Bracks in Africa: Health and the Bible

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to teach about healthcare in a sewing school run by a Canadian couple in our team. I held classes in the morning and the afternoon. 10 respectively 12 young women in each group.

I call the seminar Health and the Bible.

Why this topic?

8 years ago I came to Rwanda with a team. We worked with APRICOM a ministry that helps vulnerable women with HIV/Aids. One of our tasks was to talk about Hygiene and Nutrition, since both are very important issues for people living with HIV. Many of the women had lost their husbands in the war and were now struggling with a heavy disease rendering them sicker day by day and in addition to the struggle of stigmatization and rejection by other people. Women who’s only hope was to cling to God and the hope of eternal life with no pain and suffering.

Since it was a christian support group I chose to talk about how we see God instructing and teaching the Israelites in the Old Testament about preventive healthcare roughly 4000 years ago. How he gave careful instructions on how to live healthy lives and ways to avoid being infected by the sicknesses of the surrounding tribes. God showing himself in the Bible as a father that cares about every aspect of life. After that I came with more concrete and practical teaching about personal hygiene. When I was done one of the woman were shining as a sun as she thanked me for the teaching. This is what she said:

“ I was barely able to come to support group today because I was not doing well. Dragging myself here I was caught by surprise. Today I learned something I never heard before. God is a God who cares about my physical body. And I learned how I practically can do that!”

This is when I realized: that is the key! They have God as their foundational understanding. It is so powerful. Believing in God, He is the highest motivation. His values and what He cares about becomes important. Sadly enough many people are not aware of big parts of the Bible talking about healthcare and therefore mistakenly believe that their physical body is not of interest to God.

People in Rwanda believe in God. If you try to explain that many people in the west do not believe in God, they just look strange at you, asking: 'how can people not believe in anything bigger than themselves?' It is simply a statement they don’t understand.

Working in Africa, it is impossible to avoid the Christian foundation of the people. Not taking that into account one can easily fail with ones work or communication. The mistake being not having a good enough understanding of the audience and their values/foundations.

One of their highest motivations is God and what He cares about.

This is a very strong platform we can take to teach from.

Let me come back to my week and the Health and the Bible seminar that I am developing. Again I had the same experience with this new audience. Seeing the young woman and young mothers taking in the material and realizing this is about/for them. Seeing the pain in some of the young mothers when they realize the situation they are in. How they out of lack of knowledge or lack of money miss to give the needed nutrition to their children.

But then the next moment excitedly writing on their notepads how they can improve the food for the ones they love.

Also from different feedback’s after the teaching I learned that many where not aware of how to wash their hands, and that they could contaminate themselves and other people if they do not wash their hands when they are dirty or come from the toilet.

It is really inspiring.

Yet at the same time very painful to run these seminars.

On one side it gives me hope for change on the other side I am realizing how difficult it is.

What makes it hopeful is that some individuals start grasping the importance of these small principles, and slowly start applying them. But it takes time. To change the ways of living – it can take years!

And even though some people start on that road the task of changing the understanding of the poorest seems like an un- overcome-able mountain.

The important thing for me is to keep the focus. I know these kind of teachings have the potential to save lives and help many people to live a better life.

I have to keep in mind that even if only few people actually manage to take hold of and apply the teaching it is worth it.

Another thing it highlights for me is the importance of exploring and finding the motivation and foundation of the people I work with and for.

Here a few pictures from the event:)