Posts Tagged ‘Health’
How Climate Change is Impacting Health and Nutrition in Rwanda
Poor communities are often on the frontlines of battling climate change. Many depend on climate-related industries like farming for food and livelihoods, and when climate disasters strike — whether flooding, drought, violent storms or extreme temperatures — there’s little economic margin to rebuild and adapt.
While the economic effects of climate instability are severe among poor communities, the negative repercussions don’t stop there. Climate change and adverse weather events also have a cascading, detrimental impact on health as communities experiencing poverty are at greater risk of disease, injuries and hunger.
The Struggle to Provide
We’ve seen the impacts of climate change on health first-hand in places like Bambiro village in Rwanda, where rising temperatures, extended dry seasons and heavier, less predictable rainy seasons have taken their toll on couples like Epiphanie and Jeremy.
As the water sources they had historically relied on shrank and became dirtier with each dry season, the farming couple could no longer earn a living by growing and selling crops as their elders had. In order to get by and afford food for their children, Epiphanie and Jeremy picked up odd jobs. They washed clothes and made mud bricks to buy potatoes, cornmeal and beans.
Although they wished to provide better, more diverse foods for their children, it seemed impossible. Animal proteins like eggs, fish, meat or milk were too expensive. In fact, when Jeremy was first asked whether he could buy these for his family, he laughed, saying, “I guess you are joking! Where can we get money to buy animal sources of food? Those are reserved for rich people.”
Sadly, when Epiphanie was pregnant with their third child, she noticed that her second born, Aphrodis, was weak. He was often ill and could not stand on his feet at age three. He was suffering from malnutrition.
The Help of a Neighbor
Epiphanie and Jeremy are not the only ones facing challenging circumstances like these. About 80% of the global population who are most at risk of hunger due to climate change are farming families living in Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia and Southeast Asia.
Yet, even as they are not alone in the challenges they face, they’re also not alone in finding solutions.
In collaboration with UNICEF and The Rwandan national government, World Relief Rwanda connected Jeremy and Epiphanie to a neighbor, Jean Claude, who had faced similar circumstances.
Jean Claude had been selected and trained as a peer supporter through the Abarinzi B’imikurire Myiza (ABM), or “The Guardians of Good Growth,” project. ABM equips community and church leaders with knowledge and tools to help improve maternal, infant and child nutrition in Rwanda through peer-to-peer learning.
As part of the program, Jean Claude received training in food selection and preparation, child feeding practices, the importance of father involvement in child health and nutrition and household hygiene and sanitation.
Equipped with this knowledge, Jean Claude visited Epiphanie and Jeremy frequently to share what he had learned. He helped them plant and tend a kitchen garden capable of growing nutritious food with little maintenance and water. He also provided coaching on healthy practices for feeding a growing family. Within four months, Epiphanie and Jeremy had a garden full of mature, leafy green vegetables!
They were especially amazed that the water from their hand washing could sustain the garden in the dry season, and that the crops would endure even heavy rains.
Jean Claude also influenced Jeremy to change the way he spent the money he earned from odd jobs. “I used to spend money buying beer, sugar canes and ignore purchasing nutritious food for my family,” Jeremy explained. “After being trained on kitchen gardening, food preparation and food selection, I changed my priorities. I no longer buy alcohol in replacement of food. I try my best to provide different kinds of food varieties to my family on a daily basis. My wife and children need it, as well as me.”
Creating Climate Resilience Together
Now, Epiphanie and Jeremy are seeing the health of their family transformed in spite of the impacts of climate change. With more vegetables, protein and nutrients in his diet, Aphrodis has grown stronger and now runs around playing with other children.
Together, we have reached approximately 1,456 children like Aphrodis through ABM. Among them, we have seen a 20.9% increase in children ages 6 to 23 months consuming more frequent and diverse meals. We have also seen significant improvements in hygiene practices — among those who received peer-to-peer coaching from volunteers like Jean Claude, over 95% say they wash their hands at key moments, as compared to only 45% in the control group.
While Epiphanie and Jeremy’s lives are still impacted by a changing climate, they are raising healthy children and coping well, surrounded by a community of support thanks to Jean Claude, World Relief and generous people like you.
