Comments for Paul Carlson Partnership

Comment on “Woman, Do You Know….” by nancy reed

nancy reed — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 01:13:26 +0000

Great articles! Thank you!!!

Comment on Fewer Children Dying but Congo Still Struggling by Roger Thorpe

Roger Thorpe — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 23:56:11 +0000

Infant and child mortality has been a BIG problem in Congo since at least 1966, when I first arrived there to work. And, as indicated above, lack of pre-natal and obstetrical care was a big part of the problem. One of our missionary nurses started a program which involved periodically calling in to the hospital the granny midwives who have been delivering babies in the villages, in order to give them additional education. That education consisted mainly in ways to detect mothers who are at increased risk of having complicated pregnancies and/or deliveries, and providing the means to then have them come to the hospital for pre-natal care and delivery. Of note is that that program was evaluated and duplicated by a group of American nurse-midwives in other countries.

Comment on Congo: Battered Family Syndrome? by lorianne

lorianne — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 01:17:18 +0000

I believe it holds water and no other anology would be suiteable as it is entirely what has happened to those abued people. I have used that image myself but in relation to “setting blacks free” after we “ended” slavery in the United States. Why do people not understand that these and many other inhumanities in our world are no less than exact in outcome to domestic violence? These people need nurturing, and tools to break the cycle of violence. As the oldest of 4, from an abusive home to the point of being a POW camp, I give you my permission to use such a spot on image.

Comment on Power Changes Lives by Arden Gustafson

Arden Gustafson — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 21:53:06 +0000

That’s a good question, Byron. Both energy solutions are problematic and neither is always better than the other. But in regards to the current issue at hand, I think a further question is what is (or what was) the impact on the lives of the people who live(d) and work(ed) around such an energy infrastructure such as the Zulu hydro project? I lived at Karawa two different times – the first time was before the Zulu hydro was operational and the second time was after it was providing 24 hour power to the hospital, the hospital staff, the schools, church leaders, Technical Services, the missionary children’s school and the missionary complex. The difference was remarkable. In regards to the medical work, the level of care at the hospital was always outstanding, but the efficiency of the staff and their ability to meet the needs of the sick was hugely enhanced because of the reliability of electrical power provided by the Zulu hydro. Karawa hospital drew people from all over the Congo because the care was always well above standards elsewhere in Congo. But to a large degree because of Zulu, the medical staff who provided that standard of care wanted to work at Karawa because they had a reliable infrastructure that supported good medicine.
To elevate and sustain both the level of care that is possible and the staff needed to provide that care, we have to undergird them with systems that allow the freedom to practice good medicine. Mere subsistence infrastructure systems don’t offer that freedom. Too much time and energy is expended in the complexities of survival. Zulu hydro allowed the Doctors, Nurses and hospital staff to do their jobs much more effectively. Returning Zulu hydro to a fully functioning system must be a priority, not just for PCP, but for anyone (including USAID and other development agencies) who understands how a strong, reliable infrastructure can promote strong, sustainable and healthy communities and development.