Projects

The Beginning of Our Relationship With IMA World Health

Written by John Walter Friday, 28 March 2008 20:01

Shortly after returning from Cuba in June,2004, I began thinking over some of the conversations I had either overheard or had been direct party to. I began to feel an increasing sense of urgency regarding the lack of medicines reaching El Centro Presbytery.

I spent a good while speaking with anyone who would listen to me at Astra Zeneca, the pharmaceutical company that makes one of the post-surgery breast cancer medications required by a lady in the Cabaiguán community. But more than that, I began thinking about the structure needed to bring any real relief to those communities.

Sitting on the Global Missions Committee of Baltimore Presbytery, I have the chance to hear most of the news that is going around the Presbytery. I learned of a September meeting in which Mr. Paul Derstine, CEO of Interchurch Medical Assistance, would address the Presbytery Committee regarding IMA's mission.

That meeting was a success in terms of my gaining an understanding of how our mutual missions might eventually coincide. I called IMA shortly after to arrange a personal meeting between their staff and the principal acting managers of Baltimore Presbytery's Cuba Partnership, Jo Ann Ruther and myself.

The meeting which took place on November 5, 2005, was an introductory session whose primary purpose was to estimate and discuss the level of existing structures between Baltimore Presbytery and El Centro Presbytery. Leaving that meeting I felt overly optimistic. Finally I had gained the ear of an agency willing to entertain the idea of Mission to Cuba. Not only that: IMA is located in Maryland, less than two hours from where I live. A miracle. Yet in front of me lay the enormous task of coordinating the communications between all possible acting parties, and fund raising.

I began writing to my counterparts in the other PCUSA Presbyteries having partnerships with El Centro with the intent of creating a communications network, but not immediately suggesting a joint project. Judy Alford, leader of Cascades Presbytery's partnership in Cuba, responded immediately and positively. Over the next several weeks we discussed what we had individually done to help relieve the lack of medicines in El Centro. I related my experience with IMA and she sounded interested in further discussion. Luckily, our next scheduled trip to Cuba fell within the same week and we will have the opportunity to sit and discuss these issues with the leadership of El Centro Presbytery in Santa Clara.

My attempts to reach Monmouth Presbytery in New Jersey finally yielded a conversation with Shannon Vance-Ocampo, current leader of their Presbytery's Cuba Partnership. We spoke for a good while about our personal observations regarding the lack of medicines and intend to meet personally after our January trips. Regrettably, they will be in Santa Clara two weeks before the joint El Centro- Cascades-Baltimore meeting. Yet I am very encouraged to think that three of the four PCUSA Presbyteries with links to El Centro are finally considering sharing communications.

My intention is to bring some of these medicine boxes which contain many ordinary OTC drugs and health products when we travel to Cuba again in January, 2005.

For an overview of the IMA's Medicine Box Project, please go to their site at: www.interchurch.org.

John Walter
Baltimore Presbytery