Sierra Leone Mission Report

“Promoting Holistic Health Care Globally”

Compassionate Professional on Global Mission had its 3rd annual mission trip to Sierra Leone; West Africa in April 12-24 in collaboration with The Servant House, Lewisville, Texas. Approximately 600 people received free medical care.

Highlights of the mission included:

A Health Forum at Lungi village with the women in the community on maintaining spiritual, physical and emotional wellness in a well woman.
A Youth Forum with a health focus on “keeping your body pure”.
We had four full working days, providing acute medical care at four sites to men women and children.
The villages served were Samaya, Lungi and Santigia about from Freetown; Samuya was northern Sierra Leone about six hour journey from our base at Lungi village.
There were three missionary health care providers and a Registered Nurse in addition to the local volunteer health care workers at each site.
For the first time we served the communities with a missionary dentist that had his mobile equipment and transformed an empty room into a mobile dental office. He did mostly extractions and fillings, all the recipients of his care received prophylactic antibiotics.
We had a large donation of toothbrushes and toothpaste so we were able to give generously to all. Many of the older folks however were used to using a traditional “chewing stick” to clean their teeth and gums daily. Initiating a new form of dental care was not culturally appropriate care for this elderly population.
Health Inter-cultural Mission (HIM) was a five station process where the men, women, and children signed up at the registration desk. They then moved on to the nurses’ station where the volunteer nurses did their vital signs and confirmed their chief complaint. They moved on to station three where they received spiritual counseling and their last stop was with the health care provider who made a diagnosis and appropriate treatment.
Common complaints were headaches, stomach aches, indigestion, backaches, diarrhea, and vomiting. Infections, mennorhagia, gastritis, anemia, and injuries mostly sustained from farming and open fires were treated.
There were cases of malnutrition in children. One very severe case was a nine month old that looked like he was about 5 months old. We made up vitamin water and gave it to the child in one of our few donated baby bottles. He sucked on it like he had been in a desert for several days. His family was later given financial assistance for milk and to follow up at the children’s hospital in the capital city of Freetown.
Pregnant women and women in the early postpartum period received free blankets donated by some generous midwives in Dallas. Modia clinic at Lungi village received its first fetal doppler that was also donated for this mission.
The Ministry of Health launched its free health care program for pregnant women, lactating mothers and children under five to aid in its goal of reducing maternal and child deaths. Financial constraints to accessible healthcare are a major factor. That is why outreaches like this play a role in meeting some of the community health care needs.