Second Sunday Stories: Beatitude Care Foundation
We are thrilled that Stewart and Terrie Abbott of Beatitude Care Foundation will be our Second Sunday Story this coming Sunday (January 8) between our two morning services! Pastor Chris Stroup will moderate a conversation with these ministry leaders about their Foundation and the work they are doing in Nigeria.
BCF has establish a health care clinic - the Beatitude Care Clinic - in Egbelu Nguru, Imo State, in Nigeria. Holy Trinity supported Beatitude Care Foundation financially through our Outreach funds during 2022.
Also participating this Sunday will be Father Tochwuchu (John) Nkwocha, a Catholic Priest from Nigeria, who is currently serving in Pueblo, Colorado. Stewart and Terrie and Father John will share their dream and their story of establishing a maternity and children's clinic in Egbelu, Nigeria.
Here is an additional excerpt from the BCF website:
Beatitude Care Center will be located in Egbelu Nguru. This is one of five villages in Nguru Umuaro, in the Ngor Okpala region of Imo State, Nigeria that will be served by the health center. The other villages are Eziala Nguru, Amaibo Nguru, Umuaga Nguru and Umeuewere Nguru. Each has a population of about 250-300 people, mostly subsistance farmers.
We are using the community building in Egbelu for health screening clinics prior to completion of the Center. The village head and elders have been most gracious and accomodating of our plan. We plan to have a steering committee of one man and one woman from each village.
The capital of Imo State is Owerri, about 45 minutes away by poor roads, occasionally impassable for mud and flooding. With a population of just over 400,000, Owerri has several hospitals. Unfortunately, all of them, including the Federal hospital, require up front payment prior to any medical services.
Nigeria is made up of over 500 ethnic groups. The Igbo people are the main ethnic group in Imo State, accounting for 98% of the population. English is the official language with most people also speaking Igbo. The average income in Imo State is $3527 per year.
The maternal mortality rate in Nigeria is one of the highest in the world - 814 per 100K. The chance of a woman dying in pregnancy or childbirth is 1 in 13. That amounts to 145 women a day, or one woman every 10 minutes, dying from pregnancy and childbirth complications. That is 40 times the US average and 80 times the Colorado average. That makes it the 11th most dangerous place in the world to give birth. Imo State has a maternal mortality rate of 900, slightly higher than the national average. Nigeria accounts for 10% of global maternal deaths.
Nigeria also has the highest number of newborn deaths in Africa, 48 per 1000, or 700 a day. The mortality rate for children under five is the second highest in the world. Every day 2300 children die, mostly of preventable diseases.
Please join us for this amazing story of God's care and provision and to support and encourage the Abbotts and Father John in their efforts to make a difference for villagers in Nigeria.
Read more about BCF on their website at beatitudecarefoundation.org.