The reason we have become so much busier - at least for a little while - links to new projects. Three have started in the past three months.
The biggest, which we are just starting, is for a United Nations organization. It is probably only for 15 months, but means we have to recruit 280 new staff during just a few weeks, a very large step up from LAMB’s existing staff number of about 700. The project is trying to reduce mother and child deaths in this area through encouraging community members to follow better health practices, to use established health care facilities, and through improving the system of health care provision. Although Bangladesh has made very good progress towards the Millennium Goals to reduce mother and child deaths, the levels are still very high.
The other two projects started are both research related, although being implemented with the participation of LAMB community staff. A two year project supported by the Gates Foundation, looks at what are the most effective and cost-effective techniques to persuade mothers to provide their babies and young children with the best possible nutrition, within their budget. The other short project looks at the how decisions are made by poor families facing difficult choices. For poor families there are serious choices between survival or longer term benefits.
We are very privileged to have been entrusted with these projects. Our challenge now is to do them, and do them well, so that there really are good benefits from the work.
Other parts of LAMB are on-going busy. The number of patients coming to the hospital still continues to rise, and some departments are stretched to the limit. For the Training Centre, as I write, the number of resident trainees again means overflow into temporary accommodation.
LAMB has also during the past months been able to provide additional support to the Christian community in the area. 25 pastors from churches across a wide area came to LAMB for two days of training. The focus was on helping them to see how to broaden their ministry, not only caring for their churches and their members, but for a broader role for their churches in the communityFor those of you who pray for LAMB, there are two requests. One if for the fortitude and wisdom to handle this period of being very stretched across more or less all parts of LAMB. The second is for stability in the country since times of disturbance almost inevitably hit hardest on the poor.
