Covenant News

Medical Surplus Yields Beds for Congo

CHICAGO, IL (September 20, 2004) - A group of longtime Evangelical Covenant Church (ECC) missionaries recently inventoried equipment at Congo medical hospitals supported by the ECC and not only identified many needs, but moved aggressively to help fill the gap in at least one area – a shortage of beds in Congo hospitals.

Swedish Covenant Hospital in Chicago is the most recent donor – contributing 18 hospital beds that are being packed in medical containers in Rockford, Illinois, for shipment to Congo. The Beds for Congo program is a joint effort of the ECC and the Evangelical Free Church, which are longtime partners in ministry to Congolese in the Ubangi region.

Retired Covenant missionary Dr. Roger Thorpe said that a number of options are being discussed in the effort to procure items on a "wish list" that has been formed during the past year. This effort is an important part of the Paul Carlson Partnership program that is dedicated to addressing a variety of needs in the area of Congo served by the ECC.

"Since I went back to Congo in 2003, I was so impressed with the fact that the doctors and nurses had continued the work, including the work at the hospitals, at 74 rural centers and at a nursing center, which had been upgraded to a four-year RN equivalent program," said Thorpe. "But I was so discouraged at the lack of equipment and the condition of the remaining equipment. It had been trashed, stolen or had plain worn out over the years during and following the recent (1996) civil war."

Along with hospital beds from Swedish Covenant Hospital, several beds have been donated by St. Joseph Hospital in St. Louis (see accompanying photo). They have already been transported to Rockford by Covenant missionary Robert Thornbloom, who has regularly traveled to Congo in recent years to assess needs and secure equipment in North America.

Parishioners from Covenant congregations in Rockford are helping pack the equipment, and a Chicago Covenanter has provided vehicles to move the beds to Rockford. A 20-foot container filled with donated and purchased medical equipment is already en route to Congo, thanks to the assistance from businesses and individuals who are interested in helping the medical efforts. It was shipped from Michigan. Thornbloom calls the recent gifts "truly a Covenant team effort."

Thorpe says a trip is being planned to provide additional assistance to residents in the Ubangi region. Doctors and nurses will serve as consultants and teachers for medical staff in that region. Other equipment procurement efforts are continuing. Items that are of urgent need include: x-ray machines, surgical instruments, electrocardiogram equipment and operating room necessities such as aspirators and anesthesia machines.

To learn more about the medical efforts and what kinds of assistance are helpful, call Thorpe at 773-267-8440 or email him at rgtemt@worldnet.att.net.

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