By Esther Ndiang'ui
Director of Programs at IMA World Health 

I was lucky to visit Lyn on March 7, 2012 which was the week before she passed.

During Lyn’s absence from Goma from August 2011 when she was in UK for treatment, we occasionally chatted on Skype.  We both promised each other that we would meet over a cup of tea in Goma upon her return.  It was a deal we made and looked forward to if God allowed it to happen.  When my March travel arrangements to Goma were finalized, I wrote to her telling her that I would be in Goma from March 1, 2012.  She quickly responded telling me that I was welcome to go visit her any time upon my arrival.  Her door was open.  She wrote in these exact words:

“I am looking forward to seeing you in Goma early March.  I spend most of my time at the house, so please come by Maji Matulivu.  I am enjoying the time to think and write.

With much love.

LL”

I arrived in Goma and Lyn contacted me via Skype asking me when I was going to see her.  I quickly responded that I would see her the following day.  I was happy that God had heard our prayers and we were finally going to have that cup of tea together at her home as we had hoped.

I was accompanied by my colleagues (Debbie, Tracy, and Louise) when we visited Lyn and we found her in very high spirits, smiling as ever.  She was with Judy, a Heal Africa, US colleague who helped in serving us tea, coffee and biscuits.

Lyn was the same one that I had known before and despite her illness, she did not complain or show any signs of illness.  I was amazed at how well she looked.  She was very smartly dressed and looked her best. We chatted and laughed through our lively conversation that did not include any discussion about her illness.  She shared with us the news of the birth of her first grandchild and showed us some pictures.  Both of us talked a little bit about how precious grandkids are, as this is something we shared in common.  I knew about her grandchild as she had mentioned this to me late last year by email that she wrote while in UK undergoing treatment.  She had then written in these exact words, “whatever happens, I will not return to Congo until I have greeted our grandchild.”  

Our conversation was an easy one focusing on day-to-day issues in DR Congo as well as some past experiences.  We also briefly talked about USHINDI project progress.  A conversation with Lyn would not be complete without discussing USHINDI. She was very much interested in the project showing some impact by the time it ends and was happy with the completion of the first phase of the impact study.  Lyn talked about Goma and how much it had changed over the years.  We touched a little bit about the post election DRC. Lyn talked about her children and where they were born in Eastern Congo.  She talked about her short stint in Kenya with her husband several years ago before they moved to Eastern Congo…it was my first time to hear that they had spent some time in Kenya before they founded Heal Africa.  We talked about the women of Eastern Congo especially those who were abused and violated. It was clear that Lyn felt their pain when she said in words similar to these: “Each one of us must contribute what we can in our efforts to make a difference in the lives of the women who are unjustly treated and violated…..we must not give up even if this work is challenging….it is our individual efforts that will collectively eventually make a difference…the work of USHINDI project as you know is very close to my heart”.  I don’t remember the exact words that she used, but these words are very close to what she said. I had also previously read from her about how close USHINDI project was to her heart.  She had also previously quoted in an email to IMA/HQ saying, “small seeds grow into giant trees”.

Before we said goodbye after enjoying an English cup of tea, we took a few pictures that I will forever treasure.  The memory of that day’s laughter and smiles on our faces are still very fresh on my mind.  I’ve posted one of my favorite photos at the top of this post. Our last hug will always be memorable.  I did not want to let her go and hoped I would see her again.  Unfortunately it was not to be…God had other plans for her.

As we parted ways, she stretched out her hands and touched my ears and then those of Tracy and said goodbye.  That touch is still very fresh on me - hopefully the USHINDI team will live up to her wishes.

While in UK undergoing treatment, Lyn continued to take the leadership as the COP of USHINDI project and worked through her illness even after she returned to Goma.  She continued coordinating USHINDI activities and worked with partners to prepare monthly reports to USAID without missing a deadline through January 2012. She remained strong to the end and would not give in to her illness.  She wrote from UK in mid September: “I am not feeling sick in the least; hopefully I will soon feel the benefit of the treatment to free up my breathing, and I will continue to do everything I can from a distance.”

