injuries or diseases are in queues four deep, over a mile long & sometimes miss out on seeing a doctor at all because the need is far greater that the help available. If we think we have a health system problem we should not complain because these people have no health system at all. About seven doctors among thousands of people needing treatment.
Makes one realise just how lucky we are, no matter what problems that we have. I felt like crying when I saw some of the poor people who are in need of such help. It reminded me of when my eldest daughter went to Zimbabwe a few years ago with a group, thirteen in all, to teach the permaculture method of farming. I was so worried about her going there, especially since she also took Indiabeau who was about 18 months old at the time. Well a young African man returned with them. He visited Susie's place one day & played on an instrument, can't just remember what it was called just now, but it was very enjoyable. He was very quiet & eventually it was discovered that he had an absess in his mouth that he had had for some time. He had not complained because, in his country there was no use complaining because nothing could have been done for him anyway. They got medical attention for him & he left for home a happy man.
Well this has sort of turned into a bit of a novel but the whole thing affected me so much that I had to get it off my chest.
Love
Liz
Mercy Ships
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Liz
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Mercy Ships
A smile is a light in the window of your face that shows that your heart is at home
Hi Liz,
Interesting post, and I can understand what you are saying about a few people having to treat large masses of sick people.
I have a very good friend who was a missionary nurse in what was then Rhodesia before it became Zimbawee. (Actually, what was called Rhodesia at that point in time had formerly been what was called Southern Rhodesia prior to that, if you recall.)
In that country, she worked at a missionary hospital in a region that I thought I'd never forget the name of, but guess I have. I was hoping that I could remember so you could ask your daughter if she'd heard of it before.
She first spent a summer there right out of nursing school, and decided that that was where she wanted to return for her career.
First she had to finish up some graduate work before she could apply for full time, so by the time she returned the situation with the rebels had worsened. Matter-of-fact, they were treating the injured on boths side of that revolution in the same hospital, and I'm not so sure there were walls to divide them, either. It was very dangerous those first 4 yrs as a full fledged missionary, but she reluctantly returned home for her furlough as scheduled, fully anticipating returning "home" to Rhodesia after the furlough. As it turned out, the board eventually had to pull all it's personnel out of the country as it was just too dangerous. The hospital itself had actually been attacked, and at least one of the medical missionaries had been murdered by the rebels. It was very sad because the people really needed that hospital, and from what my friend told me, the care was excellent there. Also, she loved the people, and they loved her, and she had many friends that she had to leave behind. From what I've heard on the news, the revolution left the people much poorer than they were before. I can't remember whether there was Soviet backing behind all that or not. Seems as though there was as it was in the early 70's when she did the first 4 yrs, I believe. By the way, she was proficient in the Shona language, and it was the Shona people that she worked with there.
Upon her return, she went to one of the little land masses that were created by So.Africa for the blacks as part of apartheid.
First, she was required to go to a local mid-wifery school, and that wasn't a pleasant experience at all. The people there, even in the school treated her terribly, but she managed to get through that experience alive. She finished up her career in that region.
Anyway, she "retired" a few years ago, and did a few other things, then started taking in foster children in need of medical care in Ft. Worth, Texas. These were Aids babies, crack babies, etc., and often, they'd have an alarm to wake my friend up should they need resusitation when they stopped breathing, which happened often. Also, they required special feeding as many if not most of them had g-tubes into their tummies.
There was this one little girl that had some 26 diagnoses when she first got her, but eventually, she got well of each of them under my friends good care. When the child was about 7 years old, since my friend had had her since she was only 6 months old, and she was the only mother the little girl had ever known, she decided to adopt her. That's been a few years ago now, and I've been thinking about trying to get in touch with one of my friend's older sisters who lives not too far from me so that I can give her a call or send an e-mail. It's a shame when we loose track of old friends like that, but we've just all been so busy these last few years.
Oh, and my friend tells this story about when, after a while, the board let her have her desire to move out into the bush ON HER OWN, mind you, and in the midst of all the chaos that was going on then. She had lots of stories, but there was this one night when a drunk kept running around her house trying to get inside, and she was sooo frightened as you can well imagine out in the bush a zillion miles from anything.
Her little house that had been built for her had one door on the front and one in the back, and she said that she kept running back and forth from one to the other, such that if the drunk guy came through one, she could take off out the other door. Fortunately, he gave up and went on.
When she left for the USA on furlough, she couldn't bring her furniture and stuff home, so she lost everything to rebels and thieves. At least she got out alive.
I remember when my Air Force buddy and I went to pick her up at the DFW airport at the end of the first four years in Rhodesia.
She had most of her stuff shipped home, but she HAD to carry in her lap, of all things, an African ostrich egg! Think it was a gift for her brother. Just so happened that I was stationed in Ft.Worth at the time. She's never been heavy, but it was a little bit shocking to see how much weight she'd lost, though it wasn't a bulemia type appearance.
I've actually seen pictures of these huge catepillars that people, including missionaries eat. They are kinda black all over with white spots, but it's been a long time, so my memory for exact appearance is pretty dim by now. I do remember that they had a WIDE circumference, and that I saw some of the Shona people boiling them in big iron pots over a fire.
I think that it's almost a univeral symbol, that of a father carrying his dying child for a long distance to get the child to medical help. I've heard that parents travel unbelievable distances when little hospitals, like this one are available. Even when my friend was WAY out in the bush on her own, she would have lines that went an awful long way -- lots and lots of people, and there were justs times when not everyone could be seen which I know must've been heartbreaking for my friend.
