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Health-Related Projects Resume in Congo
CONGO (November 9, 2000) - The Medical Department of CEUM, the Congo Covenant Church in the Democratic Republic of Congo, has restarted its relationship with Solidariti Protestante (Protestant Solidarity) after the project was halted due to political unrest in the area.
A March 2000 visit into D.R. Congo by a team of five Evangelical Covenant Church (ECC) missionaries, including Dr. Gwen Luepke, served as the catalyst for Protestant Solidarity to restart the project.
Protestant Solidarity is a non-governmental organization (NGO) supported by Belgian Protestants and presents health-related projects in developing countries to the Belgian government's funding organization for development.
The project first started in 1995 as a pilot public health project and was received so well that a new and enlarged five-year project was initiated a year later. It requires a 25 percent contribution by CEUM. This has been made possible through overlapping funding by Covenant World Relief and Covenant Medical Missions Fellowship, and in the past by Dutch Catholic transportation donors and Friends of Paul Carlson Medical Program.
Although the civil war still rages in what was formerly known as Zaire, during 1997-99 the battles divided CEUM and the project was stalled for a year and a half.
While security is still precarious because Kabila government forces continue to bomb the area, Protestant Solidarity understands that the medical needs are only greater during this time of war, not less. As CEUM President Rev. Luyada Gbuda said at the August 2000 meeting in Bangui with Congolese medical leaders and Protestant Solidarity, "As long as one church member is living, we are obligated to continue our work."
In previous years CEUM benefited from capital investments in building health centers and purchasing two
four-wheel-drive trucks, motorcycles for health zone nurse supervisors and bicycles for the head nurses at more 70 health centers in the church's three rural health zones.
This year's project continues to provide part of the needs in medicine and supplies parts to repair the few remaining motorcycles and trucks. Health zone functioning is supplemented by continued training at
all levels, from management training for doctors to training for nurses, village health workers, community development committees and birth attendants.
Gwen Luepke is a family practice doctor with a Masters in Public Health. She and husband, Michael, an obstetrician-gynecologist, became familiar with the ECC while in residencies in Grand Rapids, Michigan. They attended North Park Theological Seminary before becoming career missionaries in the Congo in 1989.
Gwen, Michael, daughter Julie and son David, moved to Yaounde, Cameroon, at the end of July. Besides their work with the Covenant church, they are also partnering with the Cameroon Presbyterian Church's medical department in primary health care and OB/GYN departments.
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