The whole community at Brama give thanks and celebrate the opening of the new Health Centre. Asking for prayer that all those who attend the centre will be healed in both body and soul.

. 

Magnus’ prayer requests for January

Please pray that the Annual Conference, taking place from Friday 10 to Sunday 12 February, at Mongegba and Hastings will be both successful and spirit-filled.

Please also pray for our outreach work at Kamakontakay, Mathoir and Kabala. God was extremely kind to us in 2022, and we pray for more of His blessings throughout 2023. In particular we ask that He will enable us to complete the roofing at the school and finish the church building construction. As a separate Christian House of Worship this project is critical to encouraging new converts to our faith.

Prayer is needed for the sick, and we call on God for his healing power. We lift up Abdulai Kargbo from Mabang, who is suffering from pain and undiagnosed complications, Tommy Kanu, who lives in Manallo, who is enduring a cold with aches and pains, and Jobby Williams of St. Marks Church, Waterloo, who has tragically lost a leg to diabetes.

Finally, we pray for the General Elections that will take place in Sierra Leone in June 2023. Elections here have the potential to unleash serious violence, so we offer prayer and ask for protection for our country's citizens as well as the presidential, parliamentary and local councils. 

Details of Janet O’Shea’s forthcoming trip to Sierra Leone have now been finalised.

Janet will be leaving St Ives on Tuesday 24 January and arriving in Sierra Leone in the early evening of Wednesday 25 January, staying at Bethesda until Wednesday 22 February.

The trip will include three weeks of teaching the children at Mabang School, helping also to renovate and paint the school building, as done previously at Brama, adding teaching aids and a book corner to further enhance their facilities.

Catching up with the children and young people who live at Bethesda Orphanage will be an enjoyable and rewarding part of Janet's stay, as will attendance of the annual Connexion Conference, offering an opportunity to meet up with pastors and local people.

 

Janet is also very excited to be spending time at the newly opened Health Centre, which has been named the Ralph O’Shea Hospital, as a legacy to Janet’s husband and his significant contribution in supporting communities in Sierra Leone.

Finally, regular visits are planned to join Magnus and his team in sharing food and provisions with the many street children, a large number of whom are orphans or victims of poverty, struggling to survive on their own.

If anyone feels led to make a donation towards this essential work, please be assured that every penny will be go to this cause. Details of how to donate are below.

Thank you!

Donate

To make a donation to any of our Sierra Leone initiatives, just click on the Donations button, located at the top of each website page. Please also state if you would like your donation to go towards a particular project.

Alternatively donate by Bank Transfer:

Barclays Bank
Sort code: 20-16-08, Account number: 30799076, Account name: Sierra Leone Mission 

(NB We are very grateful to receive anonymous donations, but when making a bank transfer donation, the donor's name is needed for auditing purposes. Please be assured this information will remain private.)

Or send a cheque to:

Sierra Leone Mission. Postal address: Janet Foord, 2 Cheyne Close, Church Milton, Sittingbourne, Kent, ME10 2SQ

The Sierra Leone container, which left the UK in October, successfully arrived at Bethesda on December 13 at one o'clock in the morning!

Showing typical enthusiasm, the children at Bethesda Orphanage turned out of their beds to help to unload the container, which was filled to the brim with shoe bags, books, toys, clothes, shoes, medical supplies, school tables and chairs, mattresses, and more.

With all hands on deck the operation was completed in just two hours.

Next day, the mammoth task of distributing the shoe bags to children from The Connexion churches and schools began with a trip to Kamakontakay. Followed by deliveries to Fabaina, Brama, Songo Loko, Fufuwater, Magbafti, Manalo and Makomba.

The picture shows just some of the many excited children, who were delighted to receive their shoebag gifts on Christmas Day.

This year Magnus also has plans to have the empty 40 ft container adapted to create much-needed additional accommodation at Bethesda.

The new Health Centre was officially opened on Friday 9 December with a dedication service of prayer and thanks led by Magnus Bendu. The service was well attended by local villagers and school children, and was followed by a tour of the new building.