Another memory just popped up about her time at the hospital in Rhodesia. She had been put in charge of the measles children's unit which can be quite large, at least back then, in many of these countries. Later, she showed me a photo of that formerly PACKED unit with sick kids, now completely empty, thanks to the work she'd done in eradicating that illness while she was there. She said that that was really rewarding as measles is very serious in places like that.
Wow,such good memories of an old friend you have stirred up. I know that ship is wonderful!
Yours, Luce
Interesting post, and I can understand what you are saying about a few people having to treat large masses of sick people.
I have a very good friend who was a missionary nurse in what was then Rhodesia before it became Zimbawee. (Actually, what was called Rhodesia at that point in time had formerly been what was called Southern Rhodesia prior to that, if you recall.)
In that country, she worked at a missionary hospital in a region that I thought I'd never forget the name of, but guess I have. I was hoping that I could remember so you could ask your daughter if she'd heard of it before.
She first spent a summer there right out of nursing school, and decided that that was where she wanted to return for her career.
First she had to finish up some graduate work before she could apply for full time, so by the time she returned the situation with the rebels had worsened. Matter-of-fact, they were treating the injured on boths side of that revolution in the same hospital, and I'm not so sure there were walls to divide them, either. It was very dangerous those first 4 yrs as a full fledged missionary, but she reluctantly returned home for her furlough as scheduled, fully anticipating returning "home" to Rhodesia after the furlough. As it turned out, the board eventually had to pull all it's personnel out of the country as it was just too dangerous. The hospital itself had actually been attacked, and at least one of the medical missionaries had been murdered by the rebels. It was very sad because the people really needed that hospital, and from what my friend told me, the care was excellent there. Also, she loved the people, and they loved her, and she had many friends that she had to leave behind. From what I've heard on the news, the revolution left the people much poorer than they were before. I can't remember whether there was Soviet backing behind all that or not. Seems as though there was as it was in the early 70's when she did the first 4 yrs, I believe. By the way, she was proficient in the Shona language, and it was the Shona people that she worked with there.
Upon her return, she went to one of the little land masses that were created by So.Africa for the blacks as part of apartheid.
First, she was required to go to a local mid-wifery school, and that wasn't a pleasant experience at all. The people there, even in the school treated her terribly, but she managed to get through that experience alive. She finished up her career in that region.
Anyway, she "retired" a few years ago, and did a few other things, then started taking in foster children in need of medical care in Ft. Worth, Texas. These were Aids babies, crack babies, etc., and often, they'd have an alarm to wake my friend up should they need resusitation when they stopped breathing, which happened often. Also, they required special feeding as many if not most of them had g-tubes into their tummies.
There was this one little girl that had some 26 diagnoses when she first got her, but eventually, she got well of each of them under my friends good care. When the child was about 7 years old, since my friend had had her since she was only 6 months old, and she was the only mother the little girl had ever known, she decided to adopt her. That's been a few years ago now, and I've been thinking about trying to get in touch with one of my friend's older sisters who lives not too far from me so that I can give her a call or send an e-mail. It's a shame when we loose track of old friends like that, but we've just all been so busy these last few years.
Oh, and my friend tells this story about when, after a while, the board let her have her desire to move out into the bush ON HER OWN, mind you, and in the midst of all the chaos that was going on then. She had lots of stories, but there was this one night when a drunk kept running around her house trying to get inside, and she was sooo frightened as you can well imagine out in the bush a zillion miles from anything.
Her little house that had been built for her had one door on the front and one in the back, and she said that she kept running back and forth from one to the other, such that if the drunk guy came through one, she could take off out the other door. Fortunately, he gave up and went on.
When she left for the USA on furlough, she couldn't bring her furniture and stuff home, so she lost everything to rebels and thieves. At least she got out alive.
I remember when my Air Force buddy and I went to pick her up at the DFW airport at the end of the first four years in Rhodesia.
She had most of her stuff shipped home, but she HAD to carry in her lap, of all things, an African ostrich egg! Think it was a gift for her brother. Just so happened that I was stationed in Ft.Worth at the time. She's never been heavy, but it was a little bit shocking to see how much weight she'd lost, though it wasn't a bulemia type appearance.
I've actually seen pictures of these huge catepillars that people, including missionaries eat. They are kinda black all over with white spots, but it's been a long time, so my memory for exact appearance is pretty dim by now. I do remember that they had a WIDE circumference, and that I saw some of the Shona people boiling them in big iron pots over a fire.
I think that it's almost a univeral symbol, that of a father carrying his dying child for a long distance to get the child to medical help. I've heard that parents travel unbelievable distances when little hospitals, like this one are available. Even when my friend was WAY out in the bush on her own, she would have lines that went an awful long way -- lots and lots of people, and there were justs times when not everyone could be seen which I know must've been heartbreaking for my friend.
Another memory just popped up about her time at the hospital in Rhodesia. She had been put in charge of the measles children's unit which can be quite large, at least back then, in many of these countries. Later, she showed me a photo of that formerly PACKED unit with sick kids, now completely empty, thanks to the work she'd done in eradicating that illness while she was there. She said that that was really rewarding as measles is very serious in places like that.
Wow,such good memories of an old friend you have stirred up. I know that ship is wonderful!
Yours, Luce