Out of Africa: Part 7 (Continued - B) – African Worship & Community Needs

On my recent trip to Africa, I disciplined myself to keep a daily journal of what transpired and how I felt about it. These entries are from that journal.

Sunday, October 23, 2005
Experience #3 - Available Medical Care

Following lunch and pastoral discussions we were walked “across the street” to visit a dispensary used to give out medications. This location is very primitive and in our terms unsanitary; but it is all they have. We chatted with the two men who serve the dispensary. One serves as a doctor as it were. I was very impressed with his sincere desire to aid the people. He talked about his limitations and his desire to see the folks get proper medical care.

The dispensary, as I recall, is five rooms in a row in an older building. There is an office, a medical storage room, two “examining rooms,” and a location for medical records. They are rooms in a row with a common covered porch area to connect them. The outdoor area serves as a waiting room. This is the only medical facility for 50,000 people. There is no real medical help for 40 kilometers – 25 miles. Imagine walking that far when you are sick with malaria!

Waiting for us at the dispensary was a gathering of local officials and a large gathering of women with children. Following our 30 minute visit, the crowd had grown to 75 people or so. I was reminded by their presence that a maternity location was a high priority for the women of this area as had been pointed out to us.

This gathering was not accidental. It was another of the planned outdoor gatherings where speeches were given and encouragement was dispensed. It was once again led by the Area Development Project manager Richard. I thought to myself, the staff of this ADP has been absolutely masterful at using us as visiting Americans to raise awareness of the issues they have identified as needed in their culture. A case in point, the previous day, Richard, took a very bold stand at the large school gathering when he told the community gathering they would not stand by and allow younger girls to be pulled out of school and married to older men. It was so bold, that the older chief, actually grunted disapproval at the comment after only moments before having publicly acknowledging times are changing.

Before going any further, I should probably mention here, that seeing poverty was not a shock for me. I have witnessed extreme poverty many times before, some of the time in the United States. In 1996 I helped lead a group of 25 folks on a mission endeavor to Costa Rica. We did not remain in San Jose or the coastal resort towns; we were in the poor countryside. We spent some time in an area of 40,000 Nicaraguan refugees who had fled Nicaragua during the civil wars. They were living in filth of the worst order. We were privileged to assist in a worship gathering in a make shift church in that area. In some aspects those refugees had it worse than many folks I was seeing in Africa based strictly on poverty.

I want readers to realize that what I am writing here is not an emotional response by a person who was witnessing poverty for the first time. What has impressed me about what I am seeing here, is witnessing holistic ministry addressing the needs of the community, in the priority the local folks wanted them addressed. This is being done while setting up a plan that will hand total control to the local folks with them being fully capable of handling the transition. In other words, the World Vision value of human dignity is on display in fine form. This is one of the primary reasons I see a partnership here and with my community of faith a very real possibility.

Sorry for that digression, but as I continued to write, I could “hear” people misunderstanding what I was witnessing and my response to it. To say that the emotions of an ENF/TP are not at play would be false, for they are always a part of me. I am aware of that. However, my responses are not emotive outbursts. As we move forward, they are carefully thought out and prayed over ways that Fountain Park can and should respond to a continuing revelation that God is laying in our path. I will probably blog about just that as a final entry when this trip is over. But for now, I should just keep to the story.