Exciting news from DRC!

I have some great news to share with all of you!

Project Sunset has officially launched in the Democratic Republic of Congo. We recently received an incredibly detailed report from Jean Claude, the Congolese surgeon, who is heading up the program in the DRC. He is in charge of Nebobongo Hospital, the only hope for so many people in the surrounding area. Although their resources are very limited this hospital is still the best-equipped and staffed hospital in an area serving over 260,000 people. Just the fact that they have doctors and medicine in their pharmacy puts them on a level above the majority of hospitals in the area. In addition to all of the never-ending work he has with the hospital he has graciously taken on Project Sunset as well.

Below are some excerpts from his report that I found extremely educational and thought it would be very helpful for everyone who supports Project Sunset to read.

“Mosquito nets treated with long acting insecticide are one of the well-known means which strongly contribute to the malaria fighting around the world and saves many lives of infants as well as of adults. Thus, all kinds of means regardless how great their efficacy is, if they are not well mastered, understood, and accepted by the people who are supposed to apply them, end up being obsolete.

“Pygmies, our targeted group of population are a specific people by their culture and lifestyle and preferences of living relatively isolated in the forest make them sometimes vulnerable to even avoidable and preventable diseases.  Pygmies are the least educated and least informed concerning ways of fighting malaria. They are also reluctant to come to the hospital when they get sick.

“The DR Congolese government with its partners has distributed mosquito nets in the previous years. But unfortunately the population and pygmies did not use them properly. The mosquito nets were used to protect growing food from insects, chicks from sparrowhawk , killing termites in terms of protecting houses from destruction by these insects, fishing with either the mosquito net itself or using the soaked insecticide, or constructing indigenous houses with mosquito nets trimmed and used as rope…

  

“From all problems emphasized above, The Nebobongo team for the prevention and promotion of good health, decided to act first by conducting an assessment of the situation, specifically of pygmies and then train and teach them about good ways to fight and prevent malaria.”

Throughout the various education sessions “eight medical providers were involved in these activities: 3 medical Doctors, 5 nurses of different levels and they were helped by 6 Pygmy facilitators who would introduce us to pygmies and sometimes translate to their own dialect.”

They were able to educate 625 people in all of the various education sessions. The next steps are to further the education programs and begin net distribution once they fully understand how to properly use the nets.

We have an extremely significant opportunity to directly impact the lives of so many in DRC, so please continue to give and pray about how God is using Project Sunset!