A Society in Which All Can Enjoy Well – Being

Greetings from Nairobi! I am grateful to God for God’s guidance and protection during the last year. It is with great joy and gratitude that I am able to greet you once again in 2019.

Greetings from Nairobi! 

I am grateful to God for God’s guidance and protection during the last year. It is with great joy and gratitude that I am able to greet you once again in 2019. Blessed be the name of the Lord. I hope you had a good Holiday Season. I pray you will have a prosperous year in 2019, and enjoy all the blessings which God has in store for you and your loved ones. 

My ministry is going well at the maternal health program. 

I started the program by visiting a number of the churches who were in partnership with the Organization of African Instituted Churches (OAIC). The first meeting in September 2018 went  very well.  

A recent article in the daily newspaper wrote: 

Health of the Nation in Danger: Between January and July 2018, 1,758 children were wheeled into the newborn unit at the Kenyata National Hospital in Nairobi, but 594 did not get out alive.  While the official statistics released by the hospital’s management indicate a 34 percent death rate, more than 13 nurses in the pediatric department, who spoke in anonymity as they are not authorised to speak to journalists, report up to 50 percent of the death rate has been attributed to staff shortage. That is why Kenya has failed to reduce newborn deaths. 

The topic of maternal health should not be considered as separate from the overall problem OAIC members face due to poverty. Maternal and child survival should be calculated from the factual context of these churches, classified as grassroots because of their connections to the community. The OAIC’s visions are based along the values and resourcefulness of these African grassroots communities. The OAIC and its work for maternal and child health is motivated by their members and millions of Africans who look forward to a society in which all can enjoy well-being.  

During our meeting in September, we found that most members have not been through Community Health Volunteers training or do not understand Community Health Strategy and we decided to host these trainings. These are health trainings organized in community units. There was a lot of excitement after these sessions and participants expressed their gratitude for the exposure and the need for more engagement and training. 

I love you and want to let you know you are in my prayers.

 

Brigitte Eale serves with the Organization of African Independent Churches (OAIC) in Kenya. Her appointment is made possible by your gifts to Disciples Mission Fund, Our Church’s Wider Mission, and your special gifts.