Caring For Our Sisters

We have in many ways neglected to care for the needs of our Sisters. In Africa a woman dies every minute from pregnancy-related problems and among our community there have been fatalities in childbirth, other complications and sufferings which might have been preventable, or controlled in their early stages by providing medical knowledge and, where possible, medical attention. Whilst we may not at the present time be able to afford for paid medical attention, we would like to make a humble start at trying to at least do something. Our front cover picture shows ten Sisters from five Ecclesias on a three day residential seminar in Malawi sponsored by CAT. where we helped arrange for a qualified nurse to go through many matters relating to the care and health of our sisters’ bodies. We decided on having a small group of ten sisters so that they could all participate in discussions, problem-solving exercises and demonstrations. One aim was to create a relaxed atmosphere and give them a complete break from their normal lives to allow them to concentrate upon the seminar and at the same time widen the bonds of fellowship and enable them to confidentially discuss and hopefully resolve individual questions and problems. The text book used was, “Where Women Have No Doctor” and they were all very pleased for the beneficial knowledge and experience they received, which justifies arranging further seminar’s on these lines. Owing to costs, initially at least, the number of seminars must be very limited, but we would like to help make the book more readily available in the Mission field to those Sisters that can understand English. Incidentally we are pursuing the possibility of working with others to make it available in local languages. MH.

‘Where Women Have No Doctor’- a health guide for women.

All over the world women rise to their daily work, care for their families and participate in community life. Too often, women must face these challenges whilst struggling against illness – lacking even basic information about their health. ‘Where Women Have No Doctor’ combines self-help medical information with an understanding of the ways in which poverty, discrimination and cultural beliefs limit women’s health and access to care. Developed with community-based groups and medical experts from more than thirty countries, this book can help anyone understand, treat and prevent many of the health problems that affect women.

Clearly written with over 1000 drawings, ‘Where Women Have No Doctor’ is an essential resource for any woman who wants to improve her health. It is also invaluable for health workers who want more information about the problems that affect only women, or that affect women differently from men. It helps women identify the obstacles to good health in their communities and shares ideas on how to overcome them.

Topics include: *how to solve health problems, *ways to stay healthy, *understanding the reproductive parts of women’s bodies, *sexual health, *HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases, *pregnancy, birth and breast feeding, *mental health, *health concerns of women with disabilities, girls, older women and refugees, *the politics of women’s health, *rape and other violence against women, *the use of medicines in women’s health.

There is obviously going to be a limit on the number of books we can send as this 584 page book (including postage), is expensive, costing £15 each. This means initially it has to be limited to Ecclesial Libraries and those in isolation who can understand English. The number of copies that can be sent out will largely depend upon the copies that are sponsored financially by others. We have been blessed in that the Horley Ecclesia have paid for the purchase of the first hundred books - and we thank them for this - which gives us a good start, but many more will be needed to satisfy demand, so any help will be most gratefully received.

SPONSORS NEEDED for ‘Where Women Have No Doctor’

Those in the Mission areas wishing to have a free copy of ‘WHERE WOMEN HAVE NO DOCTOR’ can request it from CAT, writing clearly their full name, address and the Ecclesia to which they belong. Those wishing to help by sponsoring copies can do so by making their donations payable to Christadelphian Advancemet Trust, 49 The Woodfields, South Croydon, Surrey CR2 OHJ, England. The cost of the book, inclusive of postage is £15 (Aust$36; Canada $30; New Zealand $38; US $26, We have no problems with changing cheques from these countries.

If you would like to know to whom we send the copy/copies you sponsor please put ‘yes’ in this box [ ]

Post to Christadelphian Advancement Trust, 49 The Woodfields, South Croydon, Surrey CR2 OHJ, England.

I wish to sponsor copy/copies of ‘Where Women have No Doctor’ a cost of £15 each (or equivalent) and enclose £/$ to cover the cost.

Name………………………………………………………………………………

Address……………………………………………………………………………

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