The Health Centre is to be named the Ralph O'Shea Hospital, in honour and memory of Ralph's tireless work in supporting communities in Sierra Leone.

A video of the dedication was filmed on Friday. Click on the Countess of Huntingdon's Connexion, Sierra Leone Facebook Page to access.

 
At the beginning

The idea for the new centre grew from a Connexion visit to Brama, Sierra Leone in November 2018 by Janet O’Shea, Bethany and Esther Green. They were introduced to a church service congregation, where they noticed a young boy. Sitting next to his mother, he was in pain, whimpering quietly to himself, and it soon became obvious that there was something seriously wrong. His mother explained that two weeks earlier her son had been playing football when he fell and broke his leg - in two places. She could not afford medical help and could not raise the money for transport to reach a clinic where he could be treated.

At Mabang, the team also met a young man with his two small children. He had just buried his wife because she had not been able to reach the hospital quickly enough.

In addition, at Brama School during a two-week visit in the summer, at least six children were taken ill with malaria, while at Bethesda two children needed treatment for malaria and one for typhoid.  

Help was given to those mentioned, but it left no doubt of a great need for health facilities. 

Magnus expressed his great concern to the Connexion team for the necessity of cheap, available medical support, and raised the consideration for funding to build and equip a local Health Centre. 

Prayer

Prayer followed these visits and Magnus’ request, and in June 2019 Zion Community Church prayed as a whole community for confirmation that this was a project that the church should support. 

God provided their answer with speed. That very evening a generous cheque was received (from a donor outside of the church community) for £5,000, which enabled the purchase of land, and this was followed in December by a donation from a Connexion church member for £30,000 to cover the costs of the build. Confirmation indeed!

Since that time, more donations were received from Connexion members, including a generous legacy from Ralph O'Shea, enabling completion of the Hospital. Currently new work is starting on the additional build of a maternity ward, which has the potential to save many lives.

Donate

Money will still be needed to assist with the running of the Ralph O'Shea Hospital and to complete the new maternity ward. If you would like to make a donation to help SLM's work in Sierra Leone, just click on the Donations button, located at the top of each website page. Please also state if you would like your donation to go towards a particular project.

Alternatively donate by Bank Transfer:

Barclays Bank
Sort code: 20-16-08, Account number: 30799076, Account name: Sierra Leone Mission 

(NB We are very grateful to receive anonymous donations, but when making a bank transfer donation, the donor's name is needed for auditing purposes. Please be assured this information will remain private.)

Or send a cheque to:

Sierra Leone Mission. Postal address: Janet Foord, 2 Cheyne Close, Church Milton, Sittingbourne, Kent, ME10 2SQ

Together we thank God for His amazing answer to prayer!

 

In close consultation with a group of local women, who held three days of prayer and fasting at the new Health Centre in Brama, Sierra Leone, Magnus learned of their conviction that a maternity and ante-natal ward should be included in the Centre, given that paediatrics and maternity care are so closely linked.

With almost immediate response, Magnus has breathed life into this God-given initiative!

Foundations have been dug out and, using bricks that were left over from building the security wall, work has already started on the construction a new maternity unit, which will be positioned at the rear of the main Health Centre.

During November, Magnus and the Health Centre committee have also been interviewing candidates who've applied to work at the Health Centre. They have offered positions to two experienced nurses and are awaiting their response.

Currently, the Health Centre cannot afford to employ a doctor, and the intention is to start out with a Community Health Officer, which is common practice in Sierra Leone.

The plan is to officially dedicate and open the Health Centre on Friday 9 December.

On completion, the Health Centre and patient wards will be able to serve communities from 35 villages in the local vicinity. Trained staff will work in the clinic and also support communities in the villages, helping them to improve general hygiene and implementing vaccination programmes. They will also be able to provide post-natal health care for mothers and their babies. 