Lyn was a great woman to work with.  She worked so hard up to the last minute and was always ready to help. She wrote to me in these words from UK when in mid September 2011 we started discussing the possibility of recruiting her replacement by January 2012: “Even if I am not on staff, I will be on the ground in Goma, and I will always be intimately concerned with the progress of Ushindi project which is so close to my heart, and available to the new COP for any help I can give.”

 She was full of humility, and respected/appreciated those she worked with as indicated in the following message to us at IMA/HQ after a positive USAID-sponsored data quality assessment of our USHINDI program in September 2011:

“Dear friends,

We are happy with this positive reaction from the DQA team.  Your support and technical advice has been the foundation stone for doing a job in year one that will not disappoint our donor and will bring glory to God.  Lives are being changed and communities transformed.  Small seeds will grow to giant trees.

LL”

She cared very much for marginalized people and especially the women of Eastern Congo who continually face rape and violence because of their Gender. She will be well remembered for her work and missed by all those who knew her.  Her legacy will indeed live on.

Rest in peace Lyn Lusi.

Recently, IMA World Health President & CEO Rick Santos delivered a sermon at the Westminster Christian Unity Service entitled "Victory through Unity in Christ".

Below is a transcript of his sermon. Click here to see local news coverage of the event.

 

Victory through Unity in Christ
January 29, 2012
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Good afternoon everyone. I am honored to be here with all of you today, as we encourage one another as we strive for unity in the body of Christ.  

Thirty years ago, as a undergraduate at the George Washington University, in Washington, DC, I was invited by a Presbyterian Minister, Rev. Bill Crawford, to attend a Tuesday evening dinner and participate in the Ecumenical Christian Ministry he led.  At that time I was searching to understand God’s will in my life and how to express it. That dinner, that vision of Christian unity, provided the trajectory of my life’s work ever since.   I stand here today, as committed to that vision as I was thirty years ago—and making that vision more than theoretical, but one actually lived out in the actions of my life.

The most recent expression of this vision of Christian unity for me is in my current position as the President and CEO of IMA World Health, a faith-based, ecumenical, nonprofit organization that operates out of the Brethren Service Center in New Windsor. Our mission at IMA is to advance health and healing to vulnerable and marginalized people all over the world, and our primary projects are in Haiti, Tanzania, DR Congo, South Sudan, Liberia, Kenya and India.  Our birth as an organization, and what continues to sustain us, is the commitment of different Christian churches and organizations to provide health supplies and services.   We work with local communities, facilities, and health ministries—to achieve our mission.

A little over a year ago, I had the pleasure of meeting Pastor Clementson, Pastor McCrickard and a few other members of the Westminster Ministerium, at a Day of Prayer we hosted in observance of the first anniversary of the Haiti earthquake.   

As some of you may know, I had a deeply personal experience with the Haiti earthquake in January 2010.  I was there, representing IMA with several colleagues, at a meeting on Neglected Tropical Diseases which had just finished 10 minutes earlier when the massive earthquake struck. As Pastor Fuss just read in 1 Corinthians, things can change in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye.  And they did for me and my five companions.  

One moment I was walking across a hotel lobby, with IMA and United Methodist colleagues who had joined us, heading to the restaurant to discuss how we could help revitalize the Methodist clinics in Haiti.  The next moment the earth lurched and the building collapsed on top of us, as did the entire six story hotel. We remained trapped beneath the rubble for more than two days before we were miraculously found and then rescued, by young French firefighters.

Of the six of us, only the four of us who were relatively uninjured eventually survived—two of my colleagues from the United Methodist Church survived the initial building collapse, but were severely injured and eventually died of their wounds and the shock.  Around us, in the rest of Port au Prince and earthquake effected areas of Haiti, it is estimated that more than 200-300 thousand people died, many more were injured and nearly 1.5 million were made homeless.

Why did I live?  Why did the foreign rescue teams come to where I was and not other places?  Why was I able to return home to my family while others still remain homeless to this day?  Why did the poorest country in the western hemisphere have to experience even more terrible suffering?

