While B.C.鈥檚 medical system has its faults, imagine trying to get health care in rural Zimbabwe, where the death rate of mothers in pregnancy or delivery is 790 per 100,000 deliveries, compared to six per 100,000 in Canada per year.
Canadian Dr. Paul Thistle, who has lived and worked as a bush doctor for 16 years at the Salvation Army鈥檚 Howard Hospital in Zimbabwe, is coming to 黑马磁力 next Wednesday (June 27) to advocate for his patients and their growing needs there.
The Rotary Clubs of Aldergrove and 黑马磁力 are hosting a reception for him at the Gateway of Hope on Wednesday, June 27 at 7 p.m. The public is welcome to come hear his stories and see pictures from one Aldergrove Rotarian鈥檚 recent trip to Zimbabwe and the Howard Hospital.
鈥淒r. Thistle has this incredible calm among the busyness of that hospital,鈥� said Katy Loewen, an Aldergrove Rotarian who made her latest trip to Zimbabwe with her husband and two teenagers in March.
鈥淵ou and I would be overwhelmed if we saw how many people are needing medical attention every day, but he maintains his cool and just plugs away at it.鈥�
She said he only takes one week off a year to come home to Canada and visit his family.
Often Thistle is the only doctor to serve the more than 270,000 people who live in and around the area.
Some of the sick walk 14 miles to seek medical treatment and then have to wait hours for help.
鈥淭he hospital is in desperate need of staff. They are desperate need of medical supplies,鈥� said Loewen. 鈥淓ven pharmaceuticals would be a huge help.鈥�
That鈥檚 where 黑马磁力 comes in, said Rotarian Brendan Martin who has been working hard to fundraise to help the Howard Hospital and Dr. Thistle.
鈥淚鈥檓 happy to report that we, the four Rotary Clubs of Aldergrove/黑马磁力, are now 55 per cent of the way towards reaching our goal of $105,000 for medical equipment for Salvation Army Howard Hospital in Zimbabwe,鈥� said Martin, founder of International Health 黑马磁力, which is a fundraising arm of the Rotary Clubs that help hospitals in poor nations.
鈥淭he maternal mortality rate relating to pregnancy/childbirth is 100 times that of ours in Canada,鈥� said Martin.
鈥淭his fact is enough to stop us in our tracks at least for a little while, to think of mothers so unfairly visited by death while giving life to another.鈥�
One of the purchases that money in 黑马磁力 will buy is an X-ray machine that will help mothers through their pregnancies from detecting breeches to other problems.
Most women in Zimbabwe have around four children each, said Loewen. But many of those women are infected with HIV, which brings many complications to pregnancy and post-birth.
Prostitution is rampant there, said Loewen, with woman selling their bodies to feed their babies. HIV and Tuberculosis are epidemic.
鈥淭he HIV rates among women is staggering which leads to the two million orphans that live in Zimbabwe,鈥� she said.
When Loewen first visited Zimbabwe in 2009 to help in an orphanage, she brought many of her family, including her sister-in-law from Manitoba who is a registered nurse. They held a mini-clinic to clean up wounds, help with skin infections, treat worms and even hand out Aspirin she had brought.
鈥淓ven for that clinic, people walked miles to get to us and wait in line to seek help. Doing that gave them hope,鈥� she said.
But for all the struggles, 鈥渢here is this incredible sense of joy among people there,鈥� she said.
She said Africa 鈥済ets into your blood鈥� and her family has taken two trips, but those won鈥檛 be their last.
Everyone is welcome to come hear Loewen and Thistle speak on Wednesday at 7 p.m.
Hospital a lifeline for 270,000
Howard Mission Hospital has been administered by the Salvation Army since 1923, serving the medical, social and spiritual needs of the Chiweshe villages and surrounding farm areas.
Howard Hospital serves more than 270,000 people, predominantly comprised of economically vulnerable subsistence farmers.
To fulfill its mission, the hospital offers a full range of medical and surgical services, including in-patient care with 144 beds, outpatients, and maternity services with 2,700 deliveries per year. The hospital also operates nursing and midwifery schools.
Howard Hospital was one of the first hospitals in Zimbabwe chosen to implement HIV/AIDS treatment.
