Outreach Commission welcomes input from the congregation, along with members’ involvement. MBF is a great example, originally suggested by the late Marvin Parmelee, over 40 years ago. This foundation’s mission is dedicated to “building long-term partnerships to equip the local church in each country to meet their community’s healthcare needs and share God’s good news.” MBF acts as a partner to organize, fortify, and facilitate to cultivate sustainable development, not dependency.
Its five axioms for its international projects are summarized by:
- Local church ownership
- Sustainability built in from the start
- International quality standards
- Systems that are replicable, scalable, and adaptable
- Faith is integrated in everything – it’s non-negotiable
Today, MBF supports projects in Malawi, Haiti, Kenya, DR Congo, Gabon, Cameroun, Egypt, Madagascar, and Pakistan with an annual budget of $8 million and a 13% overhead ratio, with a staff of Ten. Ninety per cent of its budget goes to the world’s 25 poorest nations, touching over 400,000 persons per year. It carries the top four-star rating by Charity Navigator and is the top ranked faith-based nonprofit in Houston’s metro, according to the Houston Chronicle.
Westminster’s partnership with MBF blossomed in 1990 when it generated a $1.2 million USAID grant to build a new state-of-the-art cardiac care wing for WPC’s mission partner in India, Miraj Medical Centre, creating a tremendous enhancement to utilize our $120,000 donation for a new cardiac monitor.
The Malawi Network and MBF’s Network of Providers
After 57 years developing sustainable international medical facilities, MBF sees that developing countries’ medical needs are transforming from communicable diseases (malaria, TB, HIV/AIDS, maternal/neonatal deaths) into chronic diseases (cardiac diseases, cancer, diabetes, mental illnesses) which will demand very different personnel, equipment, training, and facilities. New models for medical care are needed.
Working with local leaders in Africa, MBF is pioneering a countrywide Christian Medical Network for the people of Malawi. By developing a network of highly skilled surgeons across the five hospitals which now serve 17 million people, MBF will be bringing new specialty skills to the country, with medical care that incorporates Christian values and the gospel. With new mobile primary care clinics in rural communities and specialty care in mission hospitals – and support from local medical and religious leaders, MBF, and six other medical mission-minded organizations – the network is to be a ministry where medical and religious leaders can work together to expand and improve it for decades to come. This new network is designed to improve care, reduce costs, and make the ministries sustainable for the long run. It is intended to be a pilot for ten other African countries.
MBF is raising $1.5 million in seed money to raise $52 million to transform Malawi’s network and to expand its model across ten other countries. Westminster recently committed $6,000 for four years to this campaign. The fund drive has already generated $32 million.
The Haiti Earthquake
Two weeks beforehand, the MBF-supported mission hospital in western Haiti had received a trailer full of PPE, gloves, masks, pharmaceuticals, and medical equipment. And as important, its staff was spiritually prepared to immediately load its van and arrive the next day. With impassible roads from Port-au-Prince, they were the only available resource. Thirty-four thousand dollars in transportation, medicines and medical supplies, and patient care were provided in the first two weeks, followed by $126,000 worth in the next four weeks. MBF projects an additional $139,000 in replacement supplies and patient care through eight months on site. For more details about MBF's support during the Haiti Earthquake, download and read the PDF here.
I volunteered on the Board of MBF to ensure that Westminster’s involvement was well justified. Honestly, this is the best led and managed nonprofit organization I’ve experienced in my life. Westminster should be very proud to be a partner in its work. For more details, please consult www.medicalmission.org or call me at 724-316-7511.
– Doug Mitchell, Outreach Commission