 

Health facts in Sierra Leone

• The child and infant mortality rate in England and Wales in 2018 was 3.8 per 1,000. In Sierra Leone it was 78 per 1,000. 
• Between January and March 2020 in Freetown alone there were 581 maternal deaths. 
• Maternal deaths account for 36% of all deaths amongst women aged 15 - 49 years. 
• Sierra Leone is the most dangerous place in the world to be pregnant. 
• There are only 245 doctors in Sierra Leone serving 7 million people. 
• 1 in 17 women won’t survive pregnancy or delivery. 
• 60% of population live below the poverty line. 
• 1 in 3 people do not have access to clean water. 
• 3 in 5 people live in rural areas. 
• MOST deaths could be prevented! 

The majority of maternal and infant mortality in Sierra Leone is caused mainly by birth asphyxia, prematurity, sepsis and congenital deformity, which can be prevented. 

A pregnant mother-to-be living in a rural setting cannot easily access medical help. Most often there will be an elderly woman in the vicinity to 'assist' with the birth. These untrained women have been identified by the Sierra Leone Government as the primary reason for the country's maternal deaths. This type of support is now illegal, but often when problems occur it is too late to travel to a health facility and usually there is no money for transport or health care.

Funds still needed

Whilst we are delighted to be able to complete the Health Centre's main construction with utilities, and provide necessary medical equipment, further financial support will still be needed, particularly during the first few months of operation, until the centre is established and running itself. The centre will be invaluable to the local communities, helping to save the lives of children, babies and pregnant mothers.

Donate

If you would like to make a donation, to help SLM's work in Sierra Leone, just click on the Donations button, located at the top of each website page. Please also state if you would like your donation to go towards a particular project.

Alternatively donate by Bank Transfer:

Barclays Bank
Sort code: 20-16-08, Account number: 30799076, Account name: Sierra Leone Mission 

(NB We are very grateful to receive anonymous donations, but when making a bank transfer donation, the donor's name is needed for auditing purposes. Please be assured this information will remain private.)

Or send a cheque to:

Sierra Leone Mission. Postal address: Janet Foord, 2 Cheyne Close, Church Milton, Sittingbourne, Kent, ME10 2SQ

Thank you!

At this year's Conference in October, everyone was delighted to be able to communicate directly with Magnus and Daniel via a Zoom meeting. 

Magnus’ prayer requests for November

Please pray for God's intervention with the state of the economy in Sierra Leone. The cost of living has increased excessively for people who are already living in abject poverty.

Please also pray for those who are sick: Sinnatu Simbo, one of our teachers in Brama, is suffering from stomach pains; Abdul Cargo, another of our teachers at Mabang, is struggling with pain that prevents him from moving around and standing, and has yet to be diagnosed; and Stella Browne, who is suffering from high blood pressure, diabetes and other heart-related complications.

Prayer will be welcome for our outreach work at Kamakontakay, Kabala, Kono and Mathoir. We ask for continued support and inspiration for our people who serve as Evangelists and Pastors in these villages, bearing in mind how difficult it can be to serve in Muslim dominated communities.

Please continue to pray for the setting up of the Health Centre in Brama. Our committee is meeting regularly to ensure the commencement of medical services for the local communities by the end of November 2022. Our prayers are for God's direction and provision.

Finally, we continue to pray for political and economic stability in the UK. We pray that God will intervene and help the leaders to put the country's interest above the interests of the political parties and their ideologies.

 

The mammoth task of wrapping, boxing, stacking, transporting, unloading and - eventually – packing up the 40-foot container has now been completed, and it is finally on its way to Sierra Leone.

The container was filled to the brim with shoe bags, books, toys, clothes, shoes, medical supplies, school tables and chairs, mattresses, and more…

We pray for the container’s safe arrival at Freetown and a trouble-free process with its release and transportation to Magnus at Brama, and we very much look forward to seeing photographs of the goods being unloaded.

This year Magnus also has plans to have the empty container adapted to create much-needed additional accommodation.

At the Conference in October, Janet O’Shea was able to share the highs and lows of 2022 in Sierra Leone, and the delegates were very excited to be joined by Magnus and Daniel for a screened Zoom meeting. Thankfully, the technology actually worked, thanks to Ben Quant and Tim Wells drawing on their technical expertise!

The Conference was given an update about the new Health Centre, which should be in a position to officially open this month. And Mariatu sent through a lovely photo of her dressed in a nurse’s uniform, as she begins her second year of training.

