The End but new beginnings

Dear friends

Welcome to our final blog

Our time with BMS finally comes to an end on the 9^th November, after a little over 4 years. Our final Church visit was at Belle Vue Baptist Church, Southend on Sunday 25^th October. Our speaking engagements started on the 1^st September at the Welsh women’s conference in Lampter Wales, and from that very first visit to our last we have been given a very warm welcome by all. We visited both new Churches and those we had visited before, all showing a lot of interest in the work of the hospital and the most recent projects.

We think daily of our life back in Chad and sometimes of the things that we miss such as the warmth or should we say heat, the simplicity of life and in particular our friends and colleagues, their wide open smiles and laughter. Although we felt sad to leave we know that it was absolutely the right decision. On numerous occasions since our return God has shown us that our life is now here in the UK. We have been able to help out the family, from aging parents to our first newly born Granddaughter.

We were thrilled to welcome baby Isobel into the world on Sunday 25^th October, all went well and mother, baby and dotting dad are all doing really well. It has been wonderful to be part of this whole experience and being here has been very special. As we get use to our new Granddaughter we have the exciting news that we are going to have a second grandchild due in April.

There is also exciting news on the job front. Malcolm has been appointed Church centre manager for St Philips Church in Mill road Cambridge. It is an area of Cambridge we know relatively well with all its problems and diversity. The Church has a lot of outreach programs and works within the local community with charities we have both been drawn to in the past and with which Malcolm hopes to now get more involved with. The work will be very different from the work in Chad and will have its own unique challenges. Please pray that this transition will go well and once back in our own house in Cambridgeshire we will start to feel really settled. We are currently still living in a BMS house in London until January.

We are currently enjoying the autumn colours, managing to make the most of our surroundings here on the outskirts of London whilst earlier in the year walking in the Derbyshire countryside and even wandering around shops still has its appeal at the moment. .

We have both joined the local gym and are actively trying to get our fitness back as had been ignored whilst in Chad. It’s slowly getting easier but now realise how unfit we had become

We look forward to Christmas and the New Year, being able to spend time with our family and friends. Thank you to all who have read our Blogs, for your support and encouragement over the last 4 years. We have and do still feel truly blessed and know that Gods hand continues to guide us.

Love Malc & Sue

Epilogue

Welcome to our last Blog as we leave for the UK tomorrow night we will embark on the next chapter of our lives, but what that will involve is still unknown.

Our last weeks in Chad turned out to be far busier than anticipated with the number of patients coming to the hospital remaining constant. In previous years we have seen the numbers decrease during the months of July and August this year this was not the case. This resulted in us having to work right up until the day before we left and was particularly hard for Sue as had been on-call constantly for the last 6 weeks it was a case of having to get on with it and trust that her stamina would last. Fortunately it did and we were able to spend our last 2 days packing up our house and belongings for the trip back.

During the final week the staff and our friends at the hospital organised a farewell fete for us which was a wonderful occasion and way to say goodbye to all. During this final week the build of the new maternity building was also completed, on time and on budget, and the contractor, Aaron, also wanted to organise a celebration fete to officially handover the keys. We therefore decided to combine the 2 events which enabled us to show off the new facilities to all the staff before having a time of celebration with food and drink.  

The occasion was at times very difficult as we needed to say goodbye to all our Chadian friends and colleagues whom we have become extremely attached too. It was particularly hard for our adopted family of Nemercie and little Sue and Malcs good friend N’Dilmbaye. Listening to testimonies from our friends and the sadness and regret that we had to leave was very emotional and heartfelt. The gifts we received were amazing and will be a constant reminder to us of our time spent here and the friendships that we had formed.

Once back in the UK we will have a time of rest before embarking on our church visits and will be at the following venues over the coming months. If you would like to see us and hear a little more about our amazing time in Chad then please come along to one of these. We would love to see you.

