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Charis Around
the World
Tidbits From Ebony
by Elizabeth Carmichael
A man,
as the representative of his family, walks through the distribution
line
and gathers donations of blankets, wood, flour, rice, beans, tea,
sugar, salt and oil.
Dear
Charis Family,
I hope this month's newsletter finds you all doing well and not
buried under too much snow. Thank you for your continued
prayers for me and for Ebony as the Father's work moves forward.
In the past months, there have been some amazing up and down
moments. For those of you who know where Ebony is, you may
have seen some things mentioned in the news recently. I am
very thankful that myself and other friends have not been involved
in any of the serious security incidents that have occurred.
One great victory this month came as we moved towards re-launching
our project in a particular village where we have been having some
significant security obstacles for the past six months. Our
group of 20 ladies in this village called "Chasm" have only finished
half of their eight month course toward becoming community health
workers (a course which includes a three month certification process
focused on childbirth education). Last July we were banned
from returning to the village to give the ladies their lessons
because someone had threatened all the people involved in this
effort. We stayed away for a while and then our men started
going back to try to regain a place in the community. They met
many times with male community leaders. Slowly, we were
invited to come back and continue our program, yet the men could not
find a suitable place for the ladies to meet. They wanted to
charge us rent for teaching them in an "appropriate" place for
ladies. In our community development program, we never pay
rent. The community needs to desire, invest and facilitate
their own development program. We can provide training and
certification, and even support as they continue moving forward, but
we do not provide monetary incentives for our programs. We
have seen that as a very ineffective and unsustainable way to
implement true development. We have been at an impasse on this
"rent" issue for months between our project workers and the men of
"Chasm."
So, in the past month, we found a way to just meet with the ladies
themselves.....the first time since July 2010. It was so
amazing to see their faces again that I broke down and cried several
times as I hugged them hello. We learned that they didn't even
know that our friend and previous project manager had been murdered
last August, so we told them and dove back into the grief in order
to walk that painful journey with them. As we met with them,
we discussed the problems with the program and asked if they had any
ideas toward a solution. Hind sight is always 20/20, but I
swear the thought had already crossed my mind that if we would only
give the women fifteen minutes to talk it out, they would come up
with a solution to a problem the men hadn't been able to solve in
several months. And, wouldn't you know it--they did it!
They came up with a solution and we started back to our work in the
village of "Chasm" the very next week.
I still am not allowed to visit "Chasm" myself. Only my local
staff can go out there. Even though the security situation has
gotten a bit better, it is still far too risky for a foreign woman
to be traveling out there....it puts everyone else in extra jeopardy
and the benefits of having me ride along are just not worth the
risks right now. My two female trainers travel out there in a
plain vehicle with a male driver. They carry their cell phones
and a satellite phone on them because, in much of the village, there
is no cell phone coverage. It is really "off the grid!"
On the first day back in "Chasm," our ladies met in a cold, damp
room with no heat and, huddled together on the floor, they discussed
their plans for moving forward with their lessons. The meeting
was interrupted by a villager who had come in search of health care!
"A baby is coming! We need help!" Our health trainers
went right away. By the time they arrived, a baby girl was
coming into the world. The family was having problems because
the mother had previously had a lot of trouble delivering her
placentas. (This was something like her 8th child.)
Indeed, the placenta did not arrive for two more hours. But,
the baby breastfeed within fifteen minutes of birth, and our health
trainers did all the appropriate things to make sure the uterus had
help contracting and that the placenta was fully in tact with no
signs of retained parts after it was delivered. These things
are the very real difference between life and death out in a village
like "Chasm!" And, I doubt this woman would EVER have received
anything close to the midwives model of care from anyone else.
My health training staff are not midwives or doctors, but they have
learned how to offer and teach appropriate care, both relationally
and technically. I am so proud of them and I am so excited
about what God is doing in the village of "Chasm!"
Another exciting event of this month was a major car accident that
happened!!! Some friends of mine went on a hiking trip and,
before they even got there, the car slid on some ice and tumbled
down the road. It happened to be our project vehicle.
Now it is totaled. All nine friends survived the accident and
car rolling. BUT, since the car rolled on TOP of a donkey, we
think that was the one, lone casualty. In this country, if you
hit someone's sheep, OR if your car happens to roll on someone's
donkey.....you BETTER pay for it! Or, you could have someone
hunting after you with an AK-47. I think I am correct in
reporting that we have learned the going rate for a donkey this
winter is approximately $400. That is what my friends had to
pay the man who watched a healthy beast of burden become a pancake
and save nine human lives in return. :-(
How many
men does it take to push a car onto it's side after it has crashed
and landed upside down?
Answer: Fewer men than you would think
At the
time that my friends were getting in the car accident, I was busy on
another adventure of my own. Since Christmas one of my friends
and I had wanted to do some kind of relief project in town. The
focus of our work is not really relief efforts, yet there are so
many around town who are fighting for their lives each winter.
Many of them live in tents, without heating or proper water or food.
We found a camp on the outskirts of town that was newly formed (the
refugees had recently arrived and settled there). No other
aide groups are working with them yet. So, we decided to help
them out for a bit, with at least enough wood and food for a month
along with some extra blankets for their whole community.
Since we are development trainers, we just could not be satisfied to
just "give away" items. We have to do something a bit more
sustainable than that! So, we invited all the women for some
training. We spent four hours with them, training them in
child protection (i.e., why should you NOT beat your toddler), human
trafficking (i.e., teach your children to stay away from strangers),
burn prevention and first aid (i.e., when you fall into the fire
toothpaste is NOT the best thing to put on the burn), pregnancy
health and prevention of emergencies (i.e., there IS hope for
preventing and living through a hemorrhage), and basic nutrition
(i.e., just because your baby gets fat when you feed him butter does
NOT mean he is "healthy"). We had a GREAT time educating and
building a relationship with these ladies. Our eyes were opened to
many, many needs, not the least of which is their spiritual hunger
and need. Pray for them as you view these pictures.
A picture of the refugee camp where we did a winter relief project
this month.
A sweet face from the refugee camp.
Finally,
the last tidbit of the month is...........SNOW!!!!!!!!!! The
first real snow came on the 53rd birthday of my roommate who has
been missing since 2008. What a great view to have while I
thought of her and remembered her this year. Just beautiful. I
maintain my stance, though, that HIS grace is much better than
snow--it doesn't just cover over everything ugly, it TRANSFORMS us.
Seeking even more glorious transformation as we walk this road
together.....
Thanks and love,
Elizabeth Carmichael
And......the first real snowfall of the season has arrived!!!
My staff took full advantage of the opportunities fresh snow can
provide.
Our International Charis
Family
Your stories from around the world touch us and we pray for your
safety.
Thanks, Love and Blessings to every one of you!
'Behold, I will bring them from the north country, And gather them
from the ends of the earth,
Among them the blind and the lame,
The woman with child and The one who labors with child, together,
A
great throng shall return there...And My people shall be satisfied with My goodness, says the LORD.'
Jeremiah 31:8, 14~~~
©2011 Charis Childbirth
Services, All Rights Reserved
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leaving all attribution intact.
February 2011
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