Mobile Clinic with Médecins San Frontier- Part 2

Here are some more pictures from the MSF trip.

The first three are of people waiting to be seen and of kids.

Kids always want their picture taken and then to be shown it. Digital photography is a good way to break down barriers
Below is the traditional way to get by the river instead of using the ferry. These next two picts were taken from the ferry. The piroques (canoes) are carved out of trees and are used to carry people, motorcycles, supplies and sometimes people drive a truck on to two of them placed parallel in the river to navigate smaller crossings.

And finally on the way back we had more mud. there was rainstorm on the way back and the driver had a lot of fun navigating that.

Mobile Clinic with Médecins San Frontier- Part 1

Stephen had an opportunity to take a trip with a group of medical personnel who work for Doctors without Borders or Médecins San Frontiers (MSF). MSF started working in our area in December and since then we have shared a lot of patients. One of the things they do is surveying refugee camps for health status and doing mobile clinics. Stephen was invited to go on one of their trips.

The first couple of pictures are of the trip there. The village is about 70 km north of Impfondo, but it took about 3 hours to get there. The roads were difficult to navigate, and there was a wait for the ferry.

The ferry is free for use in Congo.....if you buy the diesel fuel to put in it. If you don't bring the fuel then you don't go anywhere on the ferry.
The picture below shows how full the truck was. There were plastic chairs and tables on top, and the back was filled with medicines, supplies and the four nurses that went with the team. There were also three people in the front.
This picture is the photo of the church that was transformed into the clinic. There were tarps placed in the front of the church to provide consultation rooms. The other half was devoted to a pharmacy and "observation area."
These are some of the people who were waiting to see the MSF team. Everyone had vital signs done, a rapid malaria test done and received medicines. They were limited on Tylenol though, so only the kids got it.


More to come...

Follow up

Now that we've been in Impfondo a while we are starting to see familiar faces when we go on outings to the market or to visit others people. this is a pretty fun. One particular familiar face was particularly satisfying to see. He was one of our patients in the hospital when we arrived in November. He is a refugee who has not let his life circumstances dictate his view on life. He was shot as he was fleeing the Democratic Republic of Congo and ended up losing his right arm secondary to infection and tissue damage.
I showed a picture of him in our Christmas post and he continues to do well. Since it is not safe to go back to his home he began a "boutique" here. We stop by often and try to buy things from him to help him a little. He also has come to church several times as well. Continue to pray for Gerrard and other refugees as they heal physically and leave the hospital. Pray that they continue to remain rooted in God's love. Thanks for you continued prayers for us as well.

We interupt this scheduled broadcast.....

We will get to more pictures on our house and our impressions here and correct some info generalities about our situation here. However, I thought I would share a news article with you about some skirmishing in the Democratic Republic of Congo that is not to far from us.
You can read a story on it at all africa.com For about 2-3 weeks at the hospital here we have been receiving machete and gunshot victims of the violence and although it is technically close it isn't really...but it is. Here is a pict from google earth. the green arrow is the fighting area and if you look down at the bottom of the screen on the left side of the river you can see Impfondo.

Take a moment to pray for these victims and the perps for that matter as well.. The youngest here is a girl who needed her leg amputated after infection secondary to a wound.

More to come as we have news.