In 1992 Search For One (SFO) was incorporated and since then we have had many exciting years providing medical and
dental care in the Gilbert (Kiribati) Islands. God has performed many miracles in providing an aircraft and a 40′ sail boat for the much needed transportation of our volunteers and local Kiribati people. Through the years many volunteer teams have done a fantastic job of bringing medical care and the gospel to many people in the remote outer islands of the Republic of Kiribati. This volunteer service has gained the attention and respect of the government and the people living there. This continues to present new challenges and opportunities. During my last visit the Ministry of Health asked us to assist them with the recruiting of a management team and the medical staff for a new hospital on the island of Tabeteuea. This could be a formidable task; but we only have to look back at how God has provided for every challenge and need thus far. I find it very exciting to be given the opportunity of developing a medical mission facility where the gospel is desperately needed. This is a project that will require a lot of additional help in the field of funding, recruitment of staff and transportation. This additional funding will come as a result of all of us using our talents and resources. Can you picture yourself assisting in some aspect of this project? If you feel the Holy Spirit is prompting you, we’d love to hear from you!

Gary Morgan, President

 

 

The Purpose of Our March Trip Was Dual:

#1 Get the base camp repaired and everything ready for occupancy. The picture shows the sad shape of the roofs which are thatched with either palm or pandanus leaves. The pandanus lasts 2-3 times as long as the coconut palm leaves. No one has been living at Base Camp for some time so things were in disrepair.

#2 To get the Kauma Adventist H.S. Clinic cleaned, organized and stocked for the new mission nurse Karen Beebe Brockriede, RN. the village, high school, clinic and our base camp is on the island of Abemama. The school has been without a nurse for a year; therefore much work was needed. Due to transportation problems to the island of Abemama from Tarawa, we were left with only 4 days on the island. There were 7 of us and all had a job. I did the cooking for the team plus getting the kitchen hut back in order and cleaned. Linda Marks, the midwife on our team helped me. Then we both went to the clinic and helped the others with the great amount of work to be done there. The men had wiring to do, batteries to charge, boat repairs to make and many other duties.

Base camp is on the ocean side of the island which accounts for the nice breeze. These islands are actually coral atolls and Abemama is only 7/10ths of a mile wide. Each hut has a coral floor, with woven coconut palm mats to cover the main parts of the floor. Each hut has a composting toilet. It is interesting to sit on the toilet and watch the floor move as little hermit crabs scurry across the floor. Beds are coconut tree trunks for the legs with a plywood sheet over it and a mat or an air mattress. The shower is a small enclosure near the toilet room with a table for a bucket of water. Some people have a solar shower to heat their water. It doesn’t matter about getting water all over the place as the floor is just coral gravel.

These atolls are very near the equator, with little change in temperature all year and it is quite humid. The days are very near the same length all year with sundown being around 6:30. The SDA School and clinic are on the lagoon side and don’t receive as nice a breeze as the ocean side.

Sue Beebe, cook on this trip

Search For One took on a new twist from its usual medical/dental focus. I went on the March 2007 mission trip as SFO’s first midwife to see how I could be of assistance to the maternity needs within the country. Jemi Morgan age 16, assisted me in all I did, had fun, learned a lot and would like to go again.

Prior to leaving, we had made connections with the director of nursing at the hospital on Tarawa for me to teach neonatal resuscitation to the nurses, midwives and students. The midwives do all the deliveries in the hospital, unless a c-section is required and then an obstetriecian is called. If a baby needed resuscitation after a birth they called a pediatrician. This wasted precious time waiting for a doctor to come in to begin ventilating a compromised newborn. They also had only one resuscitation bag and mask in the hospital and none on the outer islands. That sounded like a really useful and life saving endeavor for me to participate in teaching them this skill.

I called a neonatologist in Spokane (who had helped me get medical supplies to take to Afghanistan) to see about getting supplies to take to Kiribati. The hospital she works in saves any unused medical supplies and equipment so that she can take it to 3rd world countries. She had me come to her home and we sorted through six large garbage bags of items gleaned from the hospital. I was able to take 14 neonatal bag-and-masks plus gloves, sutures, instruments, bulb syringes, diapers, betadine and much more. These items filled a 50# suitcase of medical supplies to give to the hospital and the outer islands.

