|
Our Mission > Project
Walkabout
Our Bolivian
Co-workers
Bolivia is one of the least-developed
countries in South America. Although many improvements in
the health care system have been made in recent years, people
living in isolated rural areas still have the greatest illness
burden. It is hard for them to travel long distances to find
a doctor, and even if there is a government doctor nearby,
he or she may not be adequately trained to win the confidence
of the people; or diagnose and treat them with the resources
they have available. Similarly rural churches are often led
by keen Christians, many of whom have had little opportunity
for training in understanding and teaching the Bible. They
persevere trusting in Jesus despite discrimination and opposition
from their neighbours.
Project Walkabout aims to:
o Provide training and support for rural doctors in rural
areas of Chuquisaca, Bolivia
o Provide health care for isolated communities in conjunction
with local churches
o Provide encouragement, training, discipleship and support
for local church leaders in rural communities.
For the first couple of years we travelled in the
Tan van – a
bus that was locally-modified to be a mobile home and portable clinic. Although
it proved ideal for accommodation and as a school-on-wheels for the
girls, we grew tired of digging it out, scraping its sides along cliff
walls on the steep, narrow mountain roads we travel on, and snagging
it on overhead power cables.
In April 2008, we sold the bus and bought a
Nissan four-wheel drive utility pick-up truck instead. Instead
of living in our vehicle, we now sleep in hostels, or on the floor
in church halls and clinics. We
are still out of Sucre for 10-14 days each month during dry season,
mostly supervising and training Bolivian doctors, and also doing health
care and teaching in churches that invite us.
|