Read more about the impacts of climate change on poorer communities and how World Relief is responding.
James Munanura is the Senior Manager for Health and Social Protection at World Relief Rwanda. With a research background at the University of Rwanda and Makerere University in Uganda, he provides leadership and technical support to nutrition and health related projects. He assisted with the development and direct management of the peer-to-peer Abarinzi B’imikurire Myiza project.
Jean Paul Niyitanga is the Communications and Operations Coordinator at World Relief Rwanda for the USAID-supported SCOPE Project. With a background in Journalism and Communications and a passion for serving the vulnerable, he began working at World Relief Rwanda in 2021. He has also served as a Communications Coordinator for UN-funded projects, including the Acceleration of Integrated Social Protection Interventions in Rwanda (AISPR) project and Maternal Infant and Young Child Nutrition (MIYCN) project.Â
Emily Kankindi is the Communications and Documentation Unit Coordinator at World Relief Rwanda and is also serving as acting Program Officer for Burundi, Rwanda and Kenya. She started with World Relief in 2005 and has been growing through different roles while pursuing a career in creative communications. Driven by a mission to serve the most vulnerable, Emily has a passion for telling stories of impact and using all forms of communication to inspire others to care for and serve those in need. Her educational background is in marketing and travel operations.
COVID and the Issues: Health
Women, men, children and entire communities across the globe have been dramatically impacted by COVID-19. In order to stop the spread of the virus, businesses, land and air transport, as well as essential services, have been forced to lock down.
Without the ability to continue treatment and a six-month disruption in access to antiretrovirals, AIDS-related deaths could double in sub-Saharan Africa in 2020 alone.
80 million children are at risk for contracting preventable diseases because immunization services at many health centers have slowed or stopped.
Essential maternal and child health interventions are being reduced and could result in maternal mortality rising from 8% to 38% and children under 5 mortality from 9.8% to 44.7%.
With no access to these life-saving health services, COVID-19 could undo years of progress. Today, in the third of our six-week series, COVID and the Issues, we’re talking with Allison Flynn, World Relief’s Senior Health & Nutrition Program Advisor. Allison gives an overview of our health and nutrition programs and sheds light on the vital importance of creating and providing access to health care and information to individuals and communities, especially in the midst of a pandemic when the normal channels of access are closed.
Come back next week to learn more about how COVID-19 is affecting our US programs. And to join us as we fight back against the residual effects of COVID-19, visit worldrelief.org/covid-19.
Dana North serves as the Marketing Manager at World Relief. With a background in graphic design and advertising and experiences in community development and transformation, Dana seeks to use the power of words and action to help create a better world. Dana is especially passionate about seeking justice for women and girls around the world.
World Relief’s Response to COVID-19
The World Health Organization has now officially recognized the COVID-19 crisis as a pandemic, with more than 170,000 individuals already known to be affected throughout the world, and experts anticipate the numbers will continue to rise.
At World Relief, our desire and the core of our mission is to walk with and serve those in vulnerable situations. In any disaster, those on the margins are the first to experience the full impact, and this is already proving true with the spread of this novel coronavirus. The elderly and immunocompromised are particularly susceptible, and those already facing financial hardship will likely experience continued difficulty accessing the resources they need.
We will be continuing in our work to restore hope and rebuild lives in communities around the world, but in compliance with expert advice and out of an abundance of caution, we are taking steps to protect the World Relief family, including those we serve.
Effective end of day on Monday, March 16, all of World Relief’s U.S. offices are handling all non-essential programming and services remotely for a minimum of two weeks.
Any programming and services that are deemed essential will be conducted in observance of CDC hygiene recommendations and social distancing precautions, with the end goal of assisting in the efforts to help “flatten the curve” and mitigate the spread of the virus. Our staff will be working to communicate with existing and current clients to make sure their needs are met in a way that ensures each party’s safety.
