Bain, Thomas

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The Linacre QuarterlyVolume 32 | Number 1 Article 8February 1965A Mission Doctor in AfricaThomas BainFollow this and additional works at: http://epublications.marquette.edu/lnqRecommended CitationBain, Thomas (1965) "A Mission Doctor in Africa," The Linacre Quarterly: Vol. 32 : No. 1 , Article 8.Available at: http://epublications.marquette.edu/lnq/vol32/iss1/8A Mission Doctor in Af 1 caTHOMAS BAIN, M.D. In June this year my wife and six children and I returned from Southern Rhodesia where we spent three years. I worked for Bishop A. Haene in his diocese of Gwelo, at a large tubercu­losis sanatorium and general hospital. sent abroad. In Mi• 1961 we sail� from New York tc Africa. Southern Rhodes: was one of tht last countries of sue 1haran Africa to be penetrated by m · ionaries. Corue, quently, the Churcl 1ere is relativdy young when comp.:: d with the rest of Africa. During my internship I first began thinking seriously of dedicating a few years as a doctor in the foreign mis­sions. Later, when in the Army in 1959, my wife and I decided that we would at least explore the feasibility of such an undertaking. This proved to be considerably more difficult than first anticipated. We wrote to several organizations to obtain information. One was the Lay Mission-Helpers group of the Archdiocese of Los An­geles. It seemed to be the answer to our prayers. Monsignor Anthony J. Brouwers, the founder of the Lay Mission-Helpers, also Director of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith of the Los Angeles Archdiocese, had just inaugu­rated the "Mission Doctors Associa­tion." Past experiences with members of the medical . profession, which he had incorporated into his Lay Mis­sion-Helpers, showed that Mission Doctors needed their own professional organization with a strong home base of . apostolic-minded Catholic doctors to manage the selection, placement, and support of the volunteer doctors in the m ission field. Thus, from the Catholic Physicians' Guild of Los Angeles evolved the Mission Doctors Association. We felt that this was the type of organization that would give us the support and security needed for such an under­taking. We were its first family to be 14 A systematic eva elization of the Rhodesias began on · after white set· tiers arrived here in 1e last decade of the 19th century. Dr· :ontein, founded in 1906, was one o, '.he first mission stations. But due t( lack of priest!, brothers, and sisters, '1e Church made little impact on the , .. rican population until twenty years a6 when new mis· sionary societies can to the help of the English Jesuit F hers. The coun· try was then divide( into several ec· clesiastical districts. )ne diocese, tn 1947, was entrusted 10 the members of the Bethlehem !I ssionary Society of Switzerland. In addition to Rutl .rnd me at Orie· fontein Hospital, the, · were eight Lay Mission-Helpers on , he staff. They were a hospital admin;:;trator, a denllsl­anesthetist, and six k1rses. Our new1 home was situated Io miles east o Gwelo and about I So miles south of Salisbury, the capital The climate 15 healthy and pleasant. We lived al�ost a mile above sea: le\·el, on the high plateau-land that comprises most of the Rhodesias and Npsaland. A mission station is something of a self-contained unit with its own sources of food, water, and electricity. Y�u live within a stone 's throw of t e Church, which makes daily Mass � easy privilege. The hospital, too, 11 but a few yards away from the com· LINACRE QUARTERLY fOJIJble bungalow which we and ourchildren called home. . Ruth taught the two elder childrenwith the aid of a local correspondence We found this adequate and on =· home the childre� :"'ere pla�ed in the grade we had antiopated w1�h­oot difficulty. We had a few l�xunes not. found in the average station-a 24-hour supply of electri�ity from the giant Kariba hydroelectnc system on the 1.ambesi River, and workable te�e­phoncs which were definite luxunes lor Africa. life at a mission station becomes dull and monotonous at times. Thos_e who search outside themsel�es for di­version and entertainment will not last long in the missions. HOSPITAL AND STAFF Our �holic hospital at Driefontein boasted a 300-bed TB sanatorium and a 100-bed general hospit�l, only re­cently opened. The sanatonum had ex­cellent X-ray facilities, a laboratory, pharmacy, and operating room: These serve the general hospital pahents as well. . I was the only doctor there: Bes1d�scaring for the 400 beds at Dnefontem