1-3 September – Zenana Conference, Lampeter
13 September – Mansfield 10:30
27 September – Kingsbury 10:45

4 October – Darkhouse 10:45
11 October – Burton Latimer 10:45

18 October – Stroud 10:30
25 October – Southend-on-Sea, Belle Vue 10:30

Thank you for your continued support over the past few years

Love

Malc & Sue

The Final Chapter

Dear friends welcome to our last Blog from Chad.

This will be the final chapter of our life here in Chad, as we depart in August we shall be leaving with mixed feelings. When we left the UK on 19^th June 2012 we had no end date to return knowing we would be visiting family and friends each year but felt our home and life would be in Chad for a number of years to come. That has turned out not to be the case and after a little more than 3 years we return to the UK with a couple of suitcases less but with many memories and experiences which will remain with us forever. For those of you who read our prayer letter we have explained why we felt it was the right time to leave.

Little Sue

Daily Chores

Life in Chad at times has been hard, for us the language barrier was always an issue especially for Sue who likes to chatter and found this difficult to do, but has improved her acting skills no end as at times when at a loss for the right word she would resort to acting it out. The heat and the dust which at times are overbearing we won’t miss, but is something you do actually get used to. The cold showers are not great and the crazy, dangerous way they drive here will be things we won’t miss, but there are also many things we shall, particularly our Chadian colleagues and friends who have made our time here memorable. The simple life, not worrying about consumerism and the pressures of living in a fast moving western culture also have many attractions.

Friends

We informed our Chadian colleges this week that we would be leaving Chad on the 9^th August and were overwhelmed by the response, I think they, like us, thought we would be here for many years. They were sad and tried to say all the things they could think of to make us stay and it was then that we really realised the enormity of our decision but also knew that it was the right decision. Our house help Nemercie was particularly upset as we won’t now be around to see her little Sue grow up and be the support for her in the coming years. She has become part of our extended family and is therefore much harder to say goodbye.  

Dangerous Driving

Although we are returning to the UK with no employment and initially no home we know that God will provide. We placed our trust in God when we came to Chad that he would guide and protect us and we are doing the same again as we return to the UK. We return the same people but also changed in many ways and we pray that we can use those changes in some way once home.

We are looking forward to being with our family and friends who we love and are greatly looking forward to becoming grandparents for the first time in October.

Wild Life

These last few weeks at the hospital have been very busy. Normally at this time of year during Ramadan and the start of the rainy season we see the number of patients drop. But although the number arriving through the gate has started to tail off, those needing admission have remained at a constant level, particularly the number of sick children we are seeing. The rains so far have been sporadic with a heavy down pour once a week which is good for us as it means the road has a chance to dry out allowing us to get into town once a week, but also for the patients to arrive here.

At the hospital we have been finishing off the major projects such as the wall and the maternity building plus putting things in place for when we leave. The list of things to do is slowly going down and the packing of suitcases has started. Deciding what we should keep and take back to the UK with us has started although not surprisingly there is very little that we now have that would be of use once back in the UK. A few locally painted pictures and handcrafted ornaments will be our reminders of our time here along with our many photos and fond memories.

We understand that Chad has been in the news back in the UK for all the wrong reasons, which is very rare, and has been an unsettling past few weeks, but normality has started to return, thankfully.

We look forward to seeing some of you as we will be visiting churches and supporters once back in the UK before finally leaving BMS to start our new but as yet unknown futures.

Thanks for all your support

Love

Malc & Sue

We all need oxygen

Hi everyone and welcome to our latest Blog

We have previously written about things that we take for granted, such as electrical power and hot water. There is also something which all hospitals in the UK will have, either piped through the walls or via cylinders, and that’s oxygen. Here in Chad it’s not something that we have access too at Guinebor II hospital, instead we use an oxygen concentrator. This is a machine that is commonly used in the UK for people with respiratory conditions to use in their homes. Until recently we were fortunate to have 2, one for the operating theatre the other to be used on the wards. Unfortunately this one was already damaged before it arrived at the hospital as it fell off the conveyor belt at the airport on arrival, cracking the plastic casing. Despite this it had worked well plugged into a small generator. There have been times when we have had to split the oxygen 3 ways to accommodate 3 children all needing oxygen at the same time. However at the beginning of May both the generator and concentrator broke down for the final time, which leads us to explain about our last weekend on call.

