Chronic instability and ongoing conflict have caused severe poverty in the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Ongoing challenges include insufficient food sources, malnutrition, poor access to quality health care, political instability, tribalism, and the proliferation of rebel groups.
Infectious diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis, and HIV are widespread, and the prevalence of diabetes, obesity, and heart disease is increasing. Within the church, evangelism has been emphasized much more than discipleship or the pursuit of justice for the oppressed.
Nyankunde was once a thriving hub of evangelistic and medical missions. In 2002, the village was devastated due to social upheaval. Since 2004, Nyankunde and its missionary community have been in the process of rebuilding.
The Serge team in Nyankunde provides medical care to the local community, while also training Congolese doctors and nurses. The team is also committed to evangelism and discipleship and strives to become embedded in the local community and building relationships with neighbors.
The Serge team partners with other missionary doctors and Congolese medical colleagues to deliver compassionate medical care to the local community as well as patients traveling from all over our province and beyond. Broadly speaking, the team’s work advances treatment in obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics, and internal medicine. Primary focus areas are:
Here are just a few examples of the fruit they are seeing:
The team is committed to training excellent Congolese doctors and nurses who care for patients both physically and spiritually.
While providing clinical training, Serge missionaries also teach spiritual care and evangelism in the context of healthcare for medical and nursing staff.
With a focus on encouraging the local church and fellow missionaries, the team strives to become embedded in the local community and to love their neighbors well in Jesus’ name.
With the Helping Babies Breath program, MANY babies have been saved in our hospital! Before this, our maternity and OR nurses had little to no training in resuscitation right after birth. If a baby didn’t breathe well at delivery, it likely died before a doctor could get to the scene (our hospital uses nurses for most deliveries).
The head doctor and I also took HBB and the materials to all surrounding health centers and trained the nurses there. Until this training, the health centers did not have the materials to resuscitate babies even if they knew how.”
– Anna LaRochelle, Team Leader
We seek the following types of people to join the team in order to expand our work in Nyankunde: