Dan, Anco and I with some other CPAM staff went to the village of Sanekuy (Sa-ne-quee) this past Saturday to install a portable ultrasound machine and supply power for the machine via a solar panel and controller. I was once again reminded of the sad situation of the clinics. Most do not have running water or any electric in them at all. The clinics function as small hospitals with minor surgery and baby delivery as well as a dispensary. It is hard for us from the states to understand how a clinic can function with any sort of cleanliness without running water. To get water, they have to walk outside the compound wall to the nearest well and draw it out by bucket and rope. The third picture down is of a well for the drawing of water. Notice the animal around the well and what do animals do after they drink and eat? That's right, they like to poop and pee and all that right by the well opening. Not to sanitary, would you say? Dan Nesselroade and I were talking and we were thinking how far 20,000 dollars would go at each of our six clinics. We could set up a well with a solar powered pump, a water tower, new plumbing and fixtures, and then install some solar electric power for lights and equipment. This would make them into a great functioning clinic and could offer a much higher level of care to the people of that village and the surrounding areas. Then we thought, how could we get this work done. Most of this can not be done by the Malians because they have not even seen anything of the sort that we would like to install. If we could get different churches to take on a clinic as a project and raise the money, get together a team to do the work and just take the clinic as a whole under their care, that would be ideal. The work team would have to be a specialized team and set up like a "extreme or survivor" team because there would not be any comforts of home. They would be sleeping in tents, using bucket showers, outdoor toilets, and no electric except what we produce from a generator while we work. I know that if this is going to happen, God would have to impress on the heart of the different churches and put these teams together. Please pray for God's leading and wisdom on if we should pursue Churches and teams for such as this. I believe that God wants us to show compassion on his people here, now we just need to find the best way to do it. If you have any ideas or questions, please let me know. This is a work in progress but I think it is necessary to make the clinics all God wants them to be. Please be in prayer with us.
