A letter from Amy Davisson Galetzka serving in Thailand
Winter 2015 - A Story of Hope—Cholera Response
Dear Family and Friends,
I have had some wonderful visits with supporting churches, First Presbyterian Church in Allentown, Pa., and Wallace Memorial Presbyterian Church in Pittsburgh, Pa. What a blessing to reconnect and share the news from the Pan Rak Foundation, Thailand and Burma. I loved seeing the autumn colors and being able to kick through the fall leaves with Nadia J. I am so thankful for my mom, Beth, who traveled with Nadia and me for that week in Pennsylvania, allowing me to introduce her to these precious supporting communities and friends and to easily have conversations and speaking engagements. During this time Johnny was following up on his work in Nepal after the April 2015 earthquake.
I want to share a story of hope. When people are in crisis, hope can come in many forms. The story of our team working with other organizations to respond to a cholera outbreak is the idea of hope that I’ve heard lately!
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A young lady using the water filtration system
During September and October 2015, medics from Laytongku Community Health Center, which Pan Rak Foundation supports, partnered with other local organizations to respond to a cholera outbreak in local villages that the Center serves. At one point early in the outbreak, 61 villages were affected, 200 people were sick, 11 had died, and more than 1,000 were exposed. So public health groups and medics and village health workers were mobilized within two weeks to respond.
One of the responders supported through the Thai Christian Foundation reported in late October: “Busy few weeks. Please pray for the ongoing cholera outbreak response. The villages are scattered and hard to reach, but in the general area there have been roughly two deaths per week over the last two months. Lots of needs in these remote communities. I’m so proud of the medics working tirelessly, the addition of more medics joining last week, skilled trainers, and the work of the leaders.”
As of November, the response continues. Some challenges include insufficient infrastructures, manpower may be voluntary or for little pay, and the levels of literacy and poor general health knowledge in the populations being served.
Some positives in the situation include good collaboration with community stakeholders, the ability to safely travel due to the current ceasefire, quick response and good coordination among/between many local health agencies. There is also strong support from local Thai hospitals and the grassroots community.
They have a lot of work ahead—mobilizing manpower and consultants is needed to do the following: drinking water chlorination, deliver drinking water filters, water container chlorination (home water barrels), water source chlorination (including gravity-fed piping systems and wells), spraying of all toilets, and spraying of affected homes. And coordinating School Health Day—fun activities for children, community meetings with local leaders of the affected and nearby villages, coordination and updated information with local health care providers, and collecting data on suspected cases and locations of outbreak villages.
The Pan Rak Foundation and our staff will continue to support the medics and in whatever way we can the response to this crisis.
Another part of the hopefulness in the midst of this crisis is a personal one. When reading updates about the responders and their hikes through muddy trails to get to these villages, I read that some of the villages didn’t have toilets and so the responders were also building bathroom spots and needed toilets. I shared the photos and stories with my mom. When I told her, she decided that a toilet would be a great present for Christmas for someone in our family. She would give them the picture of the toilet in a card and say that was their present for Christmas, her donation for that village! What a great mom and example of hope to me—of the goodness that comes with living a faith-filled and thoughtful life. We asked the responder I mentioned above, and she said that actually water filtration systems were a better idea, because they knew of people who would be funding the toilets. So mom is going to give the water filtration system as her present instead. I know mom did not do any of this to be publicly praised, but just because it is a need and she can do something. I am so thankful for her example and wanted to share it with you.
As I think of how to continue supporting the response, I think prayer is so important. One example of a very specific prayer given for those facing cholera from a medical doctor from the U.S.A. who volunteered with the Pan Rak Foundation and visited the Laytongku clinic area this year:
God, we ask that you would make your presence known in Laytongku and the surrounding area!! Would you stop the spread of cholera—both from the source and among the people there? Would you cause all the organisms to die and be un-infectious, would you cause them to mutate so they can't spread or infect anything living? Would you stop the spread through food, water and unclean hands? Would you make intestinal cells strong and hydrated and resistant to infection with the virus? Would you protect the medics and any of those helping to treat people who are ill—not letting a single one of them get sick? Would you give big supplies of fresh and clean water and any needed electrolytes, antibiotics and persons to help treat those who are ill? Would you let this be a source and evidence of your power in that this disease is wiped out before it even gets started, and the praise and reason for that is reflected back to you? Would you stir the hearts of any and all who have been to or contributed to the work at Laytongku to pray for this place and its people even if they do not fully know why? We ask it in the HEALING name of Jesus, Amen!
I thank you for caring to read this story and about the amazing ways God is working in Burma and Thailand through skilled and caring responders. I feel so thankful for the opportunity to facilitate support for and work with the amazing people who respond to crises like this cholera outbreak, and save lives. There are so many stories of hope.
Have wonderful Christmas and holidays as you head into the New Year.
May God bless you richly,
Amy, for Johnny and Nadia too!
The 2015 Presbyterian Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 235
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