TO WORSHIP ME,
FEED MY SHEEP From Rajshahi Mission Hospital, Bangladesh
Rajshahi Christian Mission Hospital
In 2020, Rajshahi Mission Hospital in Bangladesh was requisitioned by the Bangladeshi government for use as a treatment centre for Covid-19 patients. Although we were glad that the hospital could be used to help those suffering with Covid-19, it saddened us to think that our 96-year-old institution no longer belonged to the Church of Bangladesh. Thankfully, on 1 February 2021, ownership of the hospital returned to the Church. 1 February was our Lazarus Day, our second chance, and for this we give thanks to God. Hospital staff are currently working with the Bangladeshi government’s Directorate General of Health Services to renew the hospital’s medical licence, having successfully renewed the hospital’s registration with the Bangladeshi government’s NGO Affairs Bureau. The present Moderator of the Church of Bangladesh, the Rt Rev’d Samuel Mankhin, hopes that the Church, and the Mission Hospital as part of this, can become self-sufficient by 2025.
In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, we hope to ‘build back better’, with the aim of becoming a self-sufficient hospital for marginalised communities in Rajshahi. We have recruited a number of specialist doctors and senior nurses who are now working in the hospital. We are in the process of hiring further physicians, with the aim of employing sufficient staff in order to treat patients within a few hours of their arrival. We have also agreed to supervise student nurses from the nearby Nagar Nursing Institute whilst they complete their practical training at the hospital. This means that we will have a nurse available for every patient who is in need of treatment.
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