As we take these appropriate precautions, our prayer is that World Relief, and the church by association, would earn the reputation for caring sacrificially for those who are most vulnerable during any crisis. This is possible, “for God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline” (2 Timothy 1:7). We see this time of turbulence not as a time to withdraw or hoard resources for ourselves, but to consider ways to serve others in our communities, including the immigrant, the elderly, the isolated and the immunocompromised.
As such, and to the extent that the threat of the disease and our resources allow, we will continue with current programs to address the most pressing problems and sustain the most vital services — such as ensuring vulnerable groups are getting accurate health information in their language, housing and employment assistance, and continued refugee resettlement support, among other things.
Thank you for your care, support and faithfulness. Together we will continue praying for the cessation of this disease, for the health care workers at the front lines, the most vulnerable in our communities, and for wisdom for the authorities leading the way.
In Christ,
Tim Breene & Scott Arbeiter
FAQ
Will I still be able to volunteer?
At this time, we’re suspending in-person volunteer opportunities. But, there are still a lot of ways you can continue to help create welcoming communities. Please see below.
Will this affect World Relief’s international offices?
In our international programs we serve in both development and disaster settings. We are seeking to maintain our life-saving and life-improving work in some of the most difficult to reach and most vulnerable places. However, our work may well be affected in accordance with the COVID-19 threat and government guidance in each country by mandated travel restrictions, quarantines of people and regions and other factors as is true in the U.S. currently.
Will World Relief staff continue to travel internationally?
All nonessential travel is being suspended. We are also being sensitive to avoid visiting countries that have not yet been infected by COVID-19.
I’m getting a lot of different messages about coronavirus. How do I know what to believe?
We recommend visiting the CDC’s website for all updates regarding COVID-19 and for expert advice.
How is this impacting the refugee and immigrant communities?
Immigrant participants will feel the effects even more acutely. Already, several refugees who had just secured their first job—a huge step towards economic resilience—have been laid off. Schools are closing and refugee families are facing the added challenge of full-time childcare. Those who are experiencing symptoms of sickness or who are in high-risk demographics will be experiencing the tangible effects of isolation.
How can I help?
Pray! We serve a God who sees and cares for our suffering. Pray for health care workers, pray for healing for those suffering from COVID-19, pray for comfort for the lonely.
Employ foreign-born workers. Immigrants and refugees are a disproportionately large portion of the hospitality and healthcare industries. These sectors will be some of the hardest-hit by this crisis.
Engage with your local church. Work with your local networks to make sure the physical needs of those in your communities are being met.
Give. While we may not be working in the office, the work continues. During this unprecedented season, we will be responding to the urgent needs of the refugee and immigrant community with emergency financial assistance to address the most pressing problems. Please consider joining us with a special gift to sustain vital services and meet urgent needs of our newest neighbors. Visit worldrelief.org/covid-19 or your local office’s website to join us and give today.
FAQ for our Clients
I’m not feeling well, but I have an appointment with a World Relief caseworker. Should I still go to that appointment?
If you are experiencing symptoms, visit the CDC website, please try to avoid visiting World Relief offices, and seek immediate medical attention.
If I have a case pending at one of the local offices, how will I get a hold of my caseworker?
There will be staff attending to office phones and other methods of communication. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out.
My family member is arriving at the airport this week. Will someone be there to meet them?
Yes. We will make sure that all essential services will continue. This includes airport pickups, rent payments, food drop-offs, etc.
Possibility in the Face of Complexity
Naomi’s Story
Naomi, her husband and three daughters were living in Mahowe, a small village in Malawi, when Naomi’s husband died. That day forever changed her life. Not only was her husband gone, but so too was her family’s source of income and daily security. Naomi and her daughters tried to rebuild their lives, but Naomi’s physical condition made things difficult. Partially blind in one eye, she struggled to earn enough money to send her oldest daughter to school, let alone meet basic needs for her and her daughters.
Sadly, Naomi’s story is not unique. In fact, more than 735 million people around the world — around 10% of the world’s population — live on less than $1.90 per day, making it difficult for them to earn a living, buy food, access health care or send their children to school. The consequences of such extreme poverty extend far beyond one generation, as uneducated children struggle to earn a living as adults, in turn making it difficult for them to send their children to school and ultimately trapping them in a vicious cycle of generational poverty.
