The Big Need: Nurse Salary Support

Can you imagine being a 20 something single woman nurse living in one of these remote villages? Maybe a couple of hundred people live in the town around you. The entire town looks to you for their health, to save their baby, their lives, when an illness hits. You HAVE to be available 24-7 because there is no one else to turn to. You have one small room, AT THE CLINIC, which is yours (except at Marquirivi where Julia doesn’t even have that – she sleeps in the patient reception room). No internet. In most places no cell phone connections. EVERYONE dependent upon you. AND NOW YOU AREN’T EVEN BEING PAID? But you CONTINUE to work and stay there? AMAZING!!!!

Julia Bugoa at Marquirivi (3rd from the Right)

The clinics are staffed by young (mostly) female Auxilary nurses with special training in the basic needs of communities like these: first aid, administering IV medicines, surturing a wound, splint and casting a broken bone; and delivering babies. They also spend much time on preventative medicine such as family planning, boiling water, nutrition, sexually transmitted diseases, and other preventative health care issues.

Nurse Dina Tusco (Rt.) at Colquemaya

Most of these 20-something year old nurses live at their clinic, usually in a small room connected to the clinic. One nurse (Julia at Marquirivi) actually sleeps in the patient reception room and has to put everything up each morning. They serve their clinics 24 – 7. Their salaries range from $173/month (the newest nurse hired in Jan. 2011) to Elisa Quiroga (hired in ’02) at $317/month. They work tirelessly for the good of their communities.

Funding for the salaries has always come from the US, and that funding has dried up. There are probably three reasons for this: the economy in the US; internationally the whole world is experiencing a drop in donations to elsewhere because of the huge amount of donations flowing into Haiti since the earthquake; and, to be honest, the previous IEMB leadership in this area did not work at all on raising funds or building relationships with US groups. Ruben Teran, Secretary of Services, and Dr. David Mamani, Director of Medical Services, are committed to all that they can to raise this money. Rev. David Stephenson will be coaching them.

As you know, the IEMB is a poor church, struggling to pay its own pastors. But they are scrambling around trying to find some money to pay for these important salaries. And we need to help. A $200 donations will pay the average salary of a clinic nurse for an entire month. A mere $50 donation will pay the average salary of a nurse for a week! $10 will pay for a full day’s worth of medical care by one of these dedicated nurses. Won’t you please consider helping?

Donations go through the General Advance “Health Care Program” #08767A.

You can give directly to the General Board of Global Ministries through the internet by clicking on the Advance logo(You can give your home church credit for this donation if you choose at this website. )

If you wish, you can write the check to your home United Methodist congregation and have the church treasurer forward it to the Conference Treasurer for: Advance Special #08767A “Bolivian Health Care Program” and put ‘nurses salaries’ on the notation line.

If you would like to learn more about their work, CLICK HERE

To see a video on the life and work of one of the nurses: Elisa Quiroga at the Cotani clinic click on her photo:

Click on Photo to see video

 Despite great resistance from other denominations, Elisa introduced family planning in Cotani and reduced the number of children being born in the village from 30-40 to 5-10 a year. The results have been healthier children, dramatically reduced child mortality rates, the ending of childhood malnutritioin, and rising economic status for the community. You got to look at this video!

These nurses need our help. A $25 or $50 gift can make a huge difference. Please consider giving today.