A Future in Hope
When we're not in Ventura, we travel to spread hope.
Our last trips were in Peru. Poverty, and all the problems that comes along with it, plaques this country heavily. Disease, parasites, malnutrition, chronic pain and premature death are but a few.
It is not uncommon for families to live without fresh water, electricity or indoor facilities for bathroom and kitchens.
Unsanitary conditions, disease and malnutrition weaken the immune systems and make it difficult to fight off even the simplest ailments.
The most prevalent sufferings come from skin infections, diarrhea, pulmonary disease and dehydration. One of the most insidious threats to children is parasites in the food they eat. Unfortunately, they have not been taught to wash everything before they eat or to wash their hands before eating.
Hand washing and soap is the single most effective and inexpensive way to prevent diarrhea and acute respiratory infections (ARI). Globably, ARI is the number one cause of mortality among children under five years old, taking life of an estimated 1.8 million children per year. Diarrhea and pneumonia together account for almost 3.5 million child deaths annually. Turning hand washing with soap before eating and after using the the toilet into an integrated habit was projected to save more lives than any single vaccine or medical intervention, cutting deaths from diarrhea by almost half and deaths from acute respiratory infection by one-quarter.
80% of the working force complain of chronic back pain. Simple education of back strengthening exercises can greatly decrease this statistic.
Distributing printed pictorial literature is a very simple, effective and low cost way to educate concerning health hygiene, the importance of hand washing, reduction of chronic back pain, to name a few.
We visited hospitals and orphanages to distribute essentials and pray for the people. Children cannot participate in school without school supplies. If a child does not have a change of clothes, they are not permitted to be hospitalized.
We provided hope packages that had school supplies, clothing, and food along with personal prayer for each person.
Prayer, being the most important, gave people hope; especially when the received physical healing. They cried and looked up to heaven showing gratitude. This may have been the first personal encounter with God for many of them.
Subsequent trips have provided contacts for the future for us to set up teams there to reproduce our efforts.