MAP Summer 2023 Newsletter

medicine for all people

medicine for all people

In many parts of the world, children die every day from what here in the United States would be diseases that could be treated and cured with a few cents’ worth of medicine. But where there is despair, there is also hope — thanks to the compassion of MAP supporters.

This special-edition newsletter highlights firsthand accounts from medical mission teams that have gone into the world, equipped with essential MAP medicine

and health supplies, to follow in Christ’s footsteps and minister to those who would otherwise be forgotten. It is through their eyes and in their own words you can read the impact that MAP International supporters have made in the lives of millions of people.

But most of all, this newsletter is dedicated to you — an unsung hero in this fight — for being instrumental in helping MAP bring health and hope in Jesus’ name to all corners of the globe.

Our mission: To provide medicine and health supplies to those in need around the world so they might experience life to the fullest.

Thanks to you, lifesaving medicine and health supplies reached some of the world’s poorest, most vulnerable children.

Little 17-month-old Leissa Pierre was suffering. She had battled a fever and flu-like symptoms for four days before her mother was able to get her to the pediatric clinic run by a MAP partner. Her mother arrived at the clinic desperate for someone – anyone –who could help her child. She was worried sick, and unable to sleep at night, terrified to leave Leissa’s side, even for a bit of rest.

Venezuela is a country in crisis. Their once prosperous economy has been destroyed, political corruption and upheaval have left the government unstable and ineffective, and poverty is rampant.

According to Caritas Venezuela, a third of all Venezuelans suffer from food insecurity, and child malnutrition increased 26% in the four months leading up to March 2020. Since then, the problem has only grown in severity.

providers, medicines and supplies that IAM has delivered from MAP, and form medical brigades to serve these indigenous tribes. “Although our teams face many difficult and challenging situations, we count it a great privilege to be able to serve others and provide care to those who rarely, if ever, receive any medical aid,” says Rick Johnson, Director of IAM.

When the doctor examined Leissa, her little lungs were crackling with each breath. She was diagnosed with pneumonia – the second largest cause of death in children under the age of five in Haiti, where Leissa lives.

But Leissa was fortunate. In a country like Haiti, where many children die of pneumonia simply because there is a lack of available treatment for the disease, she found hope. The clinic where her mother sought help was able to offer her the antibiotics that would save her life. Thanks to MAP medicines, little Leissa did not become a terrible statistic. Instead, she left the clinic with medicines and hope, and returned one week later, healed and whole.

“We are very grateful for the donors of MAP International,” the partner representative said. “As it is by their continued support that we can together make a difference in the Haitian people’s lives. Endless thanks for all that you do.”

Venezuelan families, particularly those who live in more rural areas, are unable to afford food or medical care, and many are suffering, with no relief in sight.

International Action Ministries (IAM), a MAP partner who supports the year-round work of missionaries in Venezuela, is doing their part to address some of the medical needs of indigenous communities living in outlying tribal villages.

Twice a year, the churches in eastern Venezuela take volunteer medical

On a recent trip upriver, the medical teams focused on a particular group of indigenous communities that were suffering from rampant illnesses and serious infections. “Our teams were saddened by the high number of cases of malnourished children,” Johnson reports. The number of children who came in desperately ill because their families could not find enough food for them was heartbreaking.

Using MAP medicines, the team treated these children, along with many other patients who were suffering from respiratory infections, parasites, and skin infections. The teams provided treatment for roughly 1500 people during their trip.

“Hundreds of lives have been impacted and in many cases, lives saved, through these medical outreach programs,” Johnson says. “We are eternally grateful for each individual who makes this possible. Your efforts have brought help, relief, healing, love, and care to communities that would not have this blessing without this wonderful team that God has put together.

“Thank you, MAP team, for all your work which continues to directly impact, bless, and help many suffering individuals. We are grateful for each of the MAP team and thank God for your lives.”

Malnourished children receive help, thanks to you!

Leissa can breathe again, thanks to you!

Because of you, baby Mileny is smiling again!

Isabel and her husband didn’t know what to do. They had just welcomed their second child into the world – a precious little girl who they named Mileny – and were shocked to see that she had been born with a cleft lip and palate. In their tiny mountain village of rural Peru, no one had ever seen a birth defect like this before, and no one they asked knew what to do.

Shortly after Mileny’s birth, Isabel’s 5-year-old son told his elementary school teacher that his sister had been born with a cleft lip. Through his teacher and a chain of other people in different cities, Isabel and her husband learned that there was a MAP-supported surgical mission team visiting the city of Lima. The team would be performing cleft lip and palate repairs for children in need – at no charge.