It's nearly time for the annual shipment to Sierra Leone of shoe bags, school books, equipment for the Health Centre, and a whole host of other items. The container will be delivered to Redcoat at Crawley on Monday 17 October and transported to the docks on Thursday 20 October. Please pray for everything to run smoothly and for financial provision to cover the shipping costs.

Magnus’ prayer requests for October

Please pray for peace in Sierra Leone. Whenever General or National Elections are announced there is a threat to our peace. Pray that politicians will see reason not to 'fan the flames of war' as a way of luring votes. Because of widespread illiteracy, we have a very gullible population. Elections are due June 24, 2023

Pray also for healing for the sick. Gabriel Kamara from St John’s Church in Goderich has been very sick and has now been diagnosed with prostrate cancer. Gabriel has been a very committed youth worker in the church, as well as a lay preacher and choir leader at Goderich. As it stands, he cannot pay the cost charged for his operation (£1300). The Connexion and Goderich Church have sent letters of appeal around the churches in Sierra Leone, and we ask that you please pray for God’s intervention in this matter. Prayer is also required for Jane Bassie from Fabaina Church. Jane has been feeling unwell, but the cause has not yet been diagnosed.

Please continue to pray for us as we are putting together a team for the new Health Centre. We pray that God will provide us with mission-minded people who will work as unto the Lord – Col 3:23.

Please pray also for God’s provision to continue to raise funds to support our schools and churches and enable us to carry out necessary works to make them comfortable and respectable places for education and worship. Current works include: completion of the roof of the school at Kamakontakay; completion of the roof lintels and roof of the school at Fogbo; completion of the church roofs at Mathoir and Songo Loko and the re-roofing of the weak additional classroom block at Mabang, which was destroyed by the August rain storms.

We join in prayer for the economies of the UK, Sierra Leone and many other parts of the world, praying that God will intervene and restore the past glory of peace and economic development.

Finally, we pray for the Conference of the UK Connexion in October. May God’s name be glorified!

 

Looking forward to the Annual Conference, from 24 – 26 October, it will be great to share news and pictures about the work we are involved with in Sierra Leone. We also hope to have a live link with Magnus and Daniel, which will be very special. I hope you are able to join us.

Abdul

Abdul is coming to the end of his first year at University, and he is currently taking his second semester exams, about which he is feeling very confident. From 30 September, he will be able to take a break until November, after which he will return to Bethesda. Unlike British students, he has not had the benefit of a long summer holiday.

Mariatu

Mariatu is also continuing with her studies, and following the same pattern as Abdul, looking forward to returning to Bethesda in November. We feel sure all of the children at Bethesda will be delighted to welcome them both back to their family.

Health Centre and Medical Equipment

Magnus is still hoping for an October opening for the new Health Centre. However, he is experiencing some difficulty in accessing certain equipment needed. The specific items he is seeking are listed below. We pray that with God’s will people from our Connexion Community may be able to locate, buy or donate one or more of these items, which could then be shipped out to Sierra Leone in October with the annual shoe bags.

Medical and Laboratory Equipment Needed

• Haematology analyser (for complete blood count(CBC) or Full blood count (FBC))
• Hemocue machine and cuvette
• Blood sugar machine (accucheck)
• Microscope
• Centrifuge
• Water bath
• Thermometer for fridge and water bath
• Biochemistry analyser
• Timer
• Tally counter
• Incubator
• Reagent fridge (2-8°c)

 Further Request from Magnus

We’d also like to share another request from Magnus, as this may well speak to one of our friends or members of The Connexion Churches:

‘I am really praying for someone with a Missionary mind to serve as Administrator for the Health Centre, either in Sierra Leone or from the UK. It could be someone with medical or no medical background; although the former is best. It could be someone who is retired and want to serve as a volunteer Missionary or the like.

I am really praying for a very honest and committed person with a vision or mission to serve God through this means. Finding such people who will not want to charge huge salary is a big issue for me, but I am hopeful; if we can have someone from the UK to help for just a year, that will be great.