I still think about these questions—and the only answer that seems to make sense to me, which comes in those silent spaces, between the end of a prayer or scripture passage, and when the mind moves to other things—is that I am no more special than the person who died. And that in a tragedy, such as the Haiti earthquake, we all share in the loss; we all share in the suffering of those who died, were injured and made homeless.  That God is with all of us equally, and perhaps more so with those who suffered and died.   

I have been involved in relief and development work for the last twenty years, and I have seen great suffering over the world, particularly in places like Haiti, DR Congo and South Sudan where years of oppression and war have destroyed homes, families and critical infrastructure. There are no winners in these conflicts where millions of innocent people who are left without a means to obtain food, health care, clean water, education and other essential needs barely survive.  For me, how we respond to these tragedies, is what defines us—much like how the Presbyterians, Methodists, Lutherans, Episcopals, Disciples, UCC, Mennonite, Brethren, and Adventists responded to the tremendous need for health and healing by unifying and creating my organization—IMA World Health—when it was founded 50 years ago.

Paul says in 1 Corinthians, we are called to devote our lives to serving God.   

What does that look like? Well for one, it means helping those who have been dealt a difficult hand – the poor, the sick, the oppressed. The people who could really use a victory. Isaiah 1:17 says, “Learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow.”

And it also means loving one another, both throughout the world and here in the body of believers, just as God loved us.

Because of our victory in Christ, we know that despite earthquakes, despite suffering, despite the obstacles we meet along the path, our labor for God is not in vain. In fact, our work on this earth can transform lives and lead others to victory as well. That’s what we strive for in our work every day at IMA World Health, and that’s why we continue working in some of the world’s most difficult places.  

The theme of today’s service is the transformative power of faith in Christ, particularly in relation to our prayers for the unity of the Church. This doesn’t mean that we’re praying for everyone else to change to meet our own ideals. It means that we pray that we would each be transformed to be more and more like Christ every day—taking action and serving and loving one another.

That’s when true unity, true victory, true transformation and a true ecumenical vision in action can be made possible.

 

 

By This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
President & CEO IMA World Health

It happened in an instant; the last thing I remember was walking through the lobby of the Hotel Montana– then nothing.

I woke up in total darkness.

Two years ago on January 12^th,I was in Port-au-Prince, chatting with colleagues. Suddenly, before I could say earthquake, the building lurched and collapsed on top of us. The eventsand sorrows of the next 55 hours have been thoroughly recounted elsewhere, but I will say it is a miracle that I’m alive today.

 

When a group of French fire fighters miraculously heard our cries and dug us out of the rubble more than two days later, my 15 minutes of fame kicked into gear. I was contacted for interviews by CNN and Good Morning America. The story of our experience has featured on a National Geographic Channel special, Witness to Disaster. The phone rang off the hook.

 

Yet, as our story circulated through the media, what tended to get lost was why we were in Haiti in the first place. It’s a very good reason, so that’s the story I’d like to share with you now.

I was in Haiti for a partner meeting on Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs). NTDs persist exclusively in the poorest communities in developing countries due to inadequate sanitation, unsafe water and infected mosquitoes/flies.

In Haiti it is not uncommon to see an otherwise capable person plagued by swollen and disfigured legs – a telltale sign of lymphatic filariasis (LF, or elephantiasis)  – or to meet children who are sick and struggling in school because intestinal worms (soil transmitted helminths, or STH) are stealing their nutrition. NTDs are costly, economically and socially, on both a personal and systemic level.

Through the USAID-funded and RTI-led National NTD Control Programme in Haiti, IMA World Health has been working with the Haitian government and partners since 2007 to conduct Mass Drug Administration (MDA) with two safe and effective drugs (DEC and Albendazole) to combat and prevent these diseases.

 

MDA, which began in just a few of Haiti’s 10 departments, are conducted at schools and community distribution posts. Everyone in attendance receives free treatment.

