For the past two and a half years, we have been forced to eliminate our intensive medical outreach missions and mobile clinics. At first, this was due to Covid restrictions and more recently, due to increasing security problems where most of our clinics are located. However, in spite of all of these challenges, we have partnered with Cornerstone Health Foundation to conduct smaller scale outreaches, both in urban and rural areas.
During the past two and a half years, we have not been able to hold our annual intensive medical missions at our full-time clinics. First came the Covid epidemic and then security concerns arising from an increase in kidnapping, banditry, ethnic/ religious/political tensions and violence. All of our clinics in the north of Nigeria have become “no go” areas for our large-scale outreach efforts that have been so effective and fruitful in the past.
This story illustrates the terrible choices that poor people are forced to make regarding healthcare. These are the people Kateri Medical Services’ partner clinics serve. People who cannot afford lifesaving medical care. In many cases, they simply die quietly and painfully at home. These are the people whose lives are saved by your generous donations.
Thank you for all of your prayers and financial support for our recent medical outreach at St. Thomas Clinic in Port Harcourt Nigeria.
DEAR FRIENDS AND SUPPORTERS Twenty years ago, at the invitation of Josiah Fearon (then the Anglican Bishop of Kaduna), a team of three, including me, visited Nigeria for the first time. It was my first experience of a “developing” country. My previous travels were limited to the United States and other relatively prosperous countries. This visit was an “eye opener” for me in many different ways. On the one hand, I fell in love with the people and the culture. On the other hand, I was shocked at the level of poverty of people in urban and rural areas.
In 2021, we helped 11,905 patients in our six regular clinics plus 2,873 through our medical outreach missions for a total of 14,778 people served. See a breakdown below:
Like almost everyone else, the Covid pandemic has forced Kateri Medical Services to do things differently. We have been prevented from traveling to Nigeria for our annual medical outreach missions, first because of the Covid restrictions and second because of security problems. Prior to the pandemic, we were a very hands-on enterprise in terms of engaging with our local partners and in evaluating potential sites for new clinics to be built. When the Covid restrictions stopped us, we decided to find new ways to accomplish our mission. Here are three examples.
Our indigenous medical staff are the face and heart and hands of Jesus, bringing God’s love and healing to hurting people In the past few years, we have been greatly blessed with donors who give to build and equip clinic buildings.
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