We are excited to share a unique perspective of the GlobalFingerprints program with you! Dr. Dave Staab serves as one of ReachGlobal’s staff doctors, and has served on a medical team that recently visited GlobalFingerprints’ Liberia Site as well!
“When our medical team arrived at the New Hope School in Caldwell, Liberia, it was incredibly hot. Upon my own personal arrival in Liberia, I couldn’t help but notice the number of people wearing long sleeves, down-filled jackets, and hats. So I wasn’t too surprised to see a teenage girl wearing a stocking hat amongst the curious school children who greeted both myself and our medical team. We were there to perform an outdoor health screening visit consisting of establishing age, checking height and weight, listening to the heart and lungs, checking hemoglobin levels, and encouraging the kids to continue their studies.
When Sarah came up for her turn wearing her stocking hat, her story was finally shared. Her child advocate, Mardea, explained that Sarah had suffered hair loss as a toddler after an undisclosed illness. Sarah was embarrassed, anxious, always on the verge of tears, and in great pain about her baldness. I asked Nancy, one of my fellow team members, to comfort Sarah while I took a look. Sarah shook as I lifted the slightest corner of her stocking hat. I could see no hair nor feel any stubble. Sarah was a bald thirteen-year-old girl. I would have liked to do a much more thorough exam but recognized how my examination could easily become traumatic for Sarah. So, I stopped and let Nancy hold the tearful teen in a comforting embrace.
I cannot imagine life for Sarah in a village full of boys far too eager to pull off her stocking hat and laugh at her. Sarah’s one and only safe place were the New Hope School Yard, where she was always respected, accepted, and protected.”
“Our medical team arrived in March 2022 at the Joma Ordoe Memorial Christian Academy in Monrovia, Liberia, and set up under a mango tree. Due to the pandemic, it’s been three years since the last medical team paid a visit! Our goal was to conduct health screenings for the 30 sponsored children at the Academy.
These children often have access to a local doctor when they are sick. But this is reactive care, and the child’s overall health is often not assessed. We assess many details: height, weight, hair color abnormalities, hand-washing practices, stool habits, hemoglobin numbers, and malaria bouts. A lively eight-year-old may appear to have a clean bill of health until you investigate these small details.
This eight-year-old maybe three inches under-height or twelve pounds under-weight. He or she may also go to school hungry, suffer diarrhea, miss school due to malaria, and drop IQ points. Our medical assessments are vital to identifying systemic health issues so they can be addressed. Our medical team’s health screenings are just one of the many ways sponsorship via GlobalFingerprints can make a difference in the livelihoods of children across the globe!”
Reflecting back on his trip to Liberia, Dr. Staab noted how our partnerships with these local churches has grown since our initial launch and offers key insights on what this momentous success looks like across different areas of Liberia.
“When I left Liberia back in April of this year, I left with a growing admiration for the role GlobalFingerprints has in Liberia! The network of Evangelical Free Churches in West Africa was mature and well-established. The Twentieth Century had seen them grow under missionary input, and become independent, self-sustaining congregations with their own Christian schools. Both churches and schools had struggled against Ebola outbreaks, civil war, corruption, and rising crime. Ten years ago, GlobalFingerprints came to partner with those battered, yet beautiful churches. For example, a school with only thirty sponsored children out of one hundred and fifty total students would now be able to hire teachers, purchase land, or expand school buildings. Each and every measurable quality was successfully elevated. How? The local African leaders were responsible, savvy, and patient individuals. They worked their networks of influence, hired quality people, scrimped, saved, and did construction work firsthand. The results are visible! Grateful, hardworking church members “own” their schools. They carry hope in their eyes, mouths, and hearts. Hope for their children, churches, and country. Your support is encouraging them to carry on!”