Yet economic poverty isn’t the only kind of poverty that affects people around the world.
A Complex Problem
Hourt Rous is one of the 80% of Cambodians living in a rural area where women are taught that their sole role in life is to be a housewife and to raise children. Because of this belief, women like Hourt never have the opportunity to go to school or the chance to learn basic health practices and important lessons in child development. Hourt grew up in a home where she was taught health and nutrition were important only once children reached school age.
“I never knew nutritious food affected [a young] child’s development. In our culture, we are taught that our children’s physical appearance, health and food intake is [only] important when they reach school age.”Â
In Cambodia, much of rural childcare is based on cultural beliefs. Therefore, when Hourt became a mom, she began raising her children in the same way she had been raised, setting the stage for her children to do the same and continuing the cycle of poor health and education from generation to generation to generation.Â
These two stories have a great deal in common. Naomi, a physically disabled widow, was left as the sole caretaker for her girls, unable to provide basic needs for her family. Hourt, a female in rural Cambodia, wasn’t given the same access to education as the men in her community, which ultimately prohibited her from learning how to create a future for her children. Both these women were trapped in a multi-faceted cycle of poverty that is perpetuated by lack of access to education and healthcare and often determined by social status, age and gender, geography and ethnicity.
Complex but not Impossible
Solving poverty is complex. But complex does not mean impossible. Â
Understanding the full complexity of poverty is at the very core of our work at World Relief. In places most impacted by poverty, well-intentioned NGOs frequently struggle to create lasting change because they either fail to address the root causes of poverty — gender discrimination, conflict and inequitable access to education, to name a few — or fail to acknowledge that poverty is multifaceted.
Rarely is a community only struggling with physical poverty, economic poverty or geographical poverty. Rather, they are often struggling under the weight of more than one type of poverty. When organizations address poverty as a single issue and fail to acknowledge root causes, they create quick fixes and partial solutions that fail to produce holistic, long-term transformation.
But it doesn’t have to be this way. At World Relief, we believe God gave us a plan to save our broken world, and it begins with his church, and his people, leading the way.
As we engage in communities around the world, we harness and amplify the influence of the local church — the largest, most influential network on the planet — to model Jesus’ holistic method of addressing and alleviating poverty. By empowering pastors, local leaders and volunteers, the church moves as the hands and feet of Jesus. People are seen, loved and given opportunity for new life. Through him everything changes.
Jesus and Holistic Change
In Luke 4, Jesus begins his ministry by declaring,
“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free.”
Luke’s gospel is filled with stories of Jesus seeking out the poor in body, in community and in spirit. He heals a man of leprosy and a woman from her issues of blood, invites a tax collector into his inner circle and gives life to a widow’s dead son. He even heals a Jewish oppressor’s beloved servant.
To the leper and woman with the issue of blood, Jesus brought physical healing; to the tax collector, Jesus provided acceptance; to the dead son Jesus gave life; to the Jewish oppressor an example that no one is outside the love and care of God.
Jesus saw the tax collector, men, women and children, the sick, the oppressed, the lonely. He came toward them and provided for their needs, bringing restoration to the whole person, reversing life circumstances and breaking cycles. Over and over again, the gospel of Luke reveals Jesus’ love and care for the poor and the outcast, those marginalized by their economic status, gender and/or ethnicity.
Breaking Free and Moving Forward
Naomi began to break the cycle of generational poverty when she joined a savings group sponsored by World Relief. Through the group, Naomi has been able to invest in her family’s future. A year later she says,
“I now have the opportunity to interact with my friends and to improve my life. I have also joined my colleagues in helping the vulnerable in our community through the group’s social fund, a weekly fee which goes to the community’s needy individuals.”
In the same way, Hourt changed her family’s story when she joined a women’s group through her church and learned about children’s health. She began to implement what she was learning, providing the nutritional support her children need as well as promoting and protecting their access to education.
“I know that if I want my children to be wise and have a good future, I have to play a role in supporting the process of development,” Hourt says.
Not only has she improved her children’s health, but Hourt is also sharing what she’s learned with others.
