Ntagacha's Greatest Need

As Mwita and I began planning for the next DVD to be made for the City of Hope, we asked people what is Ntagacha's greatest need? As I pondered that question for a while, it became very apparent...Ntagacha needs its hospital to be opened!

This especially became apparent to me the other night. After dinner I was doing my daily routine of going down to play with the children as they prepared to end their day. As I walked into the dining hall on little boy pointed out a few drops of blood on the floor and then before I knew it Boke walked up to me, his nose dripping with blood. He said that he had fallen and his nose had begun to bleed. As I took him up to the house to assess, we soon found that he was bleeding out his mouth as well and we were concerned of a possible nose break.

Though my heart was broken for him, I knew I had to set right to action. After icing and compressing his nose for about half an hour without any slowing, I decided we needed to head to the clinic. A few of us hopped in the van and headed down the road. We decided to stop in a nearby village at a small clinic. We took Boke out of the car and ducked into a tiny doctor's office. The sun had begun to set and as the doctor assessed Boke, Tabitha and I took turns holding the flashlight for him to see.

We waited at this clinic for another half hour, and decided that this doctor did not have the equipment and medicine necessary to stop the bleeding. We traveled down the road Tabitha holding a tissue to his nose, myself holding a tissue at his mouth and Elsa holding the flashlight I began to worry. We were traveling down a dusty, bumpy dirt road and by now it was completely dark. Boke's eyes were beginning to droop, his pulse was racing and his hand was getting hold. As I squeezed his hand tightly I began to pray like I never had before.

After two hours since the bleeding had started we arrived at the doctor's office and he was called to come. Soon he came on his motorcycle. Thankfully he knew just what to do and he had the right medicine to stop the bleeding. He took Boke into his care and assured us that we had done the right thing, that we should go home and collect the boy in the morning.

Driving home, I finally began to breath again. I was full of thanksgiving, yet heart break.

I began to think about what if this was a different child. We were the only ones that own a vehicle in the village. What if it was a different child and his only transportation was a bicycle, or worse on foot. If it was any other child, it would have taken to long, the blood loss would be too much, it would have been to late. Oh Lord, I cried, we need this hospital.

Though it is moving along, we still need the government to finalize their end, and we need money for the housing of the nurses and doctors. We have come so far, but we still have far to go.

This hospital, though, truly is Ntagacha's greatest need.