2020 Year End Recap - Check out the Newsletter Section.

Jan 21 2021

The Sunset of 2020

The end of 2020 proved to be a productive time for us in PNG. We have been living relatively unaffected by the madness which seems to have descended upon the outside world. Covid shut downs and set backs have been limited. We have seen restricted international travel and interrupted health services and had 2 weeks of school closure in most of rural PNG. We count ourselves very fortunate to have had so little change to our daily lives.

Ap Ma FODE School continues to hold classes. We have put out a quarterly newspaper with student contributions available on our Ap Ma FODE Facebook page. We also sponsored a volleyball team in the local Independence Day tournament. We backfilled ground and poured the concrete floor in part of the new classroom building. In October and November preparation for national tests and end of the year exams took up the remainder of our school year.

 December brought the graduation of grade eight and ten students in Ap Ma FODE and five Jr. College graduates on the Matriculation Studies Program.

Samban Central Elementary School continued to operate all the days that were required and allowed because of various shut down orders. A new hand washing station was installed outside and students have also used it to learn how to wash and clean their school uniforms.

Jesse spent many days during dry season digging dirt and repairing roads and filling in low places that trap water and breed mosquitos. Working on the grey water drain for the clinic and staff buildings has also taken a lot of hours. Crews completed work on the new Birthing House and in December we celebrated its opening.

The work in the clinic has expanded daily with the addition of Dr. Lewis and recent addition of local Nursing Officer Susanne Weig. Patients are traveling days to reach us from all over the province where services, that were limited or non existent, have become worse with frequent scares and shut downs. Our struggle to identify and treat TB patients has met with much success. More than 70 patients have completed full treatment this year through our small clinic and many more are nearly finished. Sputum collection and testing has become a daily routine. Also much improved this year is our vaccine delivery. This year we were doubly blessed with two vaccine fridges! One is in our new birthing house so that babies can receive their first shots and medicines used in labor and delivery can be properly stored. The other fridge is in our outpatient area where we are able to vaccinate children who come on regular, open clinic days in addition to our well baby check up and vaccination day.

At home Judah began grade 9, Elijah began grade 12 and Naleh started her Sophomore year at Lubbock Christian College. Israel has learned to talk quite a bit and is always on the move. We (Jesse and Karie) seem to have very little free time these days but I finished one quilt and began a second this year as well as keeping up a small garden, and tending the pigs and chickens and Jesse and Judah have been constructing a go kart that is one part school and 9 parts fun. Volleyball and soccer are every afternoon events for the boys. Israel enjoys trying his best to keep up with the "big boys".

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