“I take health lessons to teach households and improve everyone’s health in my community,” she says.
Although Naomi couldn’t see a future where her family had resources for food or education, her local church did. Although Hourt didn’t understand the importance of proper nutrition during early childhood, her church did. And, although both women felt unseen, unnoticed and forgotten, they weren’t.
Following Jesus’ examples, the church came as the hands and feet of Jesus with love, care and provision for Naomi and Hourt’s needs. The church came to lift them up and bring the restoration of Christ. It is in this restoration that Naomi, Hourt and thousands of others have been empowered to reverse their circumstances and break the cycles of poverty.
Now, they are one of the thousands around the world, coming with love, care and provision for others in need, breaking the cycle of poverty and propelling change that lasts.
Dana North serves as the Marketing Manager at World Relief. With a background in graphic design and advertising and experiences in community development and transformation, Dana seeks to use the power of words and action to help create a better world. Dana is especially passionate about seeking justice for women and girls around the world.
The Church in Congo
By James Misner and Marcel Serubungo In the Democratic Republic of Congo, some say that you can find all of Africa’s problems: weak national leadership, eroding rule of law, HIV/AIDS and protracted tribal conflict. Warring militias use rape as a weapon of war and perpetrate other human rights violations. Children are stolen, forced to become soldiers and used as proxies between fighting groups.
Congolese civilians are caught in the vicious cycles of conflict and disease. Millions have died as a result. Refugees and internally displaced people number into the millions.
But even in the world’s most war-torn regions, the power of Jesus can overcome the horrors of conflict. After years of warfare, the Church in DR Congo is the only social structure standing. It is the only hope of true peace for survivors of violence.
This is the reality of the Church in DR Congo:
- The Church is traumatized. Many people in the Church have been displaced from their homes. They’ve fled as refugees, survived grave atrocities, lost entire crops and ran through the night in search of safety. Our Christian brothers and sisters in DR Congo face the same situations that their greater communities face — they’re not immune from struggle.
- The Church is resilient. Even in the midst of adversity and unspeakable hardship, the church in DR Congo stands strong! Despite ethnic divisions within the nation, the church builds unity and reconciliation. They’ve refused to give up the pursuit of peace. They continue meeting together, praying together and worshiping God together. In some of the worst poverty and injustice on the planet the church gathers to proclaim the greatness of God! We have much to learn from them as they restore their communities.
- The Church is redeeming suffering. None of us can explain precisely why God allows suffering. But we do know that God redeems it — through his hands and feet, the Church. When a woman survives sexual violence, the Church will take her in, provide food and shelter and help her to care for her children. When cultural norms say that husbands should abandon their wives after rape — the Church works to debunk this lie and to reconcile marriages. The Church stands in the gap and speaks out against this injustice — teaching boys and men that women are created in God’s image and are to be respected and treasured.
Wherever there is suffering in DR Congo – the Church is right there, too. And World Relief is there to empower the Church to fulfill its mission: to bring hope to the hopeless and restore justice to the oppressed. As the people of the Church endure suffering, they faithfully follow in the steps of Jesus – bringing healing to their communities as they themselves are healed.
Would you consider making a gift to empower local churches to prevent further gender-based violence and care for women survivors? All donations will be matched by One Day’s Wages. Your gift will be used to provide medical care and trauma counseling for the victims of sexual violence and to raise community awareness about violence against women. Give today at onedayswages.org/worldrelief.
James and Marcel are both members of the church team at World Relief. James serves as the Global Director of Church Partnership. Marcel serves as the Director of Church Mobilization and Peace Building in DR Congo.
Empower a Hero: Emily in Kenya
Emily Seteyio is dedicated to reducing the high infant mortality rate in Kenya, and she’s going the distance to make it happen. She used to regularly walk six miles to protect just one baby from HIV. More than 1.6 million Kenyans are living with HIV, but pregnant women and their babies are especially vulnerable to the disease. Prenatal care and hospital births reduce the chances of mother-to-child transmission. But neither of those are common practice for women living in remote areas.
