International Service report

Our International projects have turned their focus to helping the impacts of COVID.

Feeding dreams are doing a fundraiser on 14^th October of a 24hr fasting challenge for $30 donation to help fund emergency care packages for families impacted by covid. 24 hours without food is a grim reality for many impoverished children in Siem Reap, Cambodia.

As Fiji has been a major project this year for the club, His Excellency The High Commissioner for Fiji , Mr. Luke Daunivalu has been invited to be a guest speaker at our E-Club meeting on 1^st November 2020.

Bo Childrens Hospital is still being run by the government as a Covid treatment centre. Hopefully will resume as BCH in the next couple of months. 

The Medical equipment program has been active since Covid in providing Pulse Oximetry and Oxygen Concentrators around the world. 50 Concentrators to gov’t of Mali (West Africa) was a very big project. We have also been recruiting bio med technicians in East Africa (esp Uganda and Burindi) to service oxygen concentrators that are performing sub par. We have been providing Oxygen Analysers to test the oxygen % being generated from the Concentrators.

For the Maternal and Child Health project we have been providing 4 year Contraceptive Implants to parts of East Africa and East Myanmar - where disruption to normal supplies, along with increased presence of men at home, has led to massive increases in pregnancy rates.

School for Life Ugandan schools are reopening in mid October for candidate classes (Primary 7, Senior 4 and Senior 6) so we are looking forward to having some of our students back on campus.

Our girls' boarding facility is getting close to completion. The roof went on last week and the internal walls and plastering is now being done. This will cater for 300 high school boarders.

We'd love to invite everyone to the launch of our Girls' Fund on 14th October. We will be giving an update from the ground in Uganda and it's a great opportunity to see our new film, 'Diana'. More information can be found at www.shecouldbe.com

KINI For the last 6 months Barbara has had 15 children in her home as schools are still closed in Kenya and the Government not set to reopen schools until January next year. Generous donations have enabled us to build 2 sets of composting toilets for the school and future house, paint the school buildings inside and out and put tanks and guttering on the school building to ensure a good water supply. Funds are needed urgently to build a larger home for Barbara and the children due to overcrowding due to many girls rescued from FGM or early marriages needing somewhere to live. 

Things have been very quiet in Oecusse due to the effects of coronavirus, not so much because of infections, as they have not detected any in the enclave, but because the borders have been closed which means people and goods can not travel in and out. The major problem is lack of food as fresh food markets have been closed and the poor, isolated communities have little or no income. Also due to a very meagre wet season earlier this year there is a severe water shortage, many village wells which have never dried out before have done so this year.

The United Mission Hospital, Tansen, Nepal - Fund raising activities have been restricted this year due to Covid 19. I have to obtain a permit, if allowed this year due to Covid, to sell cakes at the shopping centre. I still have cake stocks but no puddings from December 2019. Some cakes have been sold this year. Dr Rachel, Director of the Hospital in central-west Nepal was prepared for Covid 19 with a separate isolation for the few Covid cases they have had. This allows the Hospital, a regional Hospital, to continue their very busy general work, as not many other Hospitals are functioning.