"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11
Ugandan school children
Summer2014


Wow!  Look at what you made possible!  Here is just a four picture sample of a few things made possible through your investments of time, money, support, and prayer.  Read on to discover a little more about what God has been doing through Sustainable Medical Missions in the past few months.

Mango tree meeting Village Health Leaders
        Meeting under a mango tree with a local priest                 Sharing the tools and skills with village health leaders
Vihiga, Kenya medical leaders Teaching on Jiggers
       Discussing health solutions with medical leaders          Africans teaching Africans about NTDs in their community
Africa Conferences
What happened in Kenya and Uganda?  The best and most concise answer would be that God did exceedingly more than all we could have hoped or imagined.  But, here a few highlights for those that need a little more detail.

Uganda
  • Two day conference with 35 excited and engaged participants (doctors, nurses, health admin, pastors/priests) who learned about and discussed the Zero in on Zero process, Neglected Tropical Diseases, and what it means to be a Christian healthcare leader
  • Visit to Our Lady of Presentation church and discussion of integration of Sustainable Med material into their already holistic community care that they oversee for their 58 churches
    • Presented donated medical items from Caring Partners
  • Observation and participation with village immunization team in Kyankwanzi District
  • Crashed a huge Ugandan wedding (which was normal and expected to do in Uganda)

Kenya

  • Two day conference with 33 participants (doctors, nurses, health admin, pastors/priests/nuns, and engineers) who asked amazing questions and engaged in the same material presented in Uganda
  • Presented Sustainable Med material to medical and community leadership in Vihiga District
    • Met with Governor, Deputy Governor, County Executive, Health Minister, and many more
    • Vihiga County generously paid for our lodging, food, and transportation
  • Provided CME Training on Sustainable Med material to St. Gertrude's Pediatric Hospital in Nairobi 
  • Trained over 25 pastors in the remote, rural town of Tawa on the same material.  Discussed implementation with their congregations
  • Met with nearly 40 community health leaders in Tawa and encouraged them in their role as primary implementers of NTD care solutions created in partnership with Sustainable Med

SLIDESHOW (Click on the links or images below to start)

Kenya

Uganda

Kenya conference 2014
Kenya 2014
Uganda 2014 conference
Uganda 2014
Unforgettable Selfie
Next Steps
The conferences were powerful and wonderful, but they were just first steps in our journey with these amazing people in Uganda and Kenya.  So, what is next?  Here are a few points expressed in a recent email to all the different conference participants.

What we hope conference participants will do
  • Start by sharing what they have learned with their family and close friends.  The mission field always starts and is most effective at home.
  • Decide what are the preventable diseases that are effecting their community that they feel God is calling them to address.  What will make an impact on the people around them that will point them towards Christ?  NTDs are there, but do they start with this or something else (Cholera, Jiggers, etc)?
  • Fill out the Zero in on Zero grid for the diseases they chose.
  • Research and talk with others about what is working and not "Before, During, and After" these diseases.  Zero in on Zero may lead to transforming discoveries in healthcare. However, solutions might already exist in the villages and need to be recognized every bit as much as more sophisticated approaches.
  • Begin to implement their plans.  Regardless of their resources, there are things they can start right now!
  • Share their stories, successes, and struggles with each other and with Sustainable Medical Missions staff.
  • Network and talk with those they met at the conference.
  • Church leaders and medical professionals work together to promote health in their communities.
  • Never lose an opportunity to share about the love of Christ to those around them.

What they can expect from us

  • We will put together and return to them the NTD sheets they completed at the conference.
  • We will work with the local leaders to come up with sustainable solutions for the health needs in their community, particularly as it relates to NTDs.
  • We will make available all of the resources and presentations to them.
  • We will continue to complete the training sessions for the remaining NTDs.
  • We will pray for them every day, and we (as well as our Prayer Team) will pray for specific requests when we receive them.
  • We will reply quickly to all emails, Facebook messages, and phone calls we receive.
  • We will search for resources and connections needed to assist them in their plans for healing in their communities.
  • We will form small groups around topics of interest for anyone who wishes to explore a topic (a specific NTD, infections, cash flow management, hospital administration, role of prayer in healing, etc).
  • We will be prayerful and bold in fundraising efforts in order to raise the money needed for the grants and support needed to help carry out their work.
  • We will listen.  God has provided them with unique insights for their community and country.  God also is calling them to speak into the lives and communities here in the US to help bring about healing here as well.

These are the immediate next steps, but long term plans concerning future visits, continuing connections, and national/regional directors are being refined and formulated as well.

Bright future
A Bright Future
Investment in the Future
It can be easy to overwhelmed by the over 1.5 billion people who have Neglected Tropical Diseases.  While most weaken and disfigure, three of the diseases (Rabies, HAT, and Visceral Leichamiasis) have a 100% fatality rate if left untreated (compare that to 50-60% for the current Ebola outbreak).  
  However, all is not lost.  There are solutions and people who are willing and able to bring healing to their communities.  Doctors, nurses, pharmacists, village health leaders, pastors, priests and many more have all committed to bring health to their communities.
  By supporting the plans of these leaders, your gift has an exponential impact where healing and change occurs for only pennies per person. The return on investment is incredible, and the future is bright.  But, your prayers and financial support are needed.  We have tried paying for meeting halls and medical supplies with hugs and handshakes, but it often does not work.  We cannot do this without you.
Donate Now
2014 Budget: $201,550
2014 Contributions as of Sept 1: $100,120
Remaining: $101,430