A baby was delivered on the Saturday morning and required oxygen. The baby was moved into the recovery area of the operating block and the main generator started so that oxygen could be administered via the concentrator, so all good so far. The problem is that due to the intense heat and dust the generator can only be run for a maximum of 5 hours before needing to be turned off and rested, particularly as the temperature was well over 40c. Fortunately the baby’s oxygen levels improved during the day which allowed us to turn the generator off for the required 2 hours. As evening approached the babies oxygen levels started to dip again which meant it needed it to go back onto the oxygen and remain so overnight. This meant that after a further 5 hours it would be the early hours of the morning, but as the baby would require continuous oxygen throughout the night a solution was needed as it would not be possible to stop for 2 hours to rest the generator. Malc spoke with the builders working on the new maternity building and asked to borrow their small generator for a few hours to help with the situation. Thankfully the guard agreed, even performing maintenance on it prior to handing it over, to ensure we wouldn’t get any issues in the middle of the night.

So we retired to bed, setting the alarm for 1:30 am so we could get up and swap the generators over, checking that this had no adverse effect on the baby’s oxygen levels. This all went well and our own guards were shown how to swap it back again after a further 2 hours. The following morning when assessing the baby the good news was that she was now capable of maintaining good levels of oxygen without the machine and was able to go home with the mother the following day.

Thankfully since then, the teenage bible study group here have held a sponsored litter pick in the Guinebor village, no easy task, to raise money for the hospital. Their great efforts has raised enough funds to buy a new machine which we hope to take delivery of from the UK in the next few weeks. We have also managed to acquire enough funding to replace the failed generator with one that can run for 6-8 hours without a break, to power the oxygen concentrator. However until that time we will have to continue to rely on the good will of our builders, or others, and suffer broken nights sleep.

Thank you all for your continued support

Blessings

Malc & Sue

Back to Work

Hi everyone and welcome to our latest Blog

We have recently returned from a brief but very enjoyable private visit to the UK to see our families and friends. We were very fortunate to arrive in the UK during a very warm April enabling us to enjoy the spring sunshine and the beautiful English countryside. We also enjoyed the tasty food resulting in both of us regaining a few pounds while there. Highlights during our time in the UK were being fortunate to be able to celebrate our daughter in law, Vickie’s birthday, attend our eldest son Thomas’s Masters Graduation ceremony at the Albert Hall in London and spend time with Sue’s mum who had recently celebrated her 90^th birthday.

Also while in the UK it was great to be able to visit Sue’s mum’s community church in Chelmsford who have been very supportive of her in recent months, for which we are extremely grateful. Also we were able to visit with our House groups, our home church and one of our support churches, Arbury Road Baptist church in Cambridge, on the Sunday prior to returning to Chad. It was great to be able to take part in church services where we could fully understand the message and all that was happening without worrying about language differences.

We were a little apprehensive about returning to Chad as our visa was due to expire on the day we returned, plus our suitcases were full of equipment and purchases for the hospital. Items such as blood pressure cuffs and medical reference books for the staff which are very expensive or unavailable in Chad but much cheaper in the UK, wool, knitting needles, blankets, baby hats, jumpers etc. However our trip back and re-entry into the country was without problem and we are now readjusting to the significant increase in temperature and recommencing work at the hospital.

In the 3 weeks away building work has continued at a great pace with significant progress having been made on both the exterior security walls and the new maternity building. It is good to see the progress made which bodes well for their completion prior to the rains arriving in the next few months.

We now look forward to readjusting back into our lives here and will continue to update you on our work and progress with further blogs in the coming months.

