Several weeks ago, with lots of input from our readers, we put together a first aid kit in a backpack and began to carry it with us everywhere we went. It was born out of necessity because each time we would visit the children who sleep in the streets we noticed that many of them had cuts and sores, most of which were infected.
We discovered that you can’t always notice the sores or cuts so before we finish each visit we make a point to ask if anyone needs any band-aids or medicine. You would be surprised at how many people have needs. They will lift their pants leg, take off their flip flops or lift up their shirt and show us the problem. The most common thing we see is infected skin sores that were caused by bacterial infections.
Once people see that we have the bag, they will often speak up about their needs. We have had several mothers who brought their children to us so that we could see sores on them. More times than not, we have what they need in the bag. When you help a mother get her baby well, she is very appreciative and it creates sort of a bond that otherwise might never had happened.
As we started taking the first aid backpack with us, we found that it was also a great tool for helping us spend more time with the people were trying to get to know. One of the biggest things you need when meeting someone on the streets for the first couple of times is a reason, a reason to linger for a while. The first aid kit gives us that reason. We take our time with each person being sure to talk and get to know them while we apply the medicine.
Here’s a list of what’s in the backpack:
Flashlight
First Aid Box for Handumanan
Reggie and Bella Ayco and their family are faithful members of the church we work with and they live in Handumanan. They were the catalyst behind starting the new meal center there because they have a real heart for ministry and wanted a center in their neighborhood.
With their willingness, a new ministry was born. We even built a small bamboo building beside their house to use for the ministry each week. After taking the first aid bag with us to Handumanan several Saturday’s in a row, I thought “why not just give Sister Bellia her own first aid kit?”
That’s how the idea for the first aid box came about. Wouldn’t it be better to make her a box to keep in her house so that she would have it each and every day? Now that they have this kit they can help all the kids in their neighborhood at the time of need.
Here’s a list of things we put in her box:
Hand sanitizer
I’m sure there are things that we have overlooked in our first aid kit so feel free to leave a comment below with your recommendations!