Because doctors and nurses are out of reach, rural women often turn to traditional birth attendants to assist them during labor. Unfortunately, many attendants don’t have the proper equipment or training to prevent HIV transmission between the mothers and infants under their care.
Emily in Kenya
So Emily stands with the vulnerable women of Kajiado, Kenya. She empowers them with the resources they need to have safe deliveries and healthy babies – even when the mothers are HIV positive. Since 2012, she’s served as a community health worker after training from World Relief Kenya. Emily volunteered for the role because she was concerned about the mothers in remote areas who were without access to quality care.
Emily visits mothers in their homes and counsels them about the benefits of giving birth in health centers. “In the hospital, there are gloves and equipment that prevent the spread of HIV from the health caregivers to the mother and child,” Emily said.
Pastors often serve as vital links between community health workers and vulnerable mothers. Through collaboration with a local pastor, Emily was able to make sure one high-risk woman had transportation to the health facility for the birth.
But during her pregnancy, Emily would regularly walk six miles from the health facility to the woman’s remote village. Since she was HIV positive, Emily encouraged her to give birth in a health center so her baby could live free from the virus.
Eventually, the woman delivered a healthy baby boy in the health facility, despite her high-risk pregnancy. This wouldn’t have been possible without Emily’s dedication – and the support of the local church.
Check back each week in January to meet more heroes like Emily – women and men standing for justice in the most vulnerable places around the world. Join the movement at EmpowerAHero.org today!
Hope Is in the Details: A Story from Malawi
Ntchisi, a district located in the heart of Malawi, is among the most vulnerable places where World Relief works. Forty percent of the population lives on less than $1 a day. Most people make their living as farmers, but the difficult conditions they work against make for poor harvests and profits. Preventable diseases like malaria and diarrhea are common here, but healthcare facilities and doctors are extremely few and far between. Some say Ntchisi is a place to drive through – but not to linger in for a visit.
But this is precisely what World Relief Malawi intern Stephen Blazs did. Once he was able to take a closer look at a village in Ntchisi, he noticed small signs of transformation despite the deep injustices that existed.
Much of his role over the summer was to develop new ways to monitor the progress of World Relief programs. But one day, he set out from the office in the capital city to visit a “model village” in Ntchisi. Here, World Relief volunteers and staff worked to improve the health of mothers, orphans and vulnerable children younger than five. Because of his studies in public health at Johns Hopkins University, Blazs understood the magnitude of the vulnerabilities of the region, but he could also see the signs of hope and progress that the untrained eye overlooks.
In this village, children wore shoes and socks hung from clotheslines – displaying the purchasing power families had built from joining savings groups. Clean pots and pans sat out to dry, preventing germs from spreading at the next meal. Yards were dotted with latrines and hand-washing stations, protecting the entire village from water-borne illness – and reducing the chance of having to travel to a distant health clinic.
“It was encouraging to see an example where community development was working,” Blazs said upon his return to the US. Thanks to the commitment of volunteers who share life-saving health lessons with their neighbors, lasting changes were taking root in this village and many others in three other districts across Malawi.
Interested in learning and standing with the vulnerable through a hands-on internship? Check out World Relief’s domestic and international opportunities today!
Stephen Blazs is completing a Master of Science in Public Health degree through Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. As a World Relief intern, he developed monitoring and evaluation tools for various health and social development programs in Malawi and Mozambique.
Health for the Future: Care Groups Make a Mark
When Dr. Pieter Ernst, a World Relief Project Director in Mozambique, saw the suffering of women and children from preventable and treatable diseases, he knew there needed to be a solution. And the awakening of healthier communities through education and more sustainable efforts is just what the doctor ordered. Following a 17-year civil war in the Gaza Province of Mozambique, the Care Group Model developed out of World Relief’s first Child Survival Project. Dr. Ernst designed a way to reach a large group of people through generating a network of volunteers within each community.
With this, the need for a more comprehensive method to engage community members in becoming educators and leaders who support and encourage one another grew at a steady rate. Care Group numbers multiplied as a small project staff grew in the ability to reach a larger population. Without straining individual volunteers, Care Groups mobilized communities to address various health issues and take extensive action.