Note: Seed funds have covered all administrative costs for 2013, 2014, and 2015, so your contributions will go towards program expenses such as conferences and grants to local leaders for medical supplies to bring healing to their communities.
Life of an African Doctor
Why invest in the lives of these highly educated healthcare leaders?  There are many reasons for this including the growing global shortage of these medical professionals, particularly in Africa.  However, we invest in the lives of these doctors and other high level professionals because God has called them as leaders in their community.  God has already selected those who know their communities strengths and struggles to carry out physical and spiritual healing.  But, here is also a small glimpse of how their lives are truly ones of service and sacrifice.
  • Pay: It is common to go many months without pay, but when they are paid, doctors in Kenya make $12,000 while those in Uganda make $10,000.
  • Responsibility: Depending on the community, one doctor will serve an area of 20,000 to over 600,000 people.  Doctors outside of major cities also must serve as the hospital administrator as well as provider of care
  • Support: Long hours and wide disbursement of the limited doctors leaves most doctors with little support for their challenging task
  • Conditions: Limited supplies reach hospitals outside of major cities.  One rural hospital serving over 600,000 people and delivering over 200 babies a month could only check on the status in the womb by trying to listen for the babies heartbeat with an old brass horn.
  • Training: Many doctors are trained outside of Africa in countries where NTDs are not common, so they receive no training on these common diseases.  Also, scholarships are non existent in most cases, so any training must be paid for in full out of their own pockets.
    • Sustainable Med saw this as a true deficiency and set aside part of our grant funds each year for a medical scholarship for a bright, emerging leader in this field.

  Prim  Maternity ward

    (2014 Scholarship winner - Primrose Nalima)    (Surgical prep area for maternity ward)

In This Issue
Africa Conferences
Next Steps
Investing in the Future
Life of an African Doctor
Feedback & Quotes
Feedback & Quotes
"I do want to appreciate you for inviting World Concern to the conference. We learned a lot .It was my first time to attend such a conference and it was very informative and well researched. We are passing on this information to our teams and we believe there will be great changes in the area of hygiene and sanitation as one way of eradicating these diseases. We have agreed to incorporate messages on the NTDs in our ongoing programs because NTDs are a big problem in all our project areas. If these trainings are incorporated in all our projects, we believe it will be sustainable and less costly. The most affected is Lamu where small children aged one year and other less than year and are affected by the jiggers.  We are also in discussion with our head office asking them to help us get some deworming medicines." 

Harun Ringera, Kenya Director for World Concern
Feedback & Quotes
"The Medical training in Nairobi was my transformational moment in life. I am so happy that I came. Every lesson was a great teaching to me. I have gone back to my community and I have invited all Pastors and church leaders in our community the end of this month. And, I want to share with them what we learned because we have identified hookworms and jiggers as the greatest challenge to our community and the cause of many sickness and diseases here, because poor hygiene is the mode of the day in this community. Pray with us that as we share what we learned the pastors and other church leaders including the local administration will respond positively."

Pastor Enock Ambokah from Kenya
Feedback & Quotes
"I learned a lot because as a district public health inspector at times I get challenged as to how I can enforce the public health act as a Christian. I loved the approach and
am busy working on document that we shall share."

Paul Okello, Health Inspector in Uganda
Feedback & Quotes
"The introduction of Zero method in our communities was very exciting and we have already started implementing it.  We have been using a similar approach but Zero seems to be more effective as well as minimizing the costs.

Our program extends in the rural poor communities and we are faced with a problem of lack of latrines and safe water resulting into worm infestation that has caused malnutrition and anemia especially among the under five years.
We do touch the lives of community members in Jesus's name and we have seen the power of the Lord working through healing prayer.
 
We shall fill the Zero in on Zero grid for the diseases we identify in our communities."

Dr. Rebecca Wasswa, Luke Society in Uganda
Ministry Quick Links
Partnerships and Thanks
We can never do any of this alone, but here are a few organizations who have been spectacular recently.
  • Caring Partners International - provided donated medical supplies worth $3,500 to bless one of our partner churches and hospitals in the Kyankwanzi District in Uganda
  • Burnham Ministries International - provided curriculum material for spiritual growth for both African conferences and had one of their national directors, Rev. Vitaliy Sorokun, present the material.
  • World Concern - had their Kenya director and part of their team attend the conference in Nairobi
  • Luke Society - had their Uganda leader attend conference in Kampala

And a few special people as well....

  • Primrose & Dr. David - Thanks for an incredible job coordinating the conference in Uganda.  You exceeded all our expectations and continue to amaze us every day!
  • Dr. Andrew & the Vihiga District of Kenya - We are so thankful for your incredible hospitality and for the privilege of meeting so many of your leaders.  We look forward to working together in the future.
  • Dr. Mwatha & Dr. Anita - Thank you both for your skill and dedication coordinating the conference in Kenya.  You are both special leaders who are already changing your communities and country.
  • Selin & Kathy - It is great to have such a dedicated volunteer as well as a Board member attend the conferences, but you were so instrumental during our time there.  The influence of your teaching and your incredible ability to connect with people were outstanding!
  • Lincoln & Bassey - Thank you for creating several of the NTD training modules as well as for boldly teaching them in front of so many people.  You may still be medical students, but God has blessed you both with some unique skills that are radically impacting the world around you.
David & Prim
Dr. David & Prim
Dr. Andrew
Dr. Andrew
Stephen and Anita
Dr. Mwatha (left) & Dr. Anita (right)

Kathy & Selin
Kathy (left) & Selin (right)
Lincoln & Bassey
Lincoln (left) & Bassey (right)
Contact Information
Executive Director
David Snyder                                                                                   www.sustainablemed.org
513-543-2896