Health care in Liberia

One of the most exciting aspects of getting to run the London Marathon is also getting to raise funds for the ELWA Hospital project. This is after all the reason we are currently in Liberia!  I've been doing a little research about health care here in Liberia and here are some statistics I found.

In Liberia there are approximately 28 hospitals and about 0.8 beds per 1000 people. To put this into perspective for you, the USA has approximately 16,000 hospitals and there are 5.4 beds per 1000 people. To break it down even more Washington State has around 100 hospitals with 14,650 beds, that’s 2.1 beds per 1000 people. Currently ELWA hospital is 1 of 7 hospitals in the greater Monrovia area, it has about 35 beds. When the first and major portion of the hospital is complete, hopefully by the end of 2014, it will have 80 beds. That’s an increase of 45 beds, which may seem small, but every bed means one more person can be treated. There is a potential for 130 beds at the new ELWA hospital, if funding becomes available for more wards. Keep in mind that ELWA hospital was constructed in 1965, when Monrovia had half as many people and ELWA was considered to be located in “the bush”. A 30 bed hospital was big! Now days there are times when the beds are full and patients have to be sent to other hospitals (with no guarantee the next hospital will have an open bed) or sit in chairs in the hallways until something becomes available.  Medical equipment is hard to get and very much needed. That includes X-ray equipment, surgical equipment, lab equipment, etc.

The current ELWA hospital

Construction on the new hospital!

Let’s talk about the number of physicians, Liberia has about 215 Doctors for a population of 3.9 million. The USA has just fewer than 750,000 doctors and WA State has about 23,000. That’s 0.05 doctors per 1000 people in Liberia compared to 2.4/1000 in the USA and in WA it’s 3.3/1000. There is only one orthopedic surgeon, only about 5 trained surgeons, and about 6 dentists. The country doesn't have a radiologist, a pathologist, no treatment for cancer, no neurosurgeon, etc... There is no place for a child to receive intensive care. JFK hospital only has 2 ventilators and even those might not be working. There is one place where a nurse anesthetist can be trained and even that is an informal program. There are very, very few trained specialists in the country. Most of the doctors have very cursory training—just medical school followed by an informal house job. Part of the lack of trained health care workers is due to the long civil war, professionals fled and have not returned. Another major reason for the lack of doctors in Liberia is that they haven't had a residency program until recently. The new government residency program is now training about 20 doctors at a time divided between four specialties, pediatrics, ObGyn, Internal medicine, and general surgery.  ELWA hospital which is run by SIM (Serving In Mission)  is hoping to start the first family medicine residency program in the new facility! They hope to start with training two or three new physicians a year. Many of these doctors will be sent into areas in which there are no specialists. They will be trained to care for patients of all ages including newborns and geriatric patients. Their training will include both inpatient and outpatient care. They will learn some basic surgeries such as hernia repair and appendectomy. They will also have training in obstetrics and cesarean sections. ELWA currently has outstanding faculty members in General Surgery and Family Medicine and they will be recruiting more faculty to join in teaching these residents. It is their hope that in training family physicians for Liberia, they will make a longstanding impact on the care in many counties, towns and villages throughout Liberia. 

Leading causes of death in Liberia are malaria, diarrhea and acute respiratory infections compared to the US; heart disease, cancer, and chronic lower respiratory infections. Many people in Liberia do not live long enough for heart disease, cancer and other such disease to become major factors in death, as average life expectancy is a mere 56 years. Liberia’s infant mortality rate is 71/1000 and maternal mortality rate is 7.7/1000.  The rate in the USA: infant 6.1/1000, maternal .21/1000 and in WA 4.5/1000 and .15/1000. According to UNICEF:

Liberia’s infant and under-5 mortality rates remain among the five highest in the world. More than 15 per cent of children die before reaching their first birthday.

Preventable diseases like malaria and measles are among the leading killers of children. Malnutrition and respiratory infections kill thousands of children each year.

So, how can you help? First, pass this on to all your family and friends. Second, click on one of the links below and donate! The more we raise the more we can do for the people of Liberia.

If you are from the UK, my fundraising page address is:

www.virginmoneygiving.com/JamieLaird 

If you are from the US/Canada, my fundraising page address is:

http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/jamielaird/londonmarathon

Hospital Update

It has been quite awhile since we've posted any hospital pictures, and I have a bunch I had to take for a report, so I thought I'd throw them up here...

