Congo (DRC) - Kinshasa

Our Small Hospital

The coronavirus epidemic caused many difficulties for the Mission and necessarily put a halt to ongoing projects. People were locked in their homes. Domestic and international airlines stopped operating, and Kinshasa was shut off the rest of the country. Those of our students who did not manage to leave for their hometowns, were confined to the boarding house of our Theological School. The bishop, wanting to make them feel safe and secure, stood by their side so that they would feel his care and concern. Stores and houses of prayer were locked down for the faithful. Financial hardships were multiplied. Difficult days dawned. Naturally, all these affected the missionary activity of our Diocese and led it to the suspension of all actions and projects.

In our small hospital, the Health Center, works had stopped before the coronavirus outbreak. They had stopped because we had run out of the donated funds and the Diocese had no money to continue the project. Besides, there are so many activities going on and our funds are so limited that nothing is left for the continuation of the Health Center works.

The project had progressed but it was not possible to be completed. The patient rooms and the 1st floor treatment rooms were completed. Now, equipment is missing, as well as the doors that are currently travelling in the container your Fraternity sent us. This floor was used last spring by the doctors who came from Greece and examined the poor natives for free. The people rejoiced, we all rejoiced. We were encouraged to go on with our efforts. The second floor is still in construction. Doors, floor tiles, ceiling, toilet facilities, electrical network, equipment are still missing. Moreover, the auxiliary rooms and the small chapel in honor of Theotokos Sumela and Saint Panteleimon, patrons of our Health Center, are also pending.

During the few days it operated under very difficult circumstances, we realized its importance and necessity. We can remember the small child brought by his poor father in his arms. He could not pay for a doctor and he trembled at the thought that his child was about to die, just like so many children who die for the same reason. Our doctors saved it, gave it medication and he left thankful with tears of gratitude with his little child in his arms. The child was saved. We witnessed many such incidents and teared up. Then we all wondered, when the works are over and the auxiliary rooms are added and the center is equipped and starts operating, how many people will it help? How many children will it save?

Unfortunately, the money was over, the works came to a halt, the coronavirus epidemic broke out and caught us unprepared. Many asked the Church for help but there was nothing we could do. In this hard season, we were unable to stand by them. Our Health Center was not operational yet. People came and begged for help, but since we had no money, we did not know what to do. Had it been completed, though, we could have stood by them, we could have helped them.

It is imperative that funds are found so that the project can be completed as soon as possible for our people to be helped.

As a matter of fact, with the container shipped by the Orthodox Missionary Fraternity, the doors and some of the medical machinery are coming. The medical group in Greece is being prepared and organized. But how could our small hospital operate, if not completed?

Diseases here multiply, many indigenous people lack the money to visit a doctor, to get hospitalized, to be cured. And we, the Orthodox Church, the Diocese, the Mission, are unready to stand by them and help them since we need a lot of money to render our small hospital operational.

We pray to our Theotokos and Saint Panteleimon to come to our help. We pray that they illumine the people who can contribute to the costs for the completion of the Health Center of our Orthodox Mission.

† Nikiforos of Kinshasa

Waiting for the Health Center to open. Till when?