Siriri

First Aid fund for the sick – Bouar St. Elie

Healthcare in CAR is always paid; there is essentially no social system and state function in this area is subsidized by various NGOs. Doctor fees are high (e.g. an ear examination costs € 80, which represents a two month salary).

A frequent occurrence is where a sick person accompanied by a family member or alone walks hours to a the only hospital in the broad area, just to find out there that he/she does not have enough money to afford the care. People, who especially need help, such as widows, children or handicapped then come to the mission asking for help.

The project’s origin and development

Between 2001 and 2012 the mission in Bozoum provided help this way to more than 480 people, of that 230 were women. Total expenses on aid in this period were over € 9 000. In a tight mission budget these expenses are hard to bear and each newcomer patient presents the missionaries with just about a Sophie’s Choice.

This is why we at SIRIRI have established an emergency fund, where we transferred 2 500 Euros in 2013 and the missionaries can use this for urgent cases. Missionaries carefully document all expenses. At the same time they inform us on individual stories of people, who found themselves in a hopeless situation and the missionaries helped them thanks to SIRIRI and our donors. Due to the similar situation in the city of Bouar, we have extended this project to this place.