restoring our biblical and constitutional foundations

                

Shopping List for the Galana Clinic in Burji, Ethiopia

Becky Lynn Black  

This clinic is far from civilization. Getting supplies is extremely difficult. For example, there are no mops or buckets in any store within a 6-hour drive, and if you can find a vehicle to take you 6 hours to the nearest town, the quality of merchandise is horrible. So we had to go all the way to the capital city to find mops and buckets of any quality for Mariam to clean the new flooring that we installed in June. Such a simple matter, and yet so difficult in Ethiopia!

In talking with the staff there are some things that are much easier for us to bring from the USA. Many of these things I am getting off the internet or in our big stores. But as word of the clinic is expanding, people are asking us, “What can we gather for you?”

So, here is the portion of my shopping list that you can help with. Perhaps your children’s Sunday School class, or VBS group, or women’s missionary group would like to gather these things. Our next trip to Ethiopia is in December, God willing. 

Items should be mailed to our home: 2691 White House Rd., Nelson, VA 24580.  Please email us if you have any questions….dblack@sebts.edu.  God bless you for your generosity to the poor.

Pregnancy tests…  Many times the bodies of Ethiopian women are exhausted.  They come to the clinic complaining of fatigue, etc. We must test for pregnancy; since they have no birth control knowledge, they are often tired because of pregnancy. Also, we must know if they are pregnant because many drugs for malaria, typhoid, etc. cannot be given to pregnant women. So the clinic uses many pregnancy test kits.  (These tests are available at Dollar Tree for $1.)

Prenatal vitamins…The diet of the people around the clinic is very poor, and women are almost always either pregnant or nursing. So these pre-natal vitamins are very important to the health of the woman and the infant.

Children’s vitamins…Malaria and amoebic dysentery (diarrhea) are the big killers of Ethiopian children under age 5. Malaria destroys the red blood cells, and amoebic parasites (gotten from poor water) destroy the digestive system. If we can give children vitamins, then it will help their bodies to fight these diseases.

Iodine tablets…Iodine is critical to the human body; it helps to regulate the thyroid gland. Lack of iodine in the diet results in large goiters, fatigue, and poor regulation of basic body functions. Iodine comes especially from fish. There are no lakes or fish of any kind in the Burji area; their diet is completely devoid of fish. Goiters are normal, commonplace. Iodine tablets are extremely difficult to find in Ethiopia. We need these to give to people who are showing severe iodine deficiency.

Iodized salt…Here in America, we routinely use iodized salt in order to get our iodine, but in Ethiopia, there is no such thing as iodized salt. We would like to take some iodized salt to give to families that are showing early signs of iodine deficiency.

Calcium Citrate with Vitamin D and Magnesium…This is available at Wal-Mart.  Please do not send calcium carbonate, since it is poorly absorbed.

Over-the-counter medicines…Fungal creams, triple antibiotics, Zantac 150 mg, eyedrops/moisturizers, benedryl gel, midol, laxatives, Immodium AD, hydrocortisone cream, Naprosyn, AandD oint, decongestants (we have enough Tums). I know that these things are expensive, but if a family is able to get just one item per week when doing grocery shopping, it adds up!  Think about your own medicine cabinet; how would your life be if you had nothing in that cabinet.  I can safely say that no Ethiopian family in Burji has a medicine cabinet…the items just are not available! But if we can share our blessing, then they will have the laxative that they need, the cream for a skin condition, the decongestant for a cold, the heartburn aid, etc. And those little things will ease their discomfort for a time. And they will know that the Galana Clinic has the things they need, so they will come and then they will hear about the Gospel!  So as you are buying these things, consider it evangelism J

Clothes and good-quality soap…These items are distributed by Chaplain Solomon to the poorest of the poor. We need men, women, and children’s clothes. They do not need to be new, but they should not have tears or big stains. Also, they must be very modest; no pants for women or girls. And they must not have anything that displays our American culture…like pictures of cartoon characters, the American flag, etc.  Soap should be long-lasting.

Guard clothes…We need a heavy coat for the night guard, and also 2 pairs of sturdy tennis shoes, size 12-13, and some socks.  Again, they do not need to be new, but they should be in good condition for future use.

July 27, 2009

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