Lutherans play critical role in the interweaving of Phebe Hospital partners
A look at the many partners and donors that support Phebe Hospital, Bong County, Liberia

By David P. Jones, Administrator

Phebe Hospital is currently supported by eight different grants that have been provided by a variety of denominational and church groups and individuals, governmental agencies, and private non-governmental organizations. Many of these grants are composed of multiple partners.

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is a steadfast partner in providing health care services at Phebe Hospital. Through its companionship to the Lutheran Church in Liberia the ELCA sends substantial operating funds to Phebe as well as donating to the School of Nursing.  The ELCA is Phebe’s single greatest, consistent source of operating funds.  The ELCA also sends missionaries