Monday, June 24, 2013

Wiebe Quotes on Which Side of the Peer Group You Stand

In December I attended the baptism of one of my good friends from a neighboring tribe.  I watched her sober face as she knelt and said her vows, and thought back to my own baptism day.  For me, it was a joyful day full of praise and thanksgiving.  I loved God with all my heart, and had only a dim realization of the magnitude of what I was promising.  I think the seriousness of her vows was far more real to my Kenyan friend.  For me, to put on a covering was to be one with my peer group.  For her, it meant to stand out from everyone in her peer group…

Kenya, East Africa
The Christian Mission Voice
May 2013

Wiebe's Quotes on Six year old Haitian girl weighing 23 Ibs.

Here is an article I recieved six days ago from Wiebe's Quotes. I believe the last time I contacted Keith the hunger situation has abated somewhat in their area. However we need to rememer how good we have it and not forget that we may be able to help others. At least I need to remember that. It never hurts also to sigh a prayer for a family like this even though you may never see them. The end of the world will come not because of injustice alone, but because people lack faith in God.......

Last week we had a 6yr old stick thin girl of average height come in to the clinic and she weighed 23 lbs. 23!!! 23 lbs on this growth chart is the weight of a thin 2 yr old! http://www.pampers.com/en_US/article/images/articlemedia/WeightgirlB-36m.gifLet me tell you… a 23 lb 6yr old is a sight that you don’t want to see. When her clothes came off I went out to the ambulance garage and bawled like a baby. Mostly out of frustration at everything. Why does this happen to a family? How can we help people be self-sufficient? Why am I able to eat so well and not they? What can be done? Why is it always so political? Why do we have to be so careful on who and how we help? Did Jesus send them to us? If so then what then does Jesus want us to do? What would he do?  The whole family of 8 is in bad bad shape. The local brethren with whom we consult on these kinds of matters said that the family had descended too far and they now need survival help. So even though we don’t have program for this, we concocted a nutrition program where they will come in every 2 weeks for weighing and checking and then leave with food. Just pray that they don’t fall sick. If they do… they could die easily as they have no reserve. The girl’s big eyes haunt me every day. 
Pray for us,

Keith Toews
Administrator- Confidence Health Center
Oriani, HAITI

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Articles on Haiti Hunger

Here is an excerpt of an article sent to me with a link to the whole article below. This was news about two days ago. 
Three years after an earthquake killed hundreds of thousands and international donors promised to help Haiti "build back better," hunger is worse than ever. Despite billions of dollars from around the world pledged toward rebuilding efforts, the country's food problems underscore just how vulnerable its 10 million people remain.
In 1997 some 1.2 million Haitians didn't have enough food to eat. A decade later the number had more than doubled. Today, that figure is 6.7 million, or a staggering 67 percent of the population that goes without food some days, can't afford a balanced diet or has limited access to food, according to surveys by the government's National Coordination of Food Security. As many as 1.5 million of those face malnutrition and other hunger-related problems.
"This is scandalous. This should not be," said Claude Beauboeuf, a Haitian economist and sometime consultant to relief groups. "But I'm not surprised, because some of the people in the slums eat once every two days."
Much of the crisis stems from too little rain, and then too much. A drought last year destroyed key crops, followed by flooding caused by the outer bands of Tropical Storm Isaac and Hurricane Sandy.

Here is the link
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/two-thirds-of-haitis-people-face-hunger-and-malnourishment-as-problems-worsen-in-storms-wake/2013/06/10/9253ec30-d1a1-11e2-9577-df9f1c3348f5_story.html