Thank you all for your continued support

Blessings

Malc & Sue 

Building work starts

Hi everyone and welcome to our latest Blog

Since we last wrote much has happened and has been really busy here at the hospital, both with patients needing treatment within the hospital and projects impacting the hospital. It would have been nice to take a bit of a break on this Easter weekend but unfortunately the holiday is not recognised here, other than the Monday being a holiday, so work continues as normal with Sue working in the hospital all weekend and with me overseeing project progress. However we do have a short private visit to the UK for 3 weeks leaving next weekend 12^th so are really looking forward to seeing our family, friends and getting a bit of break.

As you will know BMS has been actively raising funds for the construction of a new Maternity building to cater for the growing number of women who come to the hospital to give birth. Well amazingly the target was reached and funds have now arrived to enable the construction to start. This has meant searching for a reliable construction company, agreeing a contract, a payment and build schedule etc. before finally selecting a company who could complete the build within our budget and time scales, which thankfully has been achieved. Then on the 2nd March the project started with clearing the land, erecting security fencing and building a secure workers hut and equipment store. This was swiftly followed by the delivery of the necessary materials, drilling of a new well for the water supply needed and the start of making of the hundreds of bricks required for the build. Within a week the construction crew arrived on site and the foundations of the build started to be dug. Now a month later the 1^st phase of the project is almost complete, requiring verification before moving onto stage 2 and the erecting of the walls. Progress has been swift and without problem with the team selected being very professional and hard working all overseen by a young lady engineer, which seems strange here in a very male dominated environment, but who ensures all is done correctly and is very much in control.

The construction team of around 30 from surrounding villages all need to be housed, fed and of course paid by the company employing them, so is quite a responsibility for Aaron the employer. His team have all worked together previously but are only employed when there is work, at all other times they need to seek employment elsewhere if possible or simply wait for the next job opportunity. Given there is no unemployment benefits here this can be very difficult. How do you plan for this, continue to provide for your family and survive, so this project is providing much needed employment and an income for some.

Amazingly this past month we also heard from our supporters in America of a single church who donated all the funds necessary to complete the building of an external wall to secure all the land we have been given. This will ensure we don’t lose the land back to the government, will secure the new Maternity build, which is outside of our existing wall, and enable us to seriously plan for the future use of all the land. This project back in January at our board meeting was thought to be far too ambitious and expensive so wasn’t going to be progressed, however God obviously had other plans!

So we needed to find another company for this work, agree contracts etc. which has also been achieved and work has started.
On meeting the boss, Anthony, this morning and being taken on a tour of the work so far, I was really impressed by the amount of work already completed. He has employed a total of 50 local people from the surrounding villages again giving much needed work. These have been split into 4 teams working on different aspects of the wall construction, brick building, digging the holes for foundations, making the supports and those actually installing. This has meant that the complete exterior wall has been marked out and holes dug thus securing the land and forcing local traffic to divert around us. The installation of a water pump and the construction of the office site for security has also been completed plus the making of the many bricks needed has started.  The local community appear pleased and impressed by the ongoing work with no issues, please pray that this continues.

Standing in the centre of all the building work going on around me I was suddenly struck by how large a plot of land we have been given and the responsibility this places upon us. If it can all be used wisely this hospital will be a very substantial facility in the future. God is good.

Thank you all for your continued support and donations to enable this work to continue, you are changing and improving people’s lives. 

Blessings

Malc & Sue 

A place of learning

Hi and welcome to our latest blog, thanks for your continued interest in us and the work at the hospital.

This month we thought we would let you know a little about some of the different learning activities that occur in and around the hospital. These are not necessarily medical but are ways to educate or assist those who live locally, work here, visitors or are patients themselves. We hope that through the activities at the hospital people won’t only receive good medical treatment and a place of work but also help to improve their lives in some small way.