and daily outpatients, I spent one day a week at an out-station where the sisters operate a clinic. There is enough work for one doctor in all the rural mission clinics in the diocese. We badly needed a second doctor at Drie­fontein. I was replaced by Dr. James Carey of MDA but this still does not solve the basic problem of need for two, maybe three doctors ·at Driefon­tein. · · ry per-internationalize our m1�s10n\ t th. s sonnel. I personally believe t a lh admixture of nationalities doe� muc to unify our life and work �nd impres�the Africans with our Faith at wor and at play. . . h · 1 The African sisters m the osp1ta s reatl inspired us all. Thoug� t?e twelr diocese has yet to ordam its first African priest, we �ad mor� t�an 50 African sisters. This fl?unsh1�g community demonstrates God s speoai blessings on the missionary �abors ·\ G l diocese if one realizes �1t we O ' Afncan what sacrifices and courage an girl becomes a nun. . . to Our sanatorium was bmlt m 1960 . treat the high percentage of TB vic­tims. This disease is Southern Rho­desia's chief health problem. Th� �­shaped building is the result .of_ a JO�nt effort by the Bethlehem M1 ss1ona�1es and the Government Healt� Service. Bishop Haene carries the maior part of the construction costs. The Gov�rn­ment assumes the burden of th: ay­t -day operating expenses. It is the lo t TB sanatorium in the country' arges . ll · d with its 300 beds contmu_a y occup1e . The African patients m the sanato­r ·um come from distances of a hundred t� two hundred miles around. Th�y �re sent to us by Governm�nt �nd m1ss1.o� hospitals and often amve i_n a debili­tated condition. Most patients c�me f m rural districts where the African ro . .. " These eo le still live m reserves. . P Pl tracts of land set aside for are arge 'th them by Government. However, �1 . ear the trek of natives each passing Y . L · t the towns and cities mcreases. iv-The staff at our two hospitals was made up of the American Lay Mission­Helpers mentioned above and three Swiss Lay missionaries, three Ger1:1an Dominican sisters and three Af ncan nursing sisters. Y�u would be deeply impressed by the genuine catholi<;=ity of 011t staff. Bishop Haene has tned to i�g in urban slums, eating out of �h1same pots and pans, and c�ose phys�ca contact constitutes a. fertile breed mg ground for TB infection. THE AFRICAN PATIENT Our most difficult problem wi�h th� . h t th have an msatt-patients 1s t a ey h f l able urge to leave as soon as t ey ee FaiuAB.v, 1965 15 a little better. It is hard to make them realize that although they are im­proving, their TB has only been ar­rested. Further drug therapy is neces­sary because outpatient treatment does not work in rural areas. If they leave before properly discharged, they are soon back to begin treatment all over again. However, we have constantly on hand a number of patients who have mn off before finishing treat­ment and now are worse off than be­fore. One can point to them as ex­amples of what will happen if the long convalescence is not maintained. A second difficulty arises from the pagan notion that diseases are caused by spirits of the deceased. If the sick person is to regain his health, the evil spirit causing the sickness must be placated. Obviously, this fear compli­cates the organic trouble. The sick African will first try by ritual to ap­pease the offended evil spirit. If he does not know which spirit has been offended, he will resort to the native doctor, or nganga. The nganga will in­str_u�t him what to do to quell the spmt and he may prescribe some of his own herbalistic concoctions. Some nganga do not resort to medications but �ravely confront the evil genii wit!� myst_ic. gadgets. Others deal only in m�dICrnes; a few do a good business with both their occult charms and whatever juices they can squeeze from roots, plants and leaves. While the nganga treatment goes on for days or weeks, valuable time is lo�t. before the patient reaches the clmIC or hospital. Often he never reaches such a center before death strikes. Witch doctor brews usually do further damage to the already sick man. When such a victim of witchcraft comes to us we have first to diagnose the principal malady and the effects of_ the wi�c� doctor's poisoning. In children this 1s particularly tragic. Most of our patients take native medicines 16 before they come to even have them brc, pita! without our complicating our t cedures. � hospital. Manr ht into the hos-. nowledge, onlr ' •ment and pro-The native docto,. as always played a major role in