180 women give birth each day in Gaza. Save the Children projects 15% of them experience birth complications: bleeding, infection, seizures. With virtually all healthcare facilities shuttered or disabled, where will these women find help?
Some 650,000 children in Gaza are hungry, per UNICEF. That’s about half the population of the Kansas City area. Highly publicized airdrops provide but little relief. Where will these children find food?
How can I serve in Gaza? is a question I hear every day. It speaks to the faith, compassion, and conviction held by those of you in the INMED sphere. How can I serve in Gaza? is a question filled with intensity like one that motivated me to provide medical care during the Civil War in Angola, Africa.
Amid today’s ongoing siege in Gaza, volunteers and service organizations are not permitted to enter. But such opportunities will likely emerge. In the meantime, How can I serve people in danger? is an equally compelling question for less publicized yet dire health crises that inflict agony upon Ukraine, Somalia, Congo, Haiti, Sudan, Yemen, and urban centers in the United States.
Begin by connecting with colleagues who share your convictions. The INMED Humanitarian Health Conference is an excellent opportunity. In Kansas City MO on Thursday, May 30 at 5pm, until Friday, May 31 at 5pm, we have assembled inspiring service organizations with whom you may work:
- Global Care Force, deploying of healthcare volunteer teams to Ukraine.
- Higgins Brothers Surgicenter for Hope, giving compassionate healthcare amid chaos in Haiti.
- Health for India, combating TB, malaria, and HIV that still ravage the northeast of that nation.
- Docs Who Care, manning healthcare facilities throughout rural America.
- InterServe, providing medical care in Central Asia and the Arab World.
Service across cultures and amid limited resources will require special skills. Humanitarian Health Conference breakouts and INMED programs throughout the year address patient care (like unfamiliar diseases), community health (such as access to safe drinking water), career development (including language learning), and hands-on skills (like ultrasound and wound care).
How can I serve people in danger in Gaza or beyond?! Seek out individuals who ask themselves the same compelling question. Share your experience about how to best assist vulnerable people. Pool your resources together for the benefit of humanity. And encourage one another day by day as you pursue a hard yet virtuous vocation!