1 September 2010: The teams provide medical help and hope on national television

OM International

The team in Sindh has two doctors (one male and one female) for two weeks. After a week of service, one staff member has gone home. She served by keeping a record of all the medicine used in the camps. A trained nurse has joined the Sindh team from their base camp, which has greatly encouraged the team. Daily, the medical teams in the north and south treat hundreds of patients.

Members of the northern team are meeting with partner churches to arrange medical camps. The team’s target is to assist 150 to 200 persons with medical support; many are on the brink of death because of starvation and dehydration.

Water, water everywhere…

One team leader saw that the river water levels were beginning to fall in the Sindh region, even though there is still monsoon rain falling in the north. He explained that, in addition to the abnormal rainfall, unusually high temperatures in the north (above 40 degrees C) have increased melt water from the mountain areas. Standing water has become a breeding ground for mosquitoes, resulting in more malaria cases. Many people are suffering with high fevers. There is an urgent need for more medical personnel.

Offering hope

The team in Sindh celebrated a local Hindu festival with a displaced community. It was a good time to present people with a ‘festival’ package: the new name for the food packages. The team report that even the name helps to raise people’s hope in desperate circumstances. Fifteen families received these packets. The team also arranged a showing of the Jesus film and shared their personal testimonies.

One of the team leaders was interviewed on a national TV channel. He was able to say that Christians and the church in Pakistan have a heart for serving people affected by the flooding.

Thanks

To date, OM teams have provided aid to 2,850 families in flood-affected regions of Pakistan. This is just short of the goal of supporting 3,000 families with immediate food aid, including providing regular meals twice a day to an average of 250 families. This means 18,000 to 20,000 people have been helped. The teams selected families with the most critical needs; those who hadn’t received aid from anyone else.

“The small help we gave in terms of food or medicine means a lot to these people. We are thankful for your generousity in making it possible. We are looking to support many more families in the next two weeks while the flooding continues. It will mean serving thousands of people. We do not know what will happen to people in these difficult situtions if they do not get food.”

During an aid distribution, a local told a team member, “We thank the OM team for their brilliant effort to reach our town and provide us with food. Through your work, I can clearly see the passion you have for affected people.”

Prayer Points

• Praise God for opportunities for the teams to offer hope and share their testimonies with flood-affected people.

• Praise God for the opportunity for a team leader to witness on national TV.

• Please pray for more urgently needed doctors and medical staff.

Credit: OM International
© 2010 OM International