Mivheck Saukani was only 10 years old, and already has lost both parents. In Malawi, where he lives, more than 16% of the population are considered orphans or vulnerable children.

Thankfully, Mivheck was one of the lucky ones, finding refuge at an orphanage where he at least could have three meals a day and a roof over his head. Malawi is a poor country, however, and even with the help of the orphanage staff, medicine and healthcare were still out of reach for Mivheck and the other children.

So when the child began losing weight and experiencing severe stomach cramps, the nurse at the orphanage immediately suspected intestinal parasites.

Fortunately, a visiting medical mission team happened to come to the orphanage that week, and they had medicines from MAP International. The team had no prior knowledge of Mivheck’s condition, but their box of supplies happened to contain just the medicine that he needed.

The doctors gave Mivheck a dose of the medicine that would eradicate the worms. “I am so glad to have been able to provide this through MAP,” said Dr. Kimberly Hanigar, the mission team leader. Without this basic essential medicine, Mivheck would have continued to lose weight at an alarming rate, eventually suffering severe malnutrition and chronic disease that could have ultimately resulted in his death.

When Isabel and Mileny arrived in Lima, the surgical team set off to work. Dr. Ryan Brown, the mission team leader, describes the scene of Isabel seeing her daughter’s face for the first time after her operation. “It was very emotional for everyone in the recovery room as Isabel held Mileny and shared her story of how far she had traveled.”

“The supplies and sutures donated by MAP were essential to complete this surgery,” says Dr. Brown. Mileny’s cleft lip was rather severe, so her surgery was incredibly transformative. “Because Isabel found our group and we were able to help Mileny at such a young age, we hope that Mileny will grow up with a very typical life for a young child in her village – just as she should!”

Now, thanks to MAP supporters, Mivheck has a chance to grow up healthy.

With your help, Mivheck is thriving.

Life was already difficult for Blessing and her husband.

They live in Cameroon, an African country rife with violence from a civil war. In fact, Blessing’s husband had lost his job as a plantation laborer because of targeted violence. Now, they were struggling to feed their three children through subsistence farming and barely surviving.

When Blessing found out she was pregnant with a fourth baby, her heart sank. In ordinary circumstances, this would be joyful news; but in their current state of merely surviving each day, how could they possibly support another child?

Since they could not afford any specialized prenatal care, Blessing simply handled her pregnancy at home

as best she could. She knew taking extra vitamins would be helpful for her, but there simply wasn’t enough money to buy anything more than what was necessary for survival. There was a healthcare center nearby, but Blessing often didn’t show up for her appointments because she knew she couldn’t afford the medicines and supplements the midwife would prescribe anyway.

Then one day, a volunteer from a MAP partner organization came to her village to distribute prenatal vitamins and Blessing eagerly began taking the supplements. Now that she felt like she actually had the power to do something to keep her unborn baby healthy and she began keeping her prenatal appointments.

The midwife at the health center told Blessing that she looked incredibly healthy compared to many other pregnant women, and inquired about her diet – what is your secret? Blessing then informed the midwife that her “secret” was simply the prenatal vitamins she was taking.

Several months later, Blessing delivered a happy, healthy baby. She sent a note to MAP’s partner expressing her thanks. “I am grateful for these vitamins and for how it greatly helped me to remain healthy and deliver a healthy baby. I will be glad to have some more to share with other pregnant women in my family and village because I have seen how good it is.”

MAP’s donation of prenatal vitamins not only made a life-changing difference for Blessing and her baby, but for 2,000 other women in seven different regions of Cameroon. So far this year, MAP has provided more than one million bottles of prenatal vitamins globally. The impact of a seemingly simple product cannot be measured, when we consider the lives and futures of the babies born to these women.

As MAP supporters, when you invest in the lives of expecting mothers, you are investing in their children too. And when you invest in children, you are investing in the future.

Your support was truly a blessing for this young mother and her child!

Because of you.

Today, smiles are chasing away tears for so many in forgotten places who now have health and hope because of your unwavering generosity.

We dedicate our Summer 2023 Newsletter to our faithful supporters who make it possible for MAP International to carry out our calling to provide lifesaving medicines and health supplies for a world in desperate need. We hope you’ve been encouraged by what you’ve read. Please know, a gift in any amount will help ensure we have even more inspiring stories of redemption to share.

Give today!