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Posts Tagged Ethiopia

May182012

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Bernards: Patience

posted by at 6:09 am

Tigist is a little girl who is 11 months old. The name Tigist means “patience.” Her mother is a young woman who loves her little girl very much. Her mother was taken by force and “married” illegally, meaning the man took her, raped her, and forced her to stay with him. Eventually she became pregnant. When the pregnancy became obvious to her “husband,” he no longer had use for her and kicked her out. According to the predominant religions of this area, it is not allowed to have sex with a pregnant woman, so she was dismissed.

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May102012

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Bernards: Silver or gold I do not have

posted by at 6:21 am

Sites on the way to Awasa

A few weeks ago our kids had spring break. We went outside of the bustling city of Addis for a long weekend to a town called Awasa. The town was about a five-hour drive south from where we normally are. Awasa is in a lush, green part of Ethiopia. It is located on a large lake. The drive was beautiful. We saw many herds of cattle and goats with young shepherds tending them – often five- or six-year-olds who were much smaller than the animals they cared for. I also saw a couple of herds of camels. I have seen individual camels in my life, but never a whole heard. They looked so majestic with their long graceful legs, all standing together. Read the rest of this entry »

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May032012

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Bernards: Lasting Impact

posted by at 6:51 am

Anesthesia is a developing discipline in Ethiopia. That is to say, it is currently very underdeveloped. In a country of 80+ million people, there are a handful of anesthesiologists (I’ve heard about 10 total). Nurse anesthetists provide virtually all anesthesia to the country. However, the nurse anesthetists in Ethiopia are not trained as ours are in the US. In the US, nurse anesthetists have a bachelor’s in nursing, usually have ICU experience, and then get a rigorous masters degree in nurse anesthesia. Here in Ethiopia, nurse anesthetists only have a BA in Anesthesia. Read the rest of this entry »

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Apr172012

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Bernards: Familiar Faces

posted by at 6:25 am

Follow-up on the difficult facial tumor cases

It’s two months after their tumor resections and facial reconstructions. Most of the swelling is gone now. Abebe has a little bit of a facial nerve palsy (the nerve was stretched either during surgery or with the swelling post-op). This is improving, however, and he is expected to have a symmetric smile in no time. Kasahun has a little extra skin from where he lost that big tumor. That can be fixed easily. We praise God for the good outcomes of these difficult cases. So many things could have gone wrong during the surgeries and their post-operative course.

To view the “before” photos, follow this link: http://cure.org/2012/01/bernards-difficult-surgical-cases-this-week-please-pray/

The faithful love of the LORD never ends! His mercies never cease.  Lamentations 3:22

 

Mohammed

Mohammed

 

Abebe

 

Kasahun

 

Bitew

Bitew

 

Moedian

Moedian

 

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Apr122012

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Bernards: Easter in Ethiopia

posted by at 1:13 pm

We wish everyone a happy Easter as we celebrate Jesus’ victory over death on our behalf. We are humbled as we remember that Jesus suffered and died to bring us to the Father. Ethiopians always have to be different than the rest of the world – they celebrate Easter next Sunday. Today was Palm Sunday for them, where we remember Jesus coming into Jerusalem the week of Passover, before His death and resurrection. The Bible explains how people hailed Him as King as He rode into Jerusalem, so there were parades around town today with palm branches being waved and enthusiastic singing. Many people wore palm branches tied around their foreheads to commemorate the event. Read the rest of this entry »

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Apr022012

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CURE in the News: Week of March 25, 2012

posted by at 6:10 am

CURE Ehtiopia

“CURE raising money for 100 surgeries” from Mission Network News

 

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Mar302012

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Bernards: Polio, arthrogryposis, and other unusual diseases

posted by at 6:14 am

I remember when I was a kid, my mom telling me the story of a friend of hers from childhood. Polio was a common disease at that time in the US. Her friend’s mother would not let her children play outside or with other children for fear of polio. However, when her children reached school age, they had to go to school. My mom’s friend, shortly after starting school, developed a terrible case of polio. The mother had been so protective for the first few years of her children’s life, but there was a point where she couldn’t protect them anymore, and her greatest fear happened. That was back in the 1940′s. Read the rest of this entry »

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Mar252012

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Bri in Ethiopia: The Best 6 Dollars I Ever Spent

posted by at 5:15 pm

It really doesn’t take that much to bring me immense joy. Today at the hospital, the kids and I made a game out of killing flies with a flyswatter, and it was honestly a lot of fun. One kid in particular has what I guess I can only describe as a very droopy eye. It sounds wrong to type it out like that, but once you see his smile, the fact that his face is somewhat disfigured escapes you. He would point to his face when a fly would land on it, and whisper iso (it’s ok), as in, “It’s ok to hit me in the face with that flyswatter.” I didn’t, of course, but I did let him swat me a few times on the leg. It was worth the sting even though he missed the flies. They are the world’s most annoying flies, by the way. They do not get the hint that you hate them. Read the rest of this entry »

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Mar112012

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Bri in Ethiopia: Surprises and Similarities

posted by at 7:00 am

Exodus Zekne It has been a whole six weeks into my year-long stay here in Addis Ababa, and I’ve discovered a few surprises along the way. I knew some things would shock me coming into a third world country, but I didn’t count on all of the times I would be pleasantly caught off guard.

My job as the CUREkids coordinator in Ethiopia is to capture, through photos, video, and stories, what exactly happens when the children receive life-changing operations here at the hospital. One of my CUREkids is named Exodus, and her family is one of the nicest families I’ve ever met in my life Read the rest of this entry »

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Mar092012

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Bernards: At his gate was laid

posted by at 6:30 am

This little girl was waiting at the CURE gate this morning when I arrived… a little more compelling than Lazarus, I would guess. Who could resist helping her? Read the rest of this entry »

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