On the day of our arrival, the director of nursing greeted me at the airport and told me when and where to report. She had morning and afternoon classes arranged for the next day. All the participants were in a completely new territory of information. They had lots of questions and told me of several practices still used there that we in the United States have LONG since quit doing. It was really rewarding to teach the providers of the health care in such a hands on and practical manner. I left the American Heart Association DVD on Neonatal resuscitation so that they could continue to educate new students and re-educate themselves over time. Out on Abemama, there is not a hospital, only clinics. I met with 6-8 of the midwives there a nd gave them the same information and left them with bags-and-masks. They were even more receptive to help and had many questions about management of all sorts of maternity related issues. I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face as we returned to base camp. It felt SOOOOO good to be helpful in this area of need. I really cannot wait to return for a more extended period of time.

Linda Marks, Midwife

Life here on the Island is very interesting to say the least. The students are friendly and always try to be helpful. The boys cleaned out the water tank at the clinic for me…that was a real blessing as there were mosquito larva flourishing in the water. They also cut off limbs from the Bread Fruit tree that was depositing litter on the clinic roof. The problem was that after that was done, we did not have rain for two weeks. During that time I had to get water from the Dean of Boys whose house is next door, he brought it over 5 gallons at a time. Any basin that needed to be emptied was used to “flush” the toilet. I prayed for rain and yes, the Lord delivered plenty…the tank was filled.

During the month of April, I had a total of 382 patient visits, 50% were new cases (180) & 182 return visits. The students present with various problems, but a main one is infected insect bites. Usually they don’t come in until the infection is spreading, so there has been lots of health education regarding coming in earlier and it seems to be working. Another area of teaching is to drink enough water in this climate. When a student comes in with a headache, one of my first questions is “How much water have you drank today?” When the answer is 1-2 cups, I give them a liter of water to drink with the medicine. They are catching on fast and one of the students came in to tell me that he “feels better ” since he started drinking more water.

We had a couple weeks toward the last of April with cool evenings (80 degrees); many of the students came in complaining of “flu”. Usually the first day their lung sounds were clear and temps not elevated; however by the second or third day their tempperature would be elevated and lung sounds indicating some lobe infiltration/infection. I hesitated to put them all on antibiotic the first day, so usually waited until they had a temp/lung problem. That problem peaked and there has been a few bouts with diarrhea/dysentary. One student had blood with the dysentary and the boys dean came to get me late one evening (10:30). His temperature was over 104 degrees F. I gave him an injection of Ampicillin and medication to bring his temperture down. I also gave him a sponge bath while another student fanned him. After an hour his temperature began to fall, so I felt is was safe to send him back to the dorm.

On the average, the ratio of boys to girls seen is 3:1. I talked to the Dean of Boys about that and told him I thought part of the issue was over crowding in the boys dorm. There can be 7-12 students in one small room. There may be 2 bunk beds and the remainder sleep on the floor. I sugested that he allow some of the boys from the more crowded rooms to sleep in the dormitory foyer which is an enclosed area that has no furniture. He told me a couple weeks ago that he implemented that suggestion.

A couple weeks ago I was asked to give a “health talk” for Sabbath afternoon (with a 2 hour notice). I talked about the 8 natural remedies “NEWSTART” with which I believe most of you are acquainted. It was quite elementary but figured I had to start somewhere.

One of the ailments that many of the students (approx. 60-75%) are plagued with is “white spots” or Tinea Versicolor. It is a fungal skin problem resulting from their skin being damp with perspiration, etc. Today, (16th of May I’m currently in Tarawa, Capital of Kiribati) I went to the Pharmacy for the Health Department to see what had happened to my order for medication which was dated the 10th of April. Well, they were able to produce it and at the top it was noted that they received it on the 15th of May. I guess all mail is dependent on the air service and that has been very sporadic. Anyway, they told me that if I return tomorrow afternoon they would have the order ready for me. I also hand wrote an order for some bandaging supplies as I had never received a form for that. Currently, I have 2 small bandaids left and no large ones.

There are many dental problems. On occasion, I have been able to borrow the dental instruments from the medical assistant at the Government Clinic and extract a few teeth. The students and faculty are looking forward to the LLU Dental teams visit towards the end of June.

Karen Beebe Brockriede, RN