We've Got The County Covered
We've Got The County Covered
Dr. Carley Robertson, MD, recently spoke at the American Lutheran Ladies Salad Supper in Chinook. She spoke about her experiences going to Tanzania and working with a medical clinic there. Dr. Robertson is a general practitioner in Havre and is the Medical Control Officer for all the ambulance crews in Blaine County.
About 30 women attended the American Lutheran Ladies Salad Supper at the Chinook church. Following a salad supper the guests heard Dr. Carley Robertson, MD, speak about an upcoming medical mission to Tanzania that will involve about 20 people from Montana. Dr. Robertson, who is a general practitioner in Havre, has been making the biennial trip since 2011. Robertson is also the Medical Control Officer for all of Blaine County's ambulance crews and is Medical Director at Sweet Nursing Home in Chinook.
International Evangelism Outreach (IEO)
Bishop Eliudi Issangya first came to the U.S. in 1979 to attend a six month Bible school in California. He and his family lived for a time in both Montana and Washington state. From his experience studying and working with other Christians in the U.S. he felt called to start an educational program in his home country of Tanzania to better equip native pastors for their ministry. Over the years an elementary and secondary high school as well as a medical clinic were added. The New Hope International Clinic in Sakila is where the group from Montana will visit again in May, 2019.
Dr. Robertson said the biennial trip usually lasts about three weeks with, "a few days of travel, time at the clinic and then a few days as a tourist to learn about Tanzania." This will be her fifth trip to the Africa-based clinic. She explained, "We take our own medical supplies as they are hard to come by in that area of Africa. On a typical day several of us will ride standing in the back of a large stake truck to an outlying village." Once at the clinic the medical people begin their duties and other volunteers may do paperwork, inventory supplies, dispense other items brought by the group or help tend children while adults are treated.
"Things have changed in the area during the trips I've made," Robertson added. The clinic, at first just one room tended by one lady with only rudimentary medical skills, is now a multi-room clinic offering more medical options. She said some day she believes it will be a full blown hospital but not in the immediate future.
Another change is the expansion of medical services by the New Hope Clinic. One measure of increased health care is, "the distances we now have to ride to get to villages without medical services. The influence of the clinic has expanded beyond its immediate environs." Interestingly, Robertson said, "The services of a doctor or nurse are provided by the government in Tanzania. But, every medical procedure or treatment must be paid for by the patient. That's from bandages to medicine."
After an examination a patient at New Hope Clinic may need to go to a facility providing the next level of medical care. They are often transported by motorcycle since the roads are dirt and not easily traveled. Robertson explained, "Our group tries to raise cash so the patients sent on to the next level of treatment can pay for the services they will need." Dr. Robertson added, "Sometimes the families are so destitute that the patient will use the cash to buy food rather than go for additional medical treatment. There's no way we can monitor that and feel if they need food the cash is a gift appropriately given.
Ways to participate in the Tanzanian project
Dr. Robertson said the upcoming trip to Tanzania is set for May, 2019 and, "the list of participants is already complete." Local sisters Peggy Perry, of Chinook, and Marilyn Grinnell, of Havre, will be part of the next group to Tanzania. Peggy explained that folks who might want to go to Tanzania in 2021 should let Dr. Robertson know of their interest. Peggy said, "There's a lot of things that have to happen before the trip so you must start the process early if you want to go."
Each year, even in the years when no groups go to the clinic, the IEO organization based in Poulsbo, Washington, sends a shipping container of items usable by the people who live in the area of the New Hope Clinic. Peggy Perry said, "We know they need what we would call 'moderate' winter clothing. The low may be only in the 60's but it's cold to them in a tropical climate." Shoes, reading glasses and all sorts of gently worn clothing are also needed. Prescription glasses can be sent via Lions Clubs in Chinook or Hogeland/Turner. Dr. Robertson said, "Don't send something you wouldn't wear. We want the folks to have decent items they can use for a while."
Peggy Perry said, "We will have the items we collect ready to ship to Stevensville, Montana in the fall, then on to Poulsbo. Other groups will be sending items to Poulsbo for loading onto a cargo ship for Africa." She plans to have bins around our area to collect donated items. Perry added, "The people in Tanzania are very creative to use whatever they have available. They're working on ways to convert the shipping containers to living spaces."
Peggy, and her sister, Marilyn, are both retired teachers and they will be collecting money for school uniforms and school supplies. Peggy explained, "The government provides schooling in Tanzania but the students must have a school uniform and provide most of their own school supplies." Local Lutheran churches in our area make and send "Days for Girls" personal hygiene kits (for their menstrual periods) to Tanzania. Without the kits the girls cannot attend school when they are menstruating.
If you, or a group you are part of, would like more information about volunteering or donating needed items, call Peggy Perry at 799-6834 or email her at: peggyp1954@gmail.com. Watch the "Journal" for announcements about collection bin locations once that phase of the project begins.
