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"This is how we know what love is:
Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our
lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees
his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in
him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue, but with actions
and in truth."
1 John 3:16-18 (NIV)
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Our work has always been in response to needs
that we see and requests that we receive.
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Beginning in 1995, North Korea suffered from
floods and drought for several years in a row.
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Simultaneously, the economy contracted
significantly leading to widespread hunger, malnutrition, and disease.
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A mountainous country with only 18% of its
land considered arable, North Korea, despite its best efforts, has had to
rely for the last several years on international aid to sustain its
population of 23 million people.
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Tuberculosis, a disease once under control in
North Korea, re-emerged in the latter part of the 1990’s as a serious
threat to the population.
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While it can be deadly if untreated,
tuberculosis can be cured if a patient is given the proper treatment.
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The number of registered Tuberculosis cases has gone from 52,000 in 2007
to over 100,000 this year.
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There is only enough medicine in the country this year to treat 52,000
patients.
General Food Aid
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In our early years, we responded to a great and immediate need for food by
shipping thousands of tons of
rice, wheat, corn, soybeans and other food items.
While we continue to send some food regularly, it is now sent as
part of the general assistance we provide in coordination with various
partner organizations. We ship food in the form of
canned meat, soybeans, and nutritional supplements
to help
the facilities we support care for their tuberculosis and pediatric
patients.
General
Assistance to TB Facilities -
We
have shipped thousands of patients worth of life-saving tuberculosis
medicine under the internationally-recognized DOTS (Directly Observed
Treatment Short-Course) protocol for TB.
We have also sent over 450 small greenhouses, seeds and other
supplies. In order to assist
in the diagnosis and treatment of tuberculosis, we have sent scores of microscopes and lab supply kits, as well as other basic equipment
needed by these facilities. We have sent
ambulances to the provincial TB hospitals we are
supporting to help them transport patients and supplies.
Technical Assistance to TB Facilities –
In addition to the general supplies provided to
the TB facilities we support, we also help by providing technical assistance
to help solve larger problems.
Such projects have included supplying and installing diesel
generators at each of the three tuberculosis hospitals we support,
installing an x-ray unit at one of the hospitals, and assisting with
the drilling of a water well and a new water distribution system
for one of the hospitals.
We regularly assist tuberculosis
facilities in a multifaceted way, meeting their many needs with:
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commercial size greenhouses, tractors, seeds and
other supplies to help the staff at theses facilities grow vegetables
and greens so necessary for patient health.
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general medicines and vitamins needed to improve
patient health and treat other ailments that TB patients suffer from such
as fever, cough and digestive problems.
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basic hospital equipment and supplies needed by
these facilities to assist in the diagnosis and treatment of tuberculosis.
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blankets to help patients stay warm since many
of these facilities suffer from shortages of electricity, coal and wood,
making it very difficult to heat them during cold winter months.
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bicycles to help doctors make house calls and
doctor's kits filled with stethoscopes, BP cuffs, thermometers and
other instruments and supplies needed to diagnose and treat patients.
Current Projects
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TB Medicine -
Very serious food shortages, caused
in part by significant flooding that happened in Fall 2007, is impacting
the health of the population in alarming ways. The number of registered
Tuberculosis cases has risen sharply from 52,000 in 2007, to over
100,000 in 2008. There is only enough medicine in the country this year
to treat 52,000 patients, so we are working very hard to try to raise
funds needed to cover the cost of medicine for the 12,000 patients that
live in our supported area.
$35/patient - $245,000/12,000 patients
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Greenhouses
are a highly
successful means of ensuring local food security for health care
facilities. New style greenhouses (5M x 20M) allow food to be grown
year-round. We would like to send at least one more greenhouse to each
location we serve.
$5,000
each
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Lab-in-a-Suitcase
provides the basic laboratory
equipment, solar panels, battery back-up and supplies needed to do lab
tests for diagnosis and treatment. We expect to provide training in Fall
2008 to hospital staff and hope to provide these kits to all our health
facilities as funding is available.
$5,000
each
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Home Renovations
- With the sharply rising numbers
of registered TB patients, care facilities must expand in order to house
and care for contagious patients. They need help with windows and doors,
roofing materials, basic electrical supplies and fixtures, and bedding,
etc. The first of these renovation projects is the Hwangju TB Rest Home.
$64,000
- Mangyongdae County People’s
Hospital -
During our May 2008 visit to this facility, we
learned that their roof is in serious disrepair. They have asked for the
materials needed to replace it. They will supply all the labor. This 300
bed hospital provides treatment to 350,000 people who live in this
district.
$13,200 for Roofing Materials
- Kaesong Provincial
Pediatric Hospital
- We continue
to renovate and refurbish treatment areas of this hospital as funding
and needs are identified. We also provide ongoing support in the form of
medicine and supplies. This hospital serves over 30,000 children
annually.
Special Projects
From time to time we respond to specific requests that fall
outside the scope of our work at tuberculosis facilities.
For example:
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trees and other agricultural goods
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a special
corn seed that produces well in mountainous regions with
dry and poor soil.
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ambulances for the 4 hospitals we serve to help transport
patients and supplies.
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cargo tricycles to help deliver supplies.
Current Special Project -
CFK is partnering this year with four
other non-profits to deliver 100,000 metric tons of US Government food
aid to North Korea. We have three people living and working in the
DPRK for this project
Visit our
Gifts of Hope
to see all the projects on which we are
currently working.
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