The first example is Health Care Promotion work, which was something first started by Maureen, the BMS board of Trustees Chairperson, who has visited us here on 2 occasions. She will be very pleased to see that it is being progressed and continued. The idea is for Mariam and Achta, our 2 Health Care technicians, who normally work within the Vaccination & Malnutrition clinic, to visit with the patients and visitors on the wards. They will gather a few together, sit on mats and explain simple general good health practices using pictures, such as the importance of hand washing, protection against malaria or examples of good food choice and preparation to provide nourishment for themselves and their family. This is usually very well received, both by men and women, and by doing this we hope they will take the messages back to their villages with them to share with others. Simple things we take for granted can be a major aid to helping others stay in good health and so avoid unnecessary trips and the expense of coming to a hospital. It may even save lives.

The second example is the teaching of some of our staff to read and write as we have previously spoken of. This was initially started to help Ahmat who now works permanently in administration and will aid his progress. We initially thought he would prefer to have his lessons in private but no, he set up the blackboard in full sight of others and is more than happy to let others know he is learning. He will often ask others who can read to listen to him reading to aid his progress. Through his example others, usually guards or cleaners, were encouraged by what was happening and gradually one by one approached Malc to ask if they too could have lessons. We now have a class of 6, plus Ahmat, who have weekly lessons, to improve their skills. This is a struggle for some as they have never had any form of schooling and are unable to read or write at all. But we hope that in time they will be able to do so, which will either aid them in their work here at the hospital or give them the opportunity if they wish to seek employment elsewhere.

Our third example concerns Nemercie, our housekeeper and mother of little Sue. We feel very blessed to have found her as is very hardworking, honest, and happy in her work, often singing even with the heat and little Sue on her back. Our house is kept spotless, despite all the dust and sand frequently being blown into the house but she never complains. She is also very resourceful and is always looking for ways to help support her family. Her latest idea is to provide knitting lessons to other young ladies and mothers from the village here at the hospital on Saturday mornings. We observed her recently with a class of around 10 ladies eagerly wanting to learn how to knit hats and socks for babies which are always being sought. We have been donated some in the past, so perhaps in the future these local ladies will provide some for the hospital as well as for their own children. Any spare wool you have would be very welcome here.

3 examples of simple ways to help our friends and neighbours, often bringing joy and laughter.

Blessings
Malc & Sue

Wedding Celebrations

Hi all & welcome to our latest Blog.

Having been here for almost 3 years now it is encouraging to us that the reserved Chadian staff at the hospital are now much more open and friendly towards us. We always knew that it would take a long time to build relationships due to the huge differences in our cultures and language difficulties, but do feel we have now made significant progress. Making close contacts and friendships is still difficult but we were recently encouraged as were invited to one of the hospital guards wedding celebration in his home village. This was a wonderful opportunity for us to see how the local people live as we were welcomed into the heart of his village and into the houses of his family and friends which was an amazing privilege and experience.

Hassana has worked at the hospital since soon after we arrived, taking over from his father who became too old to continue to do the role. His father needed to retire but also wanted to ensure his son had a job to guarantee the family could be supported so we agreed for Hassana to take over, much to his father’s delight. In the early days there were doubts over Hassanas attitude and ability to do the job. However we are glad we persevered with him as is now one of our more welcoming, helpful and friendly guards with a great smile whilst adopting the English phrase of “no problem” at every opportunity. He is also one of our staff who is now benefiting from taking reading and writing lessons which he is extremely grateful for.  He was previously married but tragically his first wife died 18 months ago leaving him with 1 child to support. His new wife was selected for him by his family, she is actually a cousin, and Hassana was clearly delighted with their choice for him. This was a Muslim wedding which took place over two days. The first day the local Imam came to his home for the official wedding ceremony. The guest celebration was on the 2^nd day to which we had been invited. We went with the hospital Pastor and on our arrival at the village we could see groups of men sitting together under trees or shaded areas celebrating the wedding by eating and drinking together.

We were quickly shown into the home of his next door neighbour, who happens to be the hospital driver Dago. It was actually the room where he slept, along with a bed there were sacks of maize and a motor bike kept there for safe keeping. We were invited to sit on the mats on the floor. The groom came into the house, with his best man to welcome us and for us to congratulate him, before leaving to circulate with all his other guests. 