The scenario I have been praying for is to have a Medical/Missionary person from UK who will come and serve for a year and mentor a Sierra Leonean. But this is my thought. God's thoughts are what matters and His ways are ours. We are asking Him and He has promised to give when we ask. He has always been faithful on His part’.

What an opportunity and brilliant experience this could be for someone blessed by God to take on this role!

Janet O’Shea, Chair of SLM, adds: ‘I’ve been on the Sierra Leone Committee now for ten years and I can honestly say that I have witnessed God at work in a way that I have never experienced before. He is still working His purposes out and we are privileged to be part of them!’

Donate

If you would like to make a donation, to help SLM's work in Sierra Leone, just click on the Donations button, located at the top of each website page. Please also state if you would like your donation to go towards a particular project.

Alternatively donate by Bank Transfer:

Barclays Bank
Sort code: 20-16-08, Account number: 30799076, Account name: Sierra Leone Mission 

(NB We are very grateful to receive anonymous donations, but when making a bank transfer donation, the donor's name is needed for auditing purposes. Please be assured this information will remain private.)

Or send a cheque to:

Sierra Leone Mission. Postal address: Janet Foord, 2 Cheyne Close, Church Milton, Sittingbourne, Kent, ME10 2SQ

Thank you!

 

We are delighted to announce that the new Health Centre in Brama now has lights! 

Huge thanks are extended to those who generously donated towards the cost of the solar panels. These acts of kindness have made an incredible difference. Members of our community in Sierra Leone have been so overwhelmed by the generosity and goodness of God, forty ladies gathered in the Health Centre for three days in fasting and prayer to give thanks.

This also means that plans can progress for the Centre to be officially opened in October. Praise the Lord!

On completion, the Health Centre and patient wards will be able to serve communities from 35 villages in the local vicinity. Trained staff will work in the clinic and also support communities in the villages, helping them to improve general hygiene and implementing vaccination programmes. They will also be able to provide post-natal health care for mothers and their babies. 

 

 

A reminder of health facts in Sierra Leone

• The child and infant mortality rate in England and Wales in 2018 was 3.8 per 1,000. In Sierra Leone it was 78 per 1,000. 
• Between January and March 2020 in Freetown alone there were 581 maternal deaths. 
• Maternal deaths account for 36% of all deaths amongst women aged 15 - 49 years. 
• Sierra Leone is the most dangerous place in the world to be pregnant. 
• There are only 245 doctors in Sierra Leone serving 7 million people. 
• 1 in 17 women won’t survive pregnancy or delivery. 
• 60% of population live below the poverty line. 
• 1 in 3 people do not have access to clean water. 
• 3 in 5 people live in rural areas. 
• MOST deaths could be prevented! 

The majority of maternal and infant mortality in Sierra Leone is caused mainly by birth asphyxia, prematurity, sepsis and congenital deformity, which can be prevented. 

A pregnant mother-to-be living in a rural setting cannot easily access medical help. Most often there will be an elderly woman in the vicinity to 'assist' with the birth. These untrained women have been identified by the Sierra Leone Government as the primary reason for the country's maternal deaths. This type of support is now illegal, but often when problems occur it is too late to travel to a health facility and usually there is no money for transport or health care.

Funds still needed

Whilst we are delighted to be able to complete the Health Centre's main construction with utilities, and provide necessary medical equipment, further financial support will still be needed, particularly during the first few months of operation, until the centre is established and running itself. The centre will be invaluable to the local communities, helping to save the lives of children, babies and pregnant mothers.

Donate

If you would like to make a donation, to help SLM's work in Sierra Leone, just click on the Donations button, located at the top of each website page. Please also state if you would like your donation to go towards a particular project.

Alternatively donate by Bank Transfer:

Barclays Bank
Sort code: 20-16-08, Account number: 30799076, Account name: Sierra Leone Mission 

(NB We are very grateful to receive anonymous donations, but when making a bank transfer donation, the donor's name is needed for auditing purposes. Please be assured this information will remain private.)

Or send a cheque to:

Sierra Leone Mission. Postal address: Janet Foord, 2 Cheyne Close, Church Milton, Sittingbourne, Kent, ME10 2SQ

Thank you!