Newsletter

October 7, 2009

Dear Family and Friends,

I return to Cambodia October 10, 2009, to begin a long-term project training Village Health Workers (VHW) to provide basic health care in remote villages of Kampot Province. People there lack proper health care and have no access to the health system. Consequently, the area has a high rate of maternal and infant mortality. During October, we will teach a basic “Village Health Worker” course to 25 students. This course, utilizing Community Health Evangelism materials, will educate and prepare the VHWs to help people in their respective villages meet basic health needs. This community-centered approach to health care has had outstanding results in other developing countries. We’ve been authorized by both the provincial and local governments as well as the health department to go forward with this project.

The teaching team includes 2 nurses, a midwife, and a family nurse practitioner (myself). An MTW medical team resides within Cambodia, and will provide follow-up guidance and assistance to the newly-trained VHWs. The medical team holds twice-monthly medical clinics in the region, during which time it will provide supplemental education and support to the VHWs and the community as a whole. Through this process, we hope to link the community to the district health care system for sustainability.

Every 3 months we will return to Kampot to conduct additional training, especially in midwifery skills. The maternal mortality rate in Cambodia is one of the highest in the region. The majority of births still occur at home, with only a small number attended by a health professional. When I last visited the area this past June, I heard many stories of women dying in childbirth. Even “experienced” midwives there are deficient in knowledge, especially in life-saving skills. Properly trained birth attendants could minister in both Word and deed, providing safe delivery of infants and advocating safe motherhood practices.

Attending to health needs serves as a fundamental tool for introducing the gospel. In providing for basic needs, VHWs can share basic health skills – and their faith – so that individual lives, families, and even communities may be transformed.

Please pray for our team and the students.

PRAISES

• For the privilege of serving Him in cross-cultural ministry

• For the support of wonderful family, friends and Church family.

• For the assistance of many agencies and people in planning this project

PRAYER REQUESTS

• That I may show God’s love through health ministry to bring people into a saving relationship with Him, strengthening the local church and facilitating church planting.

• Good Health and Safety for the team, students, and Pastors

• Financial support (goal: 7 supporters @$500/ea and 5 @$300/ea). Any donation is graciously accepted.

• That many people would be ignited for the mission field through this ministry

Thank you so much for your prayers and support!

May the Lord richly bless you for your part in my ministry!

Yours in Christ,

Karen McClure

klmcclure@comcast.net

Donation address:

Mission to the World

PO Box 116284

Atlanta, GA 30368

Account# 013945

Call 1-866-373-6133 for e-donations

Acts 20:24

“But I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself, so that I may finish my course and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God.”

Cambodia Project

Cambodia Project

Cambodia Project

Cambodia Project

Yesterday we traveled to the southern part of Cambodia the Kampot Province-Chhuk District to meet with several Pastors/leaders. God is always surprising me. When we reached the meeting area, the group had prepared lunch for Dale and I and our translator. Dale speaks fairly good Khmer but sometimes needs a little help. The translator was also our driver. Several of the pastors spoke a little English. Our meeting was held at a school. It is a very unique situation. One of the pastors started this school . It is Gr 1-12 and there are over 750 students! It is a Christian school but being a Christian is not a requirement. When the children graduate they will take a test to see if they qualify for a college scholarship. If they do not…they can stay for further training…they can learn to sew, be a hair dresser, auto repair etc. There are also children that board there whose parents died of HIV or others whose parents went to Malaysia and never returned. How do they support the school? They do computer repair on site and a few other tasks. Some of the students families can afford to pay. It is a great example of a self sufficient community. It is a group of 28 small churches that work together.

Over 30 church leaders, including pastors showed up for this meeting! This was an informational and prayer meeting. We met to find out the needs, gather information and to see if there was a desire for assistance and if they would participate. We also made it clear that we needed permission and that the prime purpose was to carry the gospel to the villages.

Notes from the Meeting:

1. They have some untrained midwives in the villages

2. Several midwives would like further training

3. Several would like to train someone to take their position as they want to retire

4. Most women cannot afford to deliver at the Health Center. Midwife charges 20,000 Riels ($5) and the Heath Center charges $25

5. A women stood up and told about her sister that died giving birth last year.

6. Another told of someone that went to the Health center and could not pay and went home. Both Mom and Baby died at home!

7. There is not always a midwife available at the Health Center

8. They feel that the Health Centers discriminate against Christians. They would like to build their own Health Center.

9. Midwives that are in the villages are untrained, unschooled and cannot perform life saving measures. They were trained by another traditional birth attendant. Some villages do not have any midwives.

Please continue to pray for this project. We will be meeting with the Director of the Ministry of Health on Friday along with many other NGO’s. On Saturday we will be holding a clinic in the Kampot Province along with medical students that we are mentoring. This will help us to continue to build relationships. To God be the glory!

Thailand and Cambodia

May 8, 2009

Dear Family and Friends,

On May 10, 2009, I will depart for Thailand and Cambodia. While in Bangkok, Thailand, I will take part in a Tropical Medicine Course hosted by MTW, Medical College of Georgia and the Mahidol University as part of my missionary training. I will also be giving a presentation on the Training and Education of Community Health Workers and caring for patients with tropical diseases while spending time in the jungle. Recently there has been much unrest in Bangkok. Please pray for my health and safety.

As you know, after working at the World Health Organization last summer, I felt the Lord calling me to work in decreasing maternal mortality (mothers dying in pregnancy and childbirth). Two years ago, while serving in Cambodia, we visited the medical school and nursing school in Phnom Penh, and one of the stated needs was a strong provincial midwifery program. I cared for a woman there who had been in bed (bleeding) for 6 months after delivering a baby and the baby was being fed rice water. Both were very sick. Trained birth attendants could minister here in both Word and deed.

The maternal mortality ratio has remained high in Cambodia and is one of the highest in the region. The majority of births are still occurring at home, with only a small number of all births being attended by a health professional. And even among the few trained midwives, there are deficiencies – particularly in life-saving skills

I will fly to Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on May 23 and stay through June 8, meeting with Provincial Health Dept leaders and others together with Missionary Physicians Dr Dale Knutson and Dr Eda Kim to determine the needs there. We hope to launch a project there in the next year. It will be small at first, possibly training 15 midwives or skilled birth attendants in the Kampot Province.

Previously, I worked in the area of maternal health and perinatology for over 25 years. This is where my heart, my passion, and my area of training lie.

. Midwifery training will increase the capacity of traditional birth attendants (most cannot read or write, nor have life saving skills, and can’t use Pitocin to stop bleeding) to safely deliver infants and advocate safe motherhood practices. We will structure the program to encourage community ownership.

Attending to health needs serves as a tool to introduce the gospel. In this way, village health workers learn to share basic health skills – and their faith – so that individual lives, families, and even communities may be transformed.

PRAISES

· For the privilege of serving Him in cross-cultural ministry

· For the support of wonderful family, friends and Church family.

PRAYER REQUESTS

• That I may show God’s love through health ministry to bring people into a saving relationship with Him, strengthening the local church and facilitating church planting.
• Cambodia project:
• For other groups or agencies to partner with us
• For productive meetings with local Ministry of Health officials and other agents
• For the Lord to provide teachers and trainers
• That Midwifery training would start before October
• For financial support
• That many people would be ignited for the mission field through this ministry

Home address: Karen’s Donation address:

800 Cool Glade Court Mission to the World

Millersville, MD 21108 PO Box 116284

klmcclure@comcast.net Atlanta GA 30368

h. 410-987-0784 Memo: # 013945

c. 410-991-9953 Call 1 866 373 6133 for e-donations

BLOG: www.thelordisthehealer2.blogspot.com

Thank you so much for your prayers and support!

May the Lord richly bless you for your part in my ministry!

Yours in Christ,

Karen McClure

Acts 20:24

“But I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself, so that I may finish my course and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God.”

Bangladesh Health Promoter Course

We have returned home from Bangladesh after completing 3 weeks of teaching an intense Health Promoters course through Mission to the World (MTW). The 25 students were from many different villages and tribal groups and about half of them will be using their training as they go out as missionaries and spread the gospel message in Muslim and Animistic villages. They were all at least 5 hrs and many 2 days away from the nearest medical care.

The course was taught with the assistance of Pastors Zar Lawm, KL and Rama who translated our teaching into Bengali and the Bawm tribal languages. Students were given Health teaching materials that were also translated as well as equipment and medications. The military provided soldiers to guard us while we were there. There have been kidnappings in the area where we taught.

The rate of mothers dying in pregnancy and childbirth in Bangladesh, is among the highest outside of sub-Saharan Africa. Less than 12% of all births are attended by a midwife, nurse or physician. For this reason, I taught a birthing class and also stressed gave the importance of nutrition and wellness of the pregnant woman. Malaria is endemic there and this contributes to the vast anemia, especially in pregnant women and children.

Students and translators told stories of pregnant women dying in their villages. The Health Promoters were given Permethrin-treated mosquito nets to distribute to families in their villages-especially those with children and pregnant women.. P. Falcip malaria is deadly and these mosquitos are prevalent after sundown. Sleeping under the nets can greatly decrease the incidence of dengue fever and malaria. They have all known people in their villages to die from those diseases. A mosquito will die within 1 1/2 minutes after it lands on a treated mosquito net. Thank-you to all who donated money for this life saving project!