In May, 2012, a mission team from Rivers of the World traveled to the Democratic Republic of Congo to visit and assess the medical mission of a number of hospitals supported by the Presbyterian Church (USA). While these facilities receive some support from PCUSA, their needs far exceed that level of support. During visits to several of the hospitals, it was noted that a number of their beds lacked mattresses; in one, a small child, suffering severe malnutrition, sat on a small piece of plywood on his bed’s springs. When asked about this, we were told that mattresses had been burned several years ago following an ebola outbreak and they had not yet been able to replace all of them. As we continued our visits to other hospitals, we saw the need for new mattresses over and over again.
The initial goal of this fundraiser was to raise $50,000.00 to purchase and deliver 375 new vinyl covered hospital mattresses to these hospitals which are located in some of the most remote places on earth by Christmas; we not only hit our goal, but exceeded it and plan to keep after it to help other hospitals. We have had some preliminary conversations about similar needs in other countries and will begin to see how we can help address them. Thank you for your support.
“OUR GOAL IS TO SERVE; REALIZING THAT IT IS THEIR COUNTRY, THEIR PEOPLE, THEIR VILLAGE, BUT OUR PROBLEM. WE WILL NEVER DO FOR OTHERS WHAT THEY CAN DO FOR THEMSELVES, BUT WILL WORK IN A PARTNERSHIP BASED UPON MUTUAL LOVE, GRACE, AND RESPECT.” – DR. BEN MATHES, FOUNDER, RIVERS OF THE WORLD
Rivers of the World (ROW) is an International Exploration and Development agency based out of North GA that targets remote river basins. Our goal is to serve with people who live in these river basins and those we serve determine our projects. We ask them what makes up their greatest challenges and covenant with them to meet and overcome those challenges together. ROW emphasizes that it is their country, their village, their culture, but our problem. Our goal is to serve in an atmosphere of mutual concern and respect. ROW projects run the gamut of human, physical and spiritual needs. Academics, research, education and medical/dental concerns go hand-in-hand with church planting, construction, evangelism and Bible distribution.