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For centuries Kwong tradition has dictated that a mother empty her breasts of life-giving colostrum for the first three days of an infant’s life, nourishing the baby instead with contaminated water. Bonté did only as her mother and a hundred generations of Kwong women had done before her, and the result was predictable — diarrhea and death. This
is the plight of Kwong women. Enslaved to centuries of tradition and cut
off from most educational opportunities, they present an exceptional
challenge to Mark and Diane Vanderkooi’s efforts over 20 years
to see the Kingdom of God implanted in the womb of Kwong culture.
This
is why the Vanderkoois are looking for a midwife who is willing to join them in the village of Chageen to help
Diane break the shackles of tradition which enslave these women in such
a major part of their lives.
The
goal is not merely to provide medical care, but to complement and
catalyze Diane’s efforts to see the beauty and goodness of the gospel
penetrate the hearts and minds of Kwong women, and to bring them into
the freedom of Christ.
Prerequisites
to such a ministry include appropriate medical credentials, fluency in
French (1 year in France or Quebec), and acceptance by one of the
sending agencies listed on the back of this brochure. Do
be advised that while an initial short-term trip is advisable, this is
really a long-term opportunity. It takes many years to win the
confidence of a people, and even longer to see the destructive
traditions which enslave them begin to change. Married?
If
your husband is gifted in languages, or radio, or teaching there are
numerous opportunities for ministry among the Kwong. If he is gifted in
working with children, you are precisely what we are looking for in a
couple. (See the twin of this brochure with our appeal for someone to
work with a new generation of Kwong children.) Other
medical professionals? While
it has not been our intention to establish a full-service medical
facility at Chageen, we are always open to anyone
considering work here – both long term and short term. Do contact us
if you have an interest in this regard. If you believe the Lord might be leading you into this ministry, study the rest of this website to get a better overall picture of the work, and then contact us at the email address at the bottom of this page. |
Bonté
cradled the lifeless form of her firstborn in her arms, tears streaming
down her face. How, she wondered, had it come to this? 
The
centerpiece of every Kwong woman’s life is childbearing. During her
lifetime, most Kwong women will bear 8 or 10 children. Of these, several
typically die in infancy. It is a rare day in a Kwong woman’s life
that she is not either pregnant, nursing, or mourning. Yet perhaps no
other facet of Kwong culture is so riddled with the lies of tradition as
that of childbearing – the purging of colostrum being but one example.
Unfortunately, this entire aspect of a woman’s life is beyond the
competence and time constraints of the Vanderkooi’s to address. 
Such
a ministry would entail, obviously enough, the delivery of babies at our
medical center in Chageen, the training of local midwives, as well as
the implementation of programs of prenatal and postnatal care.
Additionally, and more importantly, it would involve the development of
a program of preventive women’s health in conjunction with Diane’s
teaching ministry and our small FM radio station.