Since its formation in 1995, the Care Group Model has been adopted by 23 NGOs and implemented in over 21 countries. In 2009, this model reached over 44% of the total population of Mozambique and nurtured relationships that continue to thrive today. All over the world, this sustainable system has:
- Decreased infant mortality rate
- Increased uses of modern family planning methods
- Provided children with up-to-date immunizations
ALL while creating a lasting and continual difference within communities.
Dr. Ernst recently received the 2014 Dory Storms Child Survival Recognition Award for the design of the revolutionary Care Group Model. Together with Dr. Ernst and others who have participated in the Care Group Model, World Relief will celebrate 20 years of this innovative project in 2015.
Through this program, we have seen God do great things in countries and communities where health information is seldom provided. Simple explanations can truly change countries and empower people to become heroes in their communities.
Giving Thanks: From a Mother in Burundi
Earlier this month, we shared the story of Capitoline, a hero who’s saving the lives of many children in her community in Burundi. Now, we get to share the story of a grateful mother who knows firsthand just how important Capitoline’s skills and care are. “Nobody can love and take care of our children the way Capitoline does,” Emmanuella said, as she thought of the time her 17-month-old came down with a high fever and had convulsions in the middle of the night. She and her husband were afraid – these were signs of malaria, a disease that is preventable and treatable, yet often deadly in Burundi.
But Emmanuella knew her neighbor, Capitoline, was a community health worker trained by World Relief. So in the early morning hours, the family ran to Capitoline’s house nearby for help. She was able to immediately give Emmanuella’s child the proper medications, which led to recovery just three days later.
In the past, Emmanuella had taken her children to the hospital when they were sick. But a trip to the local hospital was a significant journey on foot, and they would often have to wait to even be admitted once they arrived. Capitoline’s medical training meant that Emmanuella and her family didn’t have to wait a long time to receive treatment – time that can mean the difference between life and death.
World Relief has trained hundreds of other community health workers like Capitoline, who are always ready and willing to help their neighbors. In addition to diagnosing and treating different diseases, they also educate their neighbors about simple hygiene practices that promote good health for every-day living.
Emmanuella knows that health workers like Capitoline are invaluable: “We thank God that we now have a community health worker in our neighborhood.”
To give thanks and empower more heroes like Capitoline, visit empowerahero.org.
Giving Thanks: Leam’s Story of Transformation in Cambodia
“I would like to give thanks to God and my parentsfor allowing me to participate with the [children’s] group.” said Leam, an 11-year-old boy in Cambodia. Just over a year ago, Leam was suffering with an unknown illness. Because of his health problems, he had difficulty concentrating in school and was teased by his classmates because of his decreasing size. One day, a friend stepped in to help. This friend had attended a World Relief children’s group where he’d learned valuable hygiene and health lessons, including the common problem of parasites. He told Leam that parasites could be making him sick, and invited Leam to join the children’s group to learn for himself. But Leam was hesitant. He knew the group was run by Christians – church volunteers – and he didn’t want to be converted.
But curiosity got the best of Leam. When the children’s group volunteers returned to Leam’s village to do an educational puppet show the very next day, Leam watched from a safe distance on the road as children ran towards the meeting area, laughing and cheering all the way.
“After seeing this sight, my heart began to fill with joy,” Leam said. “I was encouraged by a teacher who came to me while I was standing on the pebble road. He smiled at me right away and invited me to see the puppet show. He gently spoke to me. So the heart of hatred has gone from my mind. I don’t discriminate against Christianity anymore and I decided to join with them. I could learn a lot about disease, morality and forgiveness.”
One year later, the changes in Leam’s health and heart are still evident. He continues to use the health lessons he learned in the children’s group, like washing his hands, wearing shoes and sleeping under a mosquito net. Because of these changes, Leam is no longer sick and his family’s medical costs have decreased. “I realized that my health is much better than before, and my mental health is also improved. I am now a great student in my class,” said Leam.
This incredible transformation would not have happened without the support of our partners who have stood with us as we empower people like Leam. So we, along with Leam, say thanks!