According to the World Health Organization, Nigeria ALONE accounts for 25% of global cases of Malaria and 19% of global deaths by the same! This is why I have taken a Malaria pill each and every day of my four visits to Nigeria.
Deacon Leo, acutely aware of the need, hired a staff nurse, Mrs. Ayanwu Agatha, to serve the Masters. “With almost 450 day and boarding students attending BOMCA and MENPS, we needed someone to serve their health needs and those of our staff,” Leo said.
And yet, having a health professional on staff has been a boon for MORE than just the physical health of the Masters.
Rev. Sr. Racheal Ulor, Superior Delegate of the Messengers of Justice, appreciates the spiritual succor Agatha brings to the mission. “Our nurse embodies our Self-Emptying spirituality by helping us endure the pains of ill health and giving the children hope and healing in times of sickness,” Sr. Racheal says.
Additionally, Agatha imparts practical knowledge which improves the physical life of all. Malaria is transmitted mostly through Mosquitos, which are widespread in Africa and difficult to control.
In her disease prevention counseling, Agatha says, “I tell the children to cut down all bushes around their homes and dispose of broken bottles or buckets holding stagnant water, all of which serve as breeding places for mosquitoes.”
The children take their nurse’s message to heart and become proactive in looking out for each other’s health. Of course, treatment, not prevention, is needed once you are sick.
BOMCA student, Love Ohaka, is grateful for her nurse. “When I was sick with Malaria, nurse Agatha gave me medications and made sure I took them properly until I got well,” she said. In becoming a future Servant Leader in Nigeria and beyond, Love knows maintaining her physical health is crucial.
Agatha has emptied herself out for the poor, bypassing better paying healthcare work elsewhere. Won’t you follow her example and help HEAL compensate her? Her salary is $20,000 USD.
We can not allow the mosquitoes to win!