Naropa, the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics has always been about awareness and action, I share this story from the Congo

My colleague Pastor Chuck Fluegel is a pastor in our area, with experience in the Congo,and many countries in Africa and India,  having raised a family in Africa, and lived there for many years. He has raised money and organized a four month mission to the Congo, setting up medical places in the villages, around Malaria, AIDS/HIV education and longer life for babies born in these villages and their moms. I feel like he walking but he hitches a ride where he can and has begun his work. He works with the Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Congo with very little support from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (sorry). You can send a check to the East Central Synod of the ELCA, 16 Tri-Park Way, Appleton WI 54914-1658. They are helping by allowing him to withdraw money from the Congo Account. The financial reality is, he needed $35,000 and raised close to $20, 000 and went any ways, thanks Chuck!

This is one of the first stories he sent me. Sad, Powerful, faith driven and a lesson as the Republican Party and their broken tea bag friends protect the rich and screw everyone else, hundreds and more children are dieing daily...I hope this story challenges and heals!  ko shin Bob Hanson

Making New Friends at Kibembe, the ELCCo Seminary

On only the second night in DR Congo, we are in the dark again because the power was out. One of the pastors I had eaten dinner with, stopped by. In the dark, I could hardly see his face, but his stark story came through the darkness. Pastor Malalay UFITA and his wife Mbuyu have been in parish ministry 6 years for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Congo. Earlier he had served as secondary school teacher, where he was called Professor.

He had asked to talk about the various health strategies to overcome under nutrition, dehydration and malaria which he has seen a lot of in his parish. After talking about the problems of his country for some time, he explained that he and his wife had lost 3 children in the last 11 years. He said malaria was probably the cause of death of Josef, only ten months old who was the most recent death. The last two child deaths were during his work as a rural Pastor. Misu was only three years old when she died. Misu suffered from being marginally underweight although she seemed healthy. And again malaria did her in.

Pastor Malalay and his wife Mbuyu have talked about it many times, the lack of healthy food and malaria. The first child Reagan died at 3 years old during the civil war (1998- 2003). Things were difficult for both food and medicines at that time. Food was also seasonly scarce in his rural parish. He acknowledged that they did not have enough vegetables and fish(often eating only corn and manioc).

Pastor Malalay is still asking questions about why his children had to die. But he knows that all rural Congolese kids have the odds stacked against them. And he wants to do something about it. So he has promised to help me write a page poster on Malaria Prevention, so that others can hear the recommendations of World Health Organization, UNICEF and Lubumbashi University School of Public Health. The government has recently promoted insecticide treated mosquito nets and indoor residual spraying, but it has been alleged that best medicines have yet to reach the rural poor. Many continue to use the old quinine instead of the WHO recommended artemisinin combination therapy.

In 2008, over 553,000 Congolese under five kids died of all causes. Over 94,000 died of malaria. Over 102,000 died of dehydration/diarrhea. Somewhere near 200,000 died of the co-cause under nutrition. UNICEF says that 52% of rural under five children show signs of stunting. Unfortunately this means that after they are more than two years old, they will probably never recover their health.    

This story has not been edited or spell checked it is raw data, reality, the moment. Deep bows and compassion for taking time to read it my friend   ko shin