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One Sunday in 1996 Jerry Roush sat in his church, Ellington Memorial Presbyterian in Quincy, Illinois, and listened as Tom Logan spoke about Malawi, Africa. That evening when Jerry went to bed, he had trouble sleeping. "The Holy Spirit kept nudging me," he said. Was this something he was supposed to do? Was he supposed to go to Malawi with Marion Medical Mission?
He weighed the pros and cons, and finally made up his mind to do it. But how?
In the first place, volunteers pay all their own expenses - about $2,000. He had no idea where his expense money would come from. He needed to take off work for a month. He had been working at his job a long time and had four weeks vacation coming, but it might take longer. What would his boss say?
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Jerry prayed and, as he said it so well, "All kinds of doors opened," Everyone he talked to about going on the mission trip was very interested and excited. Incredibly, he got no negative feedback. In Malawi Jerry found the people loving and friendly. "You can really get close to them. Their Christian faith is overwhelming. The churches are packed, and the people know the Scriptures. They are so willing to help." |
Though the poverty is devastating (unless you see it, you will not believe it), the people are happy and joyous. I ‘‘They don’t get upset over a lot of things like we do," Jerry said. "I learned a lot from that."
Going to church was special. "As we were approaching a church on Sunday morning, about a half a block away, we were greeted by lots of children, 150 or so. They came up to us singing and carrying flowers. They were so happy. They took us by the hand, and led us to the church, singing all the way. Then the congregation greeted us singing. It brought tears to our eyes and made us feel so at home - so welcome. We were not strangers."
Jerry believes "We need to do everything we can to get the word out about the conditions in Malawi and what each of us can do to make difference."
Jerry plans on going back in 2000, and wishes he could go this year.
Meanwhile, at Ellington Memorial in Quincy, Illinois, enthusiasm for the shallow well program is strong. Members are making a replica of a well outside the church. Jerry said, "We have the bricks and the top slab. We are involved!"
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In 1968 Dr. Paul Jewett and his wife Judy were assigned by the Presbyterian Mission Board to India. As a cardiologist, he went to the Miraj Medical Centre, where the large teaching hospital was doing pioneer work in India in open-heart surgery.
On furlough in 1986, Judy Jewett completed an accounting degree and master’s degree in hospital administration.
In 1989 the Jewetts came home from India looking for a new mission assignment. Even though Dr. Jewett was a cardiologist, he had wanted to do primary health care early in his career, and he and Judy looked at Africa
At the same time, Dr. Ken McGill and his wife, Nancy, who had been Medical Missionaries in Embangweni since 1988 (following 20 years in the Republic of Congo), were up for retirement in 1991, and would need to be replaced.
Dr. McGill, however, had been told he would have to return to the States early because of a heart problem that Dr. Paul Jewett and young patient at the Embangweni Hospital, Malawi needed to be treated by a cardiologist. It was be a perfect fit.
"It was really marvelous for me," Dr. Jewett said, "I needed that year with Ken, and Ken needed me." The hospital had flourished under Dr. McGill, doubling in size from its seventy-seven beds in 1989.
Life was very different in Malawi from anything they had ever experienced. There was no electricity and only limited solar power. The hospital was in a rural area with no paved roads. There was no market and Judy had to do her shopping two or so hours away in one of the larger towns.
The people, according to Dr. Paul and Judy Jewett, were just wonderful. Although some of the poorest m the world, they are pleasant, committed Christians, respectful, and gentle. They live as subsistence farmers, raising what they eat, corn, some vegetables, a few chickens.
Malawians are formal people. If they have them, the men wear neckties to church and the women always dress conservatively. They refer to each other as Mr. and Mrs. and never on a first name basis.
The Jewetts settled into their Malawian work and lifestyle. Judy was the accountant and hospital administrator as well as hostess for guests visiting the hospital.
