TMB

The forgotten illness in development work

/ Steinar Opheim

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They are viewed as crazy and are often kept chained in cages. Many times they have to live as outcasts or they are kept hidden in order not to bring shame to their families. Still, the mentally ill have been forgotten in international development work. Medical doctors who go as tentmakers may make a difference.

Manmaya Taman in Nepal is one of these mentally ill people. 18 years ago she was locked up in a small room. Since then she has been treated like an animal. She has been allowed to leave her little shack only two times a day in order to go to the toilet.

“I was forced to lock her up. Even after spending a great deal of money on medicine she did not get better. She was creating a lot of trouble in our village,” says Manmaya´s former husband, Til Bahadur Tamang, to the Nepali newspaper Kantipur Daily.

Forgotten victims

Manmaya Tamang is not unique. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), most people with mental illnesses do not receive proper treatment. The treatment available is worst in poor nations. WHO indicates that depression will be the most common disease worldwide in a few years.

Coordinator Michelle Funk in WHO Mind says that the development organizations have let down the mentally ill.

“People with mental illnesses are often victims of violence and abuse because no one is protecting them. They also have no political or civil rights. When they are not included in our fight for human rights, they will lose the chance of getting an education and work,” says the WHO Mind-coordinator.

Total change

Matrika Devkota in Nepal is one of the lucky ones who did receive help. When he was 15, he got the first signals that he was depressed. The illness got worse, and from age 19 he lived in total isolation inside his high caste family.

“People around me thought I was tormented by evil spirits. Even today people with mental illnesses are often seen as possessed,” he says.

One day Matrika Devkota got in touch with a development worker who made the correct diagnosis and gave him the right medication. His situation changed totally and today he is running an organization focusing on helping people with mental illnesses.

Students Studying Abroad

/ Guest Contributor

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Larry McCrary

 A few weeks ago I was able to speak to a group of educators about how God uses students to spread the Gospel across the Earth. Although students often have many opportunities to do short terms missions trip or summer long missions trips, we can’t forget that students also have other alternative paths to mission.

Consider this:

Study Abroad Students – Many college students will spend a summer, semester or even a year abroad. What are some things we as churches are doing to equip these students to spend their time abroad with intentionality and with kingdom purpose? If your church has a strategic partnership to a specific people group or place have you considered finding out if the university in your city has any official relationship with an university there? Can you encourage your college students to study there?

College Internships – A lot of college seniors must  complete some kind of internship. If you are  a student, have you explored internships abroad? These internships can give great connections for future full time employment in the country.

Graduate Students – Getting a graduate degree at a partner university abroad is a really easy way to connect with other global professionals in your line of work. Besides the Gospel opportunities you would have in classes, it is a great networking opportunity.

College is more than just a time to earn a degree to land a job. It’s a time when a student makes pivotal choices that can impact their future. If you are involved in a college student’s life, I’d encourage you to help that person think wisely about his/her choice of major, language study and internship opportunities. God could be calling that student to live abroad some day with his current career pursuit.

The Intentional Traveler

/ Guest Contributor

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Larry McCrary

 I do a lot of traveling. I mean more than most but not quite as much as George Clooney in the Hollywood film “Up In The Air”. I am constantly in conversations with people who are doing business all over the world. They fly about from country to country.  They work for multi national companies. They often have to travel to the same cities several times a year with their jobs.

They want to be intentional as they travel and do business abroad. They do not simply want to go on a trip to do their business and see a few sites. I know one businessperson who is what I would call and “Intentional Traveler.”

Take a look at some of the things he does to be purposeful and intentional with his trips:

  • He stays at the same bed and breakfast each time in Paris. He plans ahead to be sure the owners of the hotel can spend one evening with him.
  • He frequents the same restaurants and goes to the same news stand each morning to get his paper.
  • He goes to the same coffee shops.
  • He makes sure to spend time with people from his national company. He goes out to eat with his co-workers. He gets to know them as well as possible.
  • He is trying to learn the language in order to communicate better in that country.
  • He is meeting other Christians and Christian workers to develop his network there.
  • He tries to make the most of his opportunities and if the Lord opens the doors for deeper conversations then he is ready.

Though this guy will probably not live overseas he knows that a real part of his life is to travel abroad. He is committed to making it intentional.

Do you travel internationally? Do you travel frequently? Can you think of some practical things you can do on your next trip to be more intentional?