Sep. 2023

親愛的朋友們，

在希比克河流域的眾村莊裡，很少有沉靜的哀悼。當有人死亡時，人們會持續數天大聲哭泣，藉此公開表達悲痛之情。有時他們會把灰燼或泥土塗在身體上，如照片所示。在初步表達悲痛之後，按著他們的文化，親屬們就聚集在一起為這次的死因討論出一個說法。在通常形況下，大家會認為是巫術所致。在他們的底層思維裡，沒有死亡是出於自然因素。有趣的是，他們的推敲討論、懷疑、甚至是控訴似乎都不會有個結論。一個按著醫學事實給出的簡單答案總是不會令人滿意，「為什麼」的問題不斷地冒出來。當然，我們所有生活在永恆的此岸的人，對這個「為什麼」不會有個立即的答案。然而，身為基督徒，我們深信上帝知道並且使萬事互相效力，叫愛祂的人得益處。

Foreign aid enabled the PNG government to upgrade medical facilities at Ambunti (seen below) with a complete hospital and all new housing for the hospital staff. The compound has backup power supply, the hospital even includes an operating theater, an Xray department, plus the ability to store refrigerated medical supplies like vaccines. Currently patients are being seen and when fully staffed the hospital will be very helpful to the people the middle Sepik River area. Yet many rural villagers in PNG live days away from the medical treatment at Ambunti or the more distant the urban centers. 

外國援助使得新幾內亞政府得以提升安布恩提的醫療設施，醫院建物及及工作人員全新的宿舍已經完工。整個醫院園區備有電源設備，醫院甚至包含手術室、X射線部門，以及存儲疫苗等冷藏醫療用品的設施。目前已經有患者來接受治療。將來人員到齊時，醫院將大大造福希比克河中段流域的百姓。然而，新幾內亞還有眾多村民，從他們村子要花幾天路程才能來到安布恩提接受醫療，更煌說更遠的城市中心。 

To help address the health care situation PIM has a medical program which consists of six village aid posts staffed by eleven Community Health Workers. Decades ago, this work first began by training teachers and some village volunteers who went to their respective villages with a large first aid kit containing    some drugs for basic treatments, bandages, tape, ointment, and malaria medicine. The average person in a village has no medical supplies since their nearest pharmacy is days or hours away. 

為了幫助解決醫療保健問題，PIM成立了醫療事工，該事工包含十一名社區衛生工作員所駐點的六個鄉村醫療援助站。幾十年前，這項事工首先從培訓教師和一些村莊志願者開始，他們帶著大型急救箱前往各自的村莊，裡面裝有一些基本治療藥物、繃帶、膠帶、軟膏和瘧疾藥物。一般村民並沒有醫療用品，因為離他們最近的藥房有幾天或幾小時的路程。 

Sending those Village Heath volunteers helped with some of the basic medical needs and improvements in health were seen. As time went on eventually the PIM village health volunteers were replaced by Community Health Workers who had been trained to a higher level at a Medical College, and were capable of doing a broader range of medical work.

派遣村莊醫療志工有助於滿足一些基本的醫療，村民健康改善日益可見。隨著時間推移，PIM所派遣的醫療志工最後被社區衛生工作者所取代。這些衛生工作者在醫學院接受過更高層級的培訓，能夠從事更廣泛的醫療工作。 

John Yuar, who supervises the PIM medical program, reports that in the village clinics malaria is the most treated malady, followed by coughs and then skin infections. In 2022 there were 413 pregnancies The total population of the 6 clinic villages is 10,337 however the count does not include other nearby villages. PIM health workers have had no shortage of work in the past year!

負責PIM醫療事工的約翰．尤阿爾說，在村莊裡的診所，診治最多的疾病是瘧疾，其次是咳嗽，然後是皮膚病。2022年有413名孕婦求診。六個診所的所在村莊人口數為10,337人，這還不包括鄰近的其他村莊。PIM的衛生工作者在過去這一年中可說是工作滿檔。

---John Yuar with Charlie Gasa CHW---

---約翰．尤阿爾與社區衛生工作員查理．葛撒 ---