All three of the buildings we are working on right now.  On the left is the Outpatient Clinic, with Pediatric Ward and Administration on the second floor.  In the center is the Male Ward, and on the right is the Female Ward.

Male Ward on left, Female in the center and completed Kitchen/Laundry building in the distance.

Working on the plastering and trusses for the wards right now.

Wetting the walls before plastering

Bethany taking pictures for SIM at the same time.

The interior of the Pediatric Ward

That's all for now.  You can check out the fundraiser for Emmanuel and see how much we've been able to raise at http://www.youcaring.com/medical-fundraiser/help-emmanuel-get-to-tx-for-surgery/121692 as of the time this blog was posted we are at $2,870 almost 2/3 of the way there!  Lord willing, in one month they will be in Austin, TX getting ready for surgery.

Emmanuel is heading to Texas!

From the Lone Star of Africa to the Lonestar State, Emmanuel and his mother Doreen will be heading to Texas for heart surgery in Mid-February.  HeartGift has agreed to perform the surgery for Emmanuel and will cover all medical costs related to the procedure!  You can read a little more about Emmanuel when he took a trip to Ghana last year.  I hope to post a short video with Doreen and Emmanuel in the next couple days talking about their upcoming trip.

The surgery will take place in Austin, so Doreen and Emmanuel will get to stay with our friends the Dosseys for the 6 weeks +/- that he is in the states.  Jamie has already completed his medical visa application and we will be taking them for their interview soon.  Then we just need to get Doreen and Emmanuel to the US.

Flights are not cheap to and from Liberia so round trip airfare for them will run about $4,500.  If you would like to help and contribute to Emmanuel's airfare, you can go to: https://www.youcaring.com/medical-fundraiser/help-emmanuel-get-to-tx-for-surgery/121692

Thank you for your prayers and support!

Running: From Dread to Love!

 I remember being in PE class and dreading Friday. That was the day we had to run an entire mile! I really disliked running and I was painfully slow, which made it that much worse. Slow = more time running.

Then I graduated, got married and started a family. No more running right? While expecting our first son, I gained a lot of extra weight. I was young so I didn't expect it to be difficult to lose the extra after giving birth. Man was I wrong! I had developed some really bad eating habits and combine that with no regular exercise; I couldn't lose a single pound. I tried halfheartedly to jog in a failed attempt to lose weight. Still really hated to do it and to make matters worse we lived in a small college town. How embarrassing to be out in my over-sized sweats and t-shirts jogging ever so slowly. It didn't work and to be honest I didn't really give it much of a chance.

Skip ahead a few more years…now I had three little boys and some better eating habits but still not enough energy to keep up with them! Three toddlers made it hard to get out and exercise so we got a treadmill. It was one with a CD player and came with some preprogrammed routines. I started with just walking. Slowly but surely it turned into walking with some short jogging. Before I knew it I was running more then I was walking!

At this same time my father in law, Jack was into running. He was a really big encouragement to me and the reason I did my first official race. Well that my friends was the beginning of the end, so to speak. I participated in several “short” races and even a recreational triathlon (decided to stick with just running after that one J). Somehow I had fallen in love with running!

For years I had thought about doing a marathon but just didn't have the courage. So, after our first stint in Liberia I came home and a month before the Bellingham Bay Marathon I took the leap and signed up, it only took me a short 10 years to muster the courage! I had been doing lots of running but didn't really train for it. It was a great experience (although painful) and left me feeling like I could do better. As soon as they opened up registration for the next year’s race I signed up. Well, God had other plans and we found ourselves once again packing in a hurry and heading back to Liberia! I decided it was a bit too long and expensive of a commute to fly home to run.

I got my chance to try again back in August. True to form, I decided at the last minute to sign up. I wasn't sure after spending 5 weeks back home, if I would be up for a marathon. I also was a little nervous to run on the streets of Monrovia. But I just couldn't help myself; I knew I could improve on my time. Despite starting in the dark, rain, and some pretty good hills I wasn't very prepared for, I finished my second marathon and improved my time! The best part was I really felt good when I finished, so much better than my first one.

Running has become more than just a way to manage my weight. As my family has grown it has become my alone time, time to talk to God and enjoy his creation. Now I have the amazing opportunity to combine my love of running with the reason we are in Liberia. Being a mother of six limits my time to volunteer and feel part of the SP team. My desire to serve God and contribute to our team here is coming together in the London Marathon. So, over the next several months I will be training (for a change) and raising money, money that will go to SP Liberia and a couple of projects here. I am so excited to get to raise money for the hospital project! 50% of all the money we (Joni, Kendell and I) raise will go toward the hospital. It is my hope and dream that this will be something big. Please pray along with me that God will be glorified!

