Delivering food, shelter, and hope to the poorest of the poor
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Cross Catholic Outreach
- April 26, 2011
Saving Lives with Medical Care
In today’s high-tech world, it’s hard to imagine that millions of poor people around the world lack access to even basic health care facilities. For families in developing countries, stocked pharmacies, clinics, and hospitals might be dozens of miles away, and even if facilities are nearby the poor usually can’t afford their services anyway.
What’s really sad is that a lack of basic health care facilities means men, women, and children often die of preventable or easily treatable illnesses or needless infections. A simple cut can turn deadly if it becomes infected and there are no antibiotics to treat it for miles around, or if the doctor’s visit and life-saving medicine are too expensive for the poor people who desperately need it.
A nurse employed by our ministry partner in Mozambique looks after an orphaned boy.
One place this is happening is Mozambique, where health care is non-existent in many rural areas, and present but too expensive for poor families to access in urban areas. We are working with one of our ministry partners to help orphaned and vulnerable children have access to health care, so they are protected from potentially life-threatening illnesses.
Virtually all of these orphans are too poor to go to the doctor or buy medicine on their own, because they have no parents, relatives, or other caretakers to help them. For those lucky enough to have one or both parents, medical care is usually an unattainable luxury.
To combat health issues among children, our ministry partner employs certified nurses who supply medical treatment, distribute medicine when needed, and take children to the hospital if necessary, and conduct home visits. Since malaria is the No. 1 killer of children in Mozambique, the nurses also educate children about malaria prevention, such as the importance of using mosquito bed nets, eliminating standing water, and keeping the house clean.
With help from compassionate Catholics, we can continue helping our ministry partner in Mozambique—and other partners around the world—as they bring health care to the poorest of the poor in Christ’s name. No one should have to go without the life-saving treatment they need, especially orphaned and vulnerable children with no one to properly care for them. Click here to read about how you can help Cross Catholic bring medical care to the poor who need it most.