pre-c, 0nial Africa, and among our people still does. The African's belief ar:. dependence on , native medicines a ancient. From them he derived g. tt security. Th� central fact has to , appreciated to understand the comr x problem of the African herbalist an, ,he psychological makeup of the Afri ,1 patient. DOCTOR AND, ·SSIONARY Sickness, medica: treatment, and death are for the 1 ·ricans events of the spiritual order, ot mere physio­logical processes. A 1octor for whom the African is mere]_ ;1 "medical prob­lem" fails to meet :5 patient's spiri· tual needs. The idc Cath olic doctor must impress his tients with the Christlike meaning ,d value of pain and suffering. To c1 , less is to mini· mize the missionan character of his medical labors. A doctor's religio1 - conviction, how· ever, can never be a c1bstitute for pro­fessional excellence. The former israther a fulfillment of the latter. After having bee , associated with MDA for four years, three years of which were in the missions, I want to make the following observations: There are several other efforts which are endeavoring to supply the g'.eat need for doctors in the developi ng countries of the world. Many of them are well known and successful in vary· ing degrees in their own manner. Th.t MDA does not see itself in compd1• tion with these but simply that itl approach is different. It is my considered opinion that an effort that works within the framde· work of the Church has several a · vantages for the individual and for the LINACRE QUARTERLY Qiurch. For the individual, it assures that he is properly indoctrinated in his role in the total mission effort and in a deeper spiritual life. Next, he is assured that he will be assigned to a location that needs him and where his family will find life bearable. Finally, he is supported by a home base while in the missions and is helped to resettle on his return home. This relieves many worries and prob­lems entailed in such an undertaking, especially if the doctor has a family. There are advantages to the Church also. The social work of the Church is furthered. Specifically here I am speaking of curing of ills. To realize that this type work is close to the ideal of Christ, one has only to read the Gospels, especially that of St. Luke. A majority· of the miracles per­formed by Christ were concerned with physical maladies. The local bishop has many problems to face and he must use his resources in the manner that seems wisest ·to him. He would like some assurance that any effort he makes to· help his flock can be continued and he is re­luctant to undertake the cost involved � building a hospital. An organiza­tion such as MDA is trying to eradi­cate the uncertainty of supply of doc­tors to the missions. We all realize that the demand will probably always exceed the supply. Thus, MDA en­deavors to seek out the more suitable locations from various aspects in which to _work and hopes to slowly expand. Without such an assurance of con­�uity, medical work in .the missions 15 an irresponsible adventure and not a worthwhile service to the Church and the people. . Much is spoken and written in this � about the growing role of the }'man, about the renewal in the �urch, about liberalism and conserv­atism, both on the national political SCene and within the ecclesiastical P!aiUAllY, 1965 framework. One fact stands out and it is that the age of the layman has really arrived and it is only by co­operating with God's grace and as­serting himself that the layman will assume his proper role within the Church. It certainly will not be handed to him on a silver platter. Members of the medical profession can do this in several ways, but for those of us who are still young, what better way to get started than spending a few years in the mission field. Waiting for our government to do it is obviously not the answer, and manifestly the vari­ous orders and congregations of priests and sisters cannot do it. Rather, we must work together with them in the promotion of God's kingdom on earth. I hope these observations will en­lighten and perhaps encourage Cath­olic doctors to give a few years of their lives as medical missionaries. Mv wife and I know that we are most privileged to share the labors of the Missionary Church. We shall be for­ever grateful that God gave us the grace to go to Africa as medical mis­sionaries. Brother Juniper 17 , ..  

A Mission Doctor in Africa

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A Mission Doctor in Africa

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