Blog - Medical Relief

The life changing impact of de-worming medicine was mentioned in a recent book review by William Easterly in the Wall Street Journal, April 30, 2011. "In 1998, economists Michael Kremer and Ted Miguel participated in a groundbreaking aid program distributing de-worming medicine to school children in western Kenya. There weren't enough doses for every child, so the program administrators randomly selected who was treated. They later compared the results for the two groups. The children who were treated for worm disease, of course, suffered less of the debilitating parasitic infection. They also attended school much more faithfully. A decade later, a follow-up study found that these same students, who were by then young adults, were earning 20% more than those who did not get the drugs. It was quite a payoff..." Read more.

Intestinal worms, or helminths, are common in the developing world, and a significant public health problem. Children are hurt the most by untreated worms. Worms rob already malnourished children of 25% of the food they do eat, and stunt development. Studies by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) list abdominal pain, diarrhea, intestinal obstruction, anemia, and ulcers as some of the side effects and suggest a link between parasite infestations and both stunted growth and cognitive development.

Pilgrim's Aid and Relief Program is part of world-wide efforts to treat parasite. This year, Pilgrim distributes 4.48 million deworming tablets in Uganda, Southern Sudan, Kenya and Zimbabwe to vulnerable children and their families. The distribution network created by Agathos (now Pilgrim's Aid & Relief Program) delivers not only deworming meds, but also Vitamin A at the same time. Vitamin A deficiency lowers a child's immunity to common childhood diseases and to malaria, and is closely linked to vision problems. Because parasite infections and Vitamin A deficiency are usually found together, both are treated together, and at lower costs. Delivery training and methods for both are simple. The cost of a delivered dose of Vit A is 63 cents/and deworming meds is 38 cents.

You can help in this distribution. Contribute here to Pilgrim's Aid and Relief programs and deworming and Vitamin A distribution. Your gift of 25 dollars de-worms 66 children or provides vitamin A for 40 children. Please consider given generously to this extremely worthwhile and beneficial program.

Related Links: Emergency Food Relief

In mid-June, Pilgrim partnered with the Trauma Studies Center in New York (part of the Institute for Contemporary Psychotherapy) to bring the trauma counseling and training to Soroti. Rosemary Masters, Betsy McConnell, Paula Gellis, Barbara Rachlin, Rachel Goldsmith, and Judith Friedman all traveled from New York to share their knowledge. For several of them this was their second or third visit to Uganda to train counselors and those who work with traumatized individuals. The fifty conference attendees included social workers, teachers, pastors, prison guards, and people from various other professions. Several Pilgrim counselors attended and several Americans associated with International Teams. I am working on a business project in Kampala, and was able to attend as a special guest of Pilgrim, as I am interested in trauma counseling.

The topic this year was Restoration and Renewal, focusing on background and techniques in counseling trauma victims. The region of Teso has experienced traumatizing circumstances for the past decades. The LRA abducted many children and killed many people. The Karamajong, a pastoralist neighboring people group, have raided their cattle for many years, impoverishing the farmers. And in the last few years the people of Teso have seen floods and famine. The need for trauma counselors is great.

The six facilitators presented the material using different teaching methods. The first day of sessions was devoted to how trauma affects the brain and what symptoms to recognize. The next day dealt with teaching certain skills to stabilize a trauma victim. The last day focused on how to care for oneself as the counselor to prevent burnout. Each day the facilitators presented an act featuring a counselor and a client who they had counseled so that the attendees could learn principles of counseling thru critiquing. The counselor would give a short background story of the client leaving out specific information to protect the identity. Then they would play that client as someone else played the counselor. I don’t know which I learned more from; the American counselors presenting the material, or the Ugandans who lived this work for many years. The stories they recounted of different clients astounded me -the things child soldiers went thru, child rape, or even just normal life to these people. Each day's teaching sessions began with singing cultural songs in Ateso and Swahili and some dancing, and great worship times.

By the end everyone learned and found the material helpful, especially the way in which it was presented. The counselors from the Trauma Studies Center presented at a level available to everyone while covering an impressively large topic. Each day breaks included morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea so that everyone could socialize and learn from each other outside the class as it were. The last day everyone stayed for a feast and one last time to mingle and eat excellent Ugandan food together.

Related Links: Trauma Treatment Program, Beacon Medical Centre

Pilgrim has many Aid & Relief Program events to report. William Omara, the Director of Aid & Relief has been arranging the distribution of emergency food relief in several districts in NE Teso, verifying situations where food is needed and distributing emergency food supplies. The food distributed is from the container of emergency food packets from Feed My Starving Children that was donated to Pilgrim. Another container of that same kind of food, enough to provide 270,864 meals, has arrived in Zimbabwe for distribution by Paula Leen's ministry in Murwira. Her feeding program covers four local schools where 1200 students get one healthy meal per day. She also cares for 36 orphans at her own orphanage and provides emergency food and medical transportation as well as a myriad of other social services to her surrounding community.

Pilgrim has another container is on the way, also donated by Feed my Starving Children, to Zimbabwe. Thanks to all who donated towards the transportation costs for these two containers of food.

Another area of Aid & Relief for which William Omara is responsible is the distribution of a containerof medical equipment and supplies. This container was donated in late 2009 to Pilgrim by Charity Services International / World Children's Fund, and is enough to supply many clinics. William is travelling through the Teso region visiting the clinics, assessing how the donated materials can help each individual clinic, and supplying what he can.

Related Links: Emergency Food Relief

Pilgrim is one of three non-profits that was selected to be featured by HopeMongers.org - a wonderful new micro-giving site that is connecting people one-to-one across the globe with the mission to solve endemic poverty and injustice. Learn more about HopeMongers in their inspiring video.

Related Links: Move On Malaria, Emergency Food Relief