After many fundraising efforts and contributions from online viewers — some even during the final evening service of Bible Conference — students sang “To God Be the Glory” for the $211,053.67 raised so far for the Hope Christian Health Center in Ivory Coast, West Africa.
The offering will pay for at least the maternity ward of the health center. Land, equipment and some other funds have already been acquired.
The health center will provide more patients with physical care than the Christian clinic it is replacing can. Ultimately, the health center will also meet spiritual needs. An anticipated 1,500 patients will be saved each year and then discipled by missionaries in new churches.
With the opening of the health center, doors will also open for medical mission teams, even ones from BJU, to serve in the Ivory Coast.
“It’s always an encouragement to see our student body catch the vision for the Bible Conference offering project — and this year is no exception,” BJU President Steve Pettit said. “I’m pleased to see the passion of our students, faculty and staff in working creatively together to raise funds for the Hope Christian Hospital in Ivory Coast.”
“Seeing students so engaged, even students at the Academy, really touched my heart,” Dr. Bernard Kadio, School of Health Professions faculty member, added.
Kadio, a medical doctor whom God directed to pursue medical missions, shared his passion for the health center with BJU after he joined the faculty in 2019. A native of the Ivory Coast, he started the Christian clinic — the first in the Ivory Coast to have the declared intent of witnessing to patients.
The clinic is 10 times smaller than the nearby government hospital but had three times more patients. Many of the patients are expectant mothers, but because the clinic lacks space and equipment, women have to deliver their babies at the government hospital. Afterward, they can return to the clinic.
However, up to 75% of those women do not return because the baby, the mother or both die at the hospital. “This is the turning point that the Lord used for us to shift from the clinic to actually a hospital where we will have a maternity ward where we will be able to take care of the patient in a comprehensive manner,” Kadio said in a recent Highest Potential podcast episode.
Unlike the other hospitals in the Ivory Coast, which primarily fight disease, the health center will also seek to prevent diseases by providing patients with health education.
Said Kadio: “God gave the vision. God made the provision. To Him alone be the glory! Thank you, Bruins. Thank you, (BJA) Lions. You have made history.”