If you would like to donate in the US/Canada:

http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/jamielaird/londonmarathon

Or in the UK:

http://www.virginmoneygiving.com/JamieLaird

Thank you for your support!

Team SP Liberia:

 Joni, Kendell and I just before a long run.

Not the best running weather!

Our support crew Blessing and Bev doing a great job!

Still smiling about mid point.

Nearing the end!

We're back...and so is school.

The combination of a busy summer, the loss of our website address, and a busy summer means we have not posted anything in about 4 months. Well we are working on getting the web address back but for now you can just use the blogger address.

A few years ago a bunch of generous friends helped us with money so we could help a number of Liberian children attend school.  We sent out an appeal to largely the same group and were able to raise enough money to pay for all or most of the school fees for 30 children.

In Liberia there are very few "free" government schools, and even the ones that are "free" have expenses associated with them that make it difficult for poor families to send their children to school.  Even if there is no cost for tuition there are still fees for school uniforms, shoes, supplies, transportation, and illegal requests by the teacher or the school for additional fees.  Then with private schools you have all those plus tuition, which usually runs from $100-$300 per year.  A typical family that makes $100 per month really has to scratch and claw to come up with the tuition and fees to ensure that their children get an education.  And I ain't gonna lie, most schools suck and do a pretty poor job of teaching their students, but the alternative of getting no education, and having no diploma, is still far worse.

So we were not able to get pictures of all 30 kids, but here are the smiling, grimacing, and scowling faces of some of the children that your generous donations were able to help.

This is our former security guard Morris' wife and family...along with Grace and Kasen.  We were able to help 4 of his children attend school.

More to come...soon.  Keep praying for Emmanuel and his heart surgery...hopefully we will have good news in the next week...

Liberian Art for Sale

We will be coming back to the States for our vacation in the next couple weeks.  Over the years Jamie and I have made a habit of purchasing paintings when we go on vacations to remember our trips.  When we got to Liberia we were able to connect with a couple of remarkable young men who support themselves through painting.  Below I have taken pictures of paintings by Sam Hwisedeh and Wilson Fallah.

Sam is a self taught artist who started painting in 2005.  His paintings are colorful depictions of Liberian life.  If you came to our house while we were back in the US in 2010-2011 you probably saw some of his work on our walls.  All of his paintings are listed below with the price and sizes.

After Sam's paintings the next 10 are Wilson Fallah's.  You can read a little about Wilson in this Washington Times article from a few years back.  As the article mentions, Wilson was one of Liberia's many child soldiers.  At the age of 9 he was conscripted into fighting in Liberia's bloody civil war that ended in 2003.  So many former child soldiers can be seen around Monrovia begging (and worse), still hooked on the drugs that their warlords fed them during the war. Not Wilson though, today Wilson is an energetic young man who has taken to painting as a means of supporting himself.  

If you are interested in any of these paintings please either comment below or send me an email at rustylaird at gmail.com.  We will bring back with us any paintings that people would like to purchase and all the funds below go directly to the artists.  If you are interested in a painting please let me know as soon as possible.  There is an art show at the US Embassy on June 8th so Wilson and Sam will probably have most of these paintings at the art show if they are not already spoken for and may be sold there.

Jazz - $200 5'x2.5'

Sisters in Unity - $200 5'x2.5'

Market Day - $250 5'x2.5'

Evening Meal - $150 3'x3'

Dan Mask - $50 2.5'x2'

Basket Maker - $50 1.5'x2'

My Sister & I - $50 1.5'x2'

Musical Couple - $50 1.5'x2'

To the Farm - $50 15"x21"

Night Fall - $50 15"x21"

Liberian Music - $50 1.5'x2'

Fruit Sellers - $50 1.5'x2'

Fetching Water - $50 1.5'x2' 

Fish Market - $50 1.5'x2'

Sande Dancers - $50 1.5'x2' (I didn't write down the sizes for these last 4 but I'm pretty sure they were about 1.5'x2')

Liberian Instrumentalist - $50 1.5'x2'

Sande Dancer #2 - $50 1.5'x2'

Sande Graduate - $50 1.5'x2'

Sam with some of his paintings

Below are Wilson's paintings.  They are all about 18"x24" and $30 each.