Ecuador: SIFAT Doctor in your House – July UpdateClick here to learn more about SIFAT Doctor in your House program. Click here to read our June update about SIFAT Doctor in your House. Dear Doctor in your House supporters, Because you cared, hundreds of children and the elderly in SIFAT projects in Ecuador have not gone to bed hungry. Because you cared, so many who were unable to find medical care during this pandemic are able to talk to a doctor and have much needed medicines provided. Because of your generosity, the people we serve in Ecuador know they are not alone in this critical time. Thank you! Pastors in each of our projects have sent stories and photographs telling us about those who have no other place to turn. The coronavirus has spread quickly in Ecuador, and Quito has been on virtual lockdown for many months. There is no work, no government services and no food or medicines available for those in the communities in which we work with SIFAT teams. It really is a desperate time for most families living there. Dr. Roberto Contreras, SIFAT’s director in Ecuador, has been having teleconference calls with patients from a different project site each week. Our SIFAT graduate pastors and community leaders make sure those with the greatest need are the first to receive care, and at least one month of medicines are given to each patient. He also provides vitamins for the children who are malnourished and makes sure those who need specialists have referrals in place as soon as it’s possible to travel again in the city. Dr. Roberto has been especially attentive to the elderly, many of whom have dementia, ongoing medical conditions and no family to care for them.  Patients in the SIFAT Doctor in your House program receive much needed medications free of charge. To keep this program going through the end of 2020, visit www.sifat.org/sifatdoctorinyourhouse July 2020: Graduates in Action Around the GlobeEditor’s Note: Each month, we mail an article with our contribution statements to the previous month’s donors. Click here to download a PDF version. Written by Marie Lanier, Promotions and Marketing Coordinator SIFAT has been training community leaders in development for 41 years. As community needs change, our graduates’ ministries often shift their focus. A global pandemic? That is definitely a call for adaptation to meet immediate needs. Around the world, governments are enacting strict lockdowns and stay-at-home orders, which has led to economic hardships and job loss, inflation and food shortage. We reached out to a few of our graduates for updates, so we can better understand the challenges they face, but also to see the ways they are thriving, despite unexpected circumstances.  Awon (center) leads a Bible study with a group of college students quarantining together in India. |
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