A key factor in the program’s success is the 18,000 trained Haitian volunteers that serve as medicine distributors and community leaders. Yes, you read that right – 18 thousand volunteers who are so reliable that we’ve also mobilized them to effectively distribute water filters, hygiene kits and even thousands of pairs of new shoes given by TOMS Shoes.

The most exciting news is that very soon, the NTD drug distribution program will achieve full national coverage. That means everyone in all 10 departments in the entire country will have access to the drugs that, over time, can wipe these costly diseases from the population.

This is a cause for celebration! There are no other countries in the Latin America/Caribbean region that have achieved national coverage for a LF/STH program of this kind.

The earthquake and subsequent challenges (cholera, tropical storms, national elections) threatened to shut down these efforts, making this achievement even more remarkable. Staying the course was extremely important, because to be truly effective these MDA must be conducted annually for 5-7 years at minimum; a gap in distribution could negate years of progress and hard work. Fortunately our staff in Haiti was persistent and the Haitian government and partners dedicated to continuing treatments as soon as we could rally.

Why is this program such a big deal? First, it proactively addresses a need, of an entire population no less, rather than reacting to an emergency.Emergency relief is essential following a disaster, but people in countries like Haiti should not have to wait for a devastating earthquake to have their suffering addressed by those who can help.

Second, it’s almost entirely carried out by community members. While IMA and partners facilitate distribution and train the volunteers, those 18,000 Haitian volunteers are the ones spreading the word in their communities, educating their neighbors and dispensing the medicines.

Finally, it shows investment in Haiti’s future. The NTD program is long-term, and its benefits are highly sustainable—especially if all key players (donors, Haitian government, NGO partners and volunteers) continue to be as dedicated in the future as they’ve been in the past.

This is the part of my Haiti earthquake story that I want to focus on from here on out. As we remember the tragedy of January 12, 2010, let’s also celebrate the good that’s happened since then—including a huge leap in the elimination of some devastating diseases.

 

By This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Program Officer/IMA World Health

Over the past three days I have had the opportunity to observe the Liberia National Health Annual Conference which culminated in today's official launch of the National Health Policy & Plan, 2011-2021 by the President of Liberia, Mrs. Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf.

During the three day conference representatives from the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare (MOHSW), County Health and Social Welfare Teams, health care facilities, implementing partners and donors came together to acknowledge the health sector accomplishments. In 2007 only 40% of the population were able to access health care, by 2011 71% of the population has access to health care. In the new plan, the MOHSW has challenged itself, donors, partners and other governmental offices to increase that access to 85% by 2021. They would like the current statistic of skilled birth attendants to rise from 6 per 10,000 to 14 per 10,000 by 2021.

County Health Teams have worked very hard to elaborate on their county specific strategy and operational plan. Each of the 15 counties have different pressing issues and therefore while the national targets to be achieved for 2021 are high, each county has worked hard to make sure that their targets are achievable for their county.

The Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Walter T. Gwenigale was an active and vocal participant of the Conference. He responded to questions, comments and criticisms with consideration as well as praised the staff for a job well done.

On a personal note, the Liberian Vice President Mr. Joseph Boakai opened the conference. While I don't think that there is a picture of it – he shook my hand as he walked out – but a whole room of people saw it!

By Rick Santos
President & CEO, IMA World Health

Dear Friends,

As South Sudan prepares for official independence next week, IMA is busy working with the South Sudanese government to increase access to essential health care for millions of people. (Learn more about our work in South Sudan here.)

We are proud to be playing such a key role in advancing health in this new nation. However, we just received word from our team in South Sudan that there are urgent needs requiring immediate assistance. Will you help us?

Our Sudanese staffers are working hard to help bring health care services to the people of South Sudan, but conditions are difficult and safe housing is in short supply. We are currently gathering funds to build platforms and secure tents and basic living supplies to support our staff. In addition, the overtaxed generators in two of our offices are failing; we need electricity for our work to continue!

Please support our staff in South Sudan with a donation today so we can continue helping this new nation meet its health needs!

Thank you for your compassion and generosity,