Health & Medical
Empowering Rural Villages to Help Mothers and Children
2 May 2024
A Samaritan’s Purse community-based maternal child health program is saving lives and showing the love of Jesus Christ in Liberia’s remote villages.
Those living in places like Lai Chau, the poorest province in Vietnam, struggle to practice proper hygiene because of a lack of resources and education. Even public health facilities can become breeding grounds for disease. That’s why Samaritan’s Purse has projects around the world to provide clean water, build sanitation facilities, and educate communities about staying clean and healthy.
Samaritan’s Purse also has a long history of supporting health and medical work in remote locations around the world—even in places where Christians have been persecuted. At two dilapidated clinics in the hills of Lai Chau, our team has renovated the facilities and supplied equipment so that people can get the medical care they need. Pray that God will use this work to save lives, relieve suffering, and demonstrate His great love. “We love Him because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19).
More than twenty ethnic minorities call Lai Chau home, the province is among Vietnam’s poorest and least developed. Generational illness and poor health are common among its population, with young mothers and their newborn children among the most disadvantaged.
Last year, Samaritan’s Purse undertook initial assessments of two run-down community clinics. Nurses and midwives noted daily challenges impacting their ability to assist patients, lack of running water in exam rooms to faulty equipment and depleted supply levels.
In November 2022, the staff were delighted to learn their clinics would receive a complete renovation. A new roof was constructed to prevent rainwater leaking into the clinics, and extended awnings provided shelter to queuing patients from the elements.
Next, the plumbing was improved to deliver running water to all examination rooms, plus repairs to the bathrooms to restore them to a functioning state. Both clinics also received much-needed patient beds, examination tools, trolleys and tables, in addition to paediatric scales and delivery room tools for newborn care.
Acts of Service Creates Compassion
At the centre of both clinics, thirteen healthcare staff provide care to thousands of patients, many of whom are from non-Vietnamese backgrounds. Staff noted that language and communication challenges made up a part of their struggle. Each healthcare worker was offered refresher training in obstetrics and gynaecology to better serve the ethnic minorities within Lai Chau province.
The training proved to be a great success, with all team members commending the training for improving doctor-patient relations. One healthcare worker commented on the training, saying,
“We realised that the value of service was useful to us and it was not in vain to make time to attend this training session. We found a way to show our love to someone through our joyful service. We were motivated to continue serving the local people in our commune clinics.”
In the 13 years since opening, both community clinics in Lai Chau have seen overwhelming growth. With your partnership, Samaritan’s Purse continues to improve access to quality healthcare in remote communities like Lai Chau.
Donate today to our Health & Medical Projects fund to help projects like this continue providing for the needs of mothers and their children. Together we are helping people in Jesus’ name.