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Dr. Jewett, as the Medical Officer in Charge, was extremely busy
supervising the other doctors and the medical assistants. In addition, he managed approximately 140 patients a day, saw 70 or 80 people at the hospital, and cared for more in the afternoon doctor’s clinic. He also saw new admissions and did night calls. The people are extremely sick with major illnesses, such as malaria, infections, meningitis, measles, aids, and complications of aids such as TB. Maternity care and pediatrics are about 75-80% of the health care. |
During Dr. McGill’s tenure, Embangweni became the referral center for surgery in the entire northern third of the country because there was no other surgeon. Dr. Becky Loomis learned surgery at Embangweni, and Dr. Fred Stone of Watertown,
New York, was a volunteer surgeon at the Embangweni Hospital for two years.
One of the biggest threats to the health of the people of Malawi is unsafe drinking water. Villagers collect water from little streams or ponds--all highly contaminated with human and animal waste.
"Diarrhea is a major problem. Cholera outbreaks are almost common," said Dr. Jewett. "In fact, diarrhea is the second leading cause of deathfor children. They dehydrate and sometimes die while you try to hydrate them."
Marion Medical Mission and the shallow well program makes a tremendous impact, according to Dr. Jewett. The Malawian government had the basic idea for the shallow wells, and there were World Health Organization programs, but "no one was doing it."
Marion Medical Mission did it. Where Marion Medical Mission teams install wells, the cases of cholera and diarrhea disappear. Clean water even reduces the diarrhea problems for AIDS victims.
The Marion Medical Mission wells are not dependent on the government for installation or maintenance. Jim McGill, the son of Dr. Ken McGill, trains village staff in maintenance, and the wells are nearly always functioning 100% of the time. There is a huge demand for more wells throughout the northern region and all of Malawi,
"What is so marvelous about Marion Medical Mission," remarked Dr. Jewett, "is that they inspire the Malawian teams, teaching them how to install wells and to maintain them. It’s truly development that is sustained in the villages."
The Jewetts watched with great interest the development of the educational programs aided and started by Marion Medical Mission. The Embangweni School for Deaf Children was started in 1994 with funds provided by Marion Medical Mission. This was the first deaf school in the northern half of the country and only the third in Malawi. Jim McGill supervised the construction, and the school has grown, adding a class each year. "It is an important ministry," Dr. Jewett said.
Chizimya Full Primary School, started in 1992 with Marion Medical Mission funds, is another success story. In the yearly national testing for the selection of students to secondary school (high school), it has one of the country’s highest success rates. Dr. Jewett credits Marion Medical Mission’s interest in Chizimya which has encouraged teachers and students to excel.
He said, "They saw someone interested in them, and this gave them a sense of responsibility and dedication. The children profited by it."
In the development of the wells, the schools, and churches in the villages, the communities do much of the work, but they lack funds for materials like cement and roofing. "They need seed money," said Dr. Jewett. "Nothing can be done without funds."
"Marion Medical Mission is an effective mission that stresses sustained development."
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by Alene Holloway
The close personal relationships that we form and nurture year after year are certainly important to the mission experience. One very special young ward maid, Mrs. Pacharo Mumba is my inspiration. She is a young widow (who lost her husband to AIDS four years ago) and a mother of three with an income of approximately 300 kwacha ($7.10 a month). She has never even had enough money to buy a metal cooking pot. When we gave her a small gift, she wrote, "Thank you in God’s name for the gift. I am so happy I can buy fertilizer for my family’ garden."
Pacharo is an outstanding worker. Always exhibiting a bright smile, she is friendly and helpful to all. Several years ago, she expressed a desire to return to secondary school, which had been denied her as a teenager. With much encouragement and a small bit of financial assistance, she has been attending evening classes and is now in form three, equivalent to a junior in high school. What joy we share each year as we review her grades and progress.
The most amazing part of this saga is that now, through God’s guidance and the assistance of many Christians in the U.S., this lady (who has never traveled more than 100 miles from her home), will be singing praises in America in September and October. God is good; praise Him.
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