We were then presented with a lovely bowl of salad and bread to eat along with hot sweet tea. This was followed by another large plate of communal food for us all to share together, by which time we were joined by Dr Isaac and his family for which we were grateful as there was no way we could have eaten all the food that had been provided for us.

We were beginning to think it was all a little strange as we were separate from all the other guests and hadn’t seen the bride. We were told that the bride is confined to her new home for the first 7 days before being allowed out into the compound for a further 40 days, after which she is then allowed to go to the market. The elder women of the family were in a separate house to the bride celebrating. We unexpectedly were allowed to visit with the women, where we met the mother, grandmother, sisters, and aunts etc. who were all very excited and pleased to see us, we felt very honoured, particularly the men of our small group. 

They then suggested that we could go and visit the new bride in her house, where she was being attended to by her friends and younger female family members. The house was elaborately decorated with all the girls housed in the back room. This time we sat on sofas in an outer room while she was suitably dressed by her attendants prior to being encouraged to come out to say hello to us all. She appeared young and very shy, but happy to be getting married. The best man guarded the front door to ensure no one else entered uninvited.

We as Christians felt very honoured and privilege to have been invited into a Muslim wedding and that they were equally happy for us to be there. As we left all the other guests greeted us and appeared pleased that we had come to celebrate with them. With all the tensions and conflict around the world this was a good illustration of Christians and Muslims joining together in friendship to celebrate a joyous occasion.

Blessings

Malc & Sue

Gifts you can’t unwrap

Welcome to our latest blog and thank you for your continued interest and support of us here in Chad.

Firstly we would like to wish you a Happy New Year, and hope you all had a great Christmas.
We were fortunate to spend the Christmas period in France where we were able to meet up with both our sons. Firstly Jack and his wife Vickie in Paris for two days. It was lovely to spend time with them all be it very briefly. We took in the main tourist sites including the Eiffel tower.

We then went south by train where we met up with Thomas and his wife Rosie at her fathers home. Again it was lovely to spend time with them both and Rosie’s family .To be able to take walks in the countryside before returning to a log fire and lovely food was a real treat. While there we were privileged to attend a French Catholic Mass on Christmas Eve and were made to feel very welcome.Thanks to Stuart and the family we had a lovely time and was great to feel part of a family Christmas.

Gift number 1 Family and friends.

One of the bonuses of going to France was that we were able to have warm showers and even had a bath. Here in Chad the temperature has dropped significantly, which you may think is a blessed relief but what it does mean is that the already cold showers we take daily just got even colder. It is not uncommon to hear shrieking from the bathroom as someone tries to get under the cold flow of water.

Gift number 2 Utilities such as electricity are something we take for granted in the UK but are certainly missed at times when you don’t have access to them.

In December, 5 further members of the hospital staff started having lessons to read and write in French following the example set by Ahmat. After watching him progress for a few months they have now come forward also wanting to learn. They include 4 guards and one driver, all are very keen as hadn't learnt to read and write as children. This will enable them to achieve more for themselves in the future.

Gift number 3 Education.

Sue was recently fortunate to be invited to the wedding of one of the hospital nurses. Weddings here in Chad follow a very different format to what we are used to in the UK.  The wedding is in 2 parts the first is when the husband pays the bride’s family for the bride and takes her for his wife. Then when the bride’s family has enough money they then pay for the second part, in this case it was a matter of waiting 6 months. It was great to be invited. On arrival there was a lot of noise, women doing a particular call that I would have no hope of copying. We were then ushered into a room where there was a large television with a group of women engrossed in what looked like a soap opera with much amusement to those watching. Food was served as each group or individual guest arrived. It was a large tray containing the traditional boul, the solid maize flour dish that is served instead of rice, with different sauces to dip it into. All is eaten with your fingers and can be very messy. It was a lovely afternoon and a privilege to be invited.

Gift number 4 Love

While at the wedding the 3000th baby since the hospital opened was born at the Guinebor hospital. We were not there to see either the mother or baby as women here in Chad prefer to leave the hospital as soon as possible after the birth, as long as the delivery has been straight forward. After their bottle of coke to revive themselves, they leave with the baby completely wrapped to return to their family where they are waited on and looked after.

Gift number 5 Children.

This may all seem very twee but during this Christmas period we certainly have counted our blessings, of which there are many, and have really appreciated what is important to us.

We pray that 2015 proves to be a peaceful and fulfilling year for you all.

Blessings

Malc & Sue

Healing

Hi & welcome to our latest update

Being here in Chad can feel the same as with all places where you work, you find that the work takes over and it starts to become routine. You accept that the daily problems and difficulties are the norm and they no longer feel unusual, you simply accept that this is how it is. But then an unexpected or amazing event occurs and suddenly you forget the frustrations and realise the difference we can sometimes make to a person’s life.        But does it always need to be so hard?

We would like to tell you about the difference the hospital has made to the lives of two little boys. The first is called Idriss, he has been a patient at l’hopital de Guinebor II (GII) since 9th October. He arrived early one evening when Sue was on call. Sue was asked to see a little boy who had an infection in his leg, but was not at all prepared for what she saw. Idriss was laying in our emergency room and the smell from his leg hit you the minute you walked into the room. 2 weeks prior to his arrival at GII, Idriss had received an injection in his leg which then developed into an abscess. The area increased in size until there was an area from his buttock to his knee of dead and dying tissue, it looked as if he was going to lose his leg. He was in a lot of pain and in great distress. His father had taken him from the place where he had received the injection and brought him to N’Djamena to the general hospital, he stayed there for only a few days before his father removed him and brought him to GII. We have since found out that they had wanted to amputate his leg.

He was admitted, given intravenous antibiotics and pain killers, he also required a blood transfusion before his leg could be operated on. This is not as easy as you might think as there is no blood bank here and people have to rely on relatives with the same blood group to come forward. As Idriss’s family had travelled to the hospital it was a few days before blood became available. Once he had received his transfusion Dr Mark was able to take him to the operating theatre, not to amputate his leg, but to remove all the dead tissue, luckily he found there was still muscle present. The leg was given a thorough clean and dressed. Since that initial operation Idriss has his dressing’s changed twice a week under anaesthetic as it is too painful and distressing to do the dressings without. His leg is healing well and he has received a second blood transfusion and part of his leg has had a skin graft and he is now at the point of receiving a second skin graft. He is now able to get out of bed, initially walking with a frame but now able to walk short distances without aid. He has become a familiar sight around the hospital, sitting with the guards turning up at the gate and even making it out to the small shop outside the hospital. We managed to give him a small yellow truck found in a container recently donated from the US which he plays with, he now laughs and plays as any other 7 year old.

The second child is called Adoum, he is two years old and was admitted with severe malnutrition. He was unable to sit unsupported, had sores on his body and although when offered the milk feed he went to take it, he never swallowed it and it would just run from his mouth. Feeding tubes were inserted, which is something that is done when all other options have been explored, but even this did not help and Adoum would repeatedly pull them out. We were struggling to make a difference after a month of care and different regimes, it felt as if nothing would work. But then after another combination of antibiotics and a small bowl of yoghurt amazingly things started to change. Gradually he started to gain a small amount of weight, the sores on his body started to heal and then came a day that we had thought we would never see, Adoum talking and standing. His weight had increased by 3 kilos, after weeks in hospital he finally walked out a smiling happy two year old.

The pictures are of both Idriss and Adoum proudly wearing their hats knitted by Sue’s mum. The nights and early mornings, although a lovely temperature for us, feels cold to the local people so they are very grateful of hats and warm clothing.  

At times the work can seem overwhelming, it feels like we are walking in treacle, one step forward and 2 back and then you have people like Idriss and Adoum who make sense of it all. Our faith and the power of prayer help us through the difficult times but doesn't stop us asking why it has to be so difficult. We look forward to the day when Idriss will be able to return home.

We would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a Happy Christmas

Blessings

Malc & Sue