Dr. Beyda and the Medical Mercy team is in Ethiopia this week, treating children in communities where Mission of Mercy works and training the workers who interact with the children on a daily basis.
 
Upon arrival the team encountered limited data service, preventing them from tweeting and posting on Facebook that they landed safely and were headed for customs.

While it took time to get the team through customs, the Lord made a way and they went to their hotel with all but one of their boxes of supplies and some personal luggage.

Their first day was in Zeway, a town more than 75 miles south of Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa. Mission of Mercy’s project there serves more than 200 children. This is a very rural area, so cell phone and internet service was minimal. Dr. Beyda texted: No data svc here for anybody. Unable to send email or get on to internet. Phone only and txt, but sporadic.

Upon arriving in Zeway, the team spent several hours in preparation and were encouraged: Yesterday was counting and sorting meds and 6 hours of training for the Health Care Workers (HCWs). The HCWs are doing well, they have retained a lot and Dr. Beyda believes they will do well. They will start clinic in just a few hours.

Dr. Beyda trained these Health Care Workers in the fall of 2009. Through an intense one-week course, the HCWs learned basic anatomy, physiology, pharmacy, first aid, CPR, and how to diagnose common illnesses and assess emergency situations.

The purpose of the HCW training is to have one or two people at Mission of Mercy’s projects who can evaluate, treat, or refer children in need of medical help. They are the first responders when it comes to the health of our children, often times the only resource available when a child is ill.

Dr. Beyda texted about the first day of the clinic: HCWs are all progressing rapidly and most are already seeing patients by themselves with us supervising! They are quickly learning to diagnose, think creatively and treat. It's amazing to see how they are doing, how they interact with the children and how their confidence level has increased in just a few hours. The children are better for it.

The children are better for it. That is the heart of both Medical Mercy and Mission of Mercy – to better the lives and futures of children around the world. Thank you for partnering with us to make that happen!

We will continue to post updates from Dr. Beyda’s tweets, texts, and blog or Facebook posts as we are able. Please keep praying for the Medical Mercy team – they have a full week of clinics and HCW training ahead of them. All to improve the life of a child!