The Empty Medicine Cabinet

While we visited the mines last weekend, we took a trip to nearby Bong Mines Hospital. It is one of two hospitals in Bong County servicing approximately 10,000 people. It will likely close unless a NGO steps up. They are lobbying for more money and the workers have gone 5 months without wages. Still, they come because it is a labor of love. In the pediatric ward, there is one nurse for 22 patients. And though it is very clean, and quite large, there is no room for improvement unless someone steps up for them financially.



And by the way, don't take your gun on the ambulance, please.



Colorful, but faded educational posters lined the walls. Tips on how to reduce a fever, prevent HIV-infection, and how to breast feed were my favorite ones.







The hospital corridors are spotless. There are 100 beds in this hospital. The surgeons and nurses that I am travelling with marvel at how sanitary the conditions are. The sad part is, it isn't as busy as it could be. Again, it is the money issue. As I turn the corner, I notice a modest cabinet with the words 'antihistamine' 'antihommonal' and other mispelled words. There should never be an empty medicine in a hospital, but there is in this one.



Outside, sitting in the shade of the overhang, under a sign that reads 'Bong Mines Hospital. Jesus Loves You.' are 4 women and their children, waiting for medical attention. It could be you, it could be me. But instead it is them. And they should not be deprived of medicine or medical care. I ask them if I can take photos of them. They say yes and love seeing their images on the digital display of my camera. In their faces and the way they hold their children, I see they are just women, like the women I know at home, who want their child to grow up, be well and do the best they can in this world.









As we leave, Debbie asks me if there's a way to take a monetary collection for this hospital. I am looking into it. While the process should not be that complicated, it is. Officials and people in places of authority tend to be corrupt. I am trying to work through a couple channels to find out how to effectively do this. We may not be able to sustain this hospital forever, but maybe we can sustain a few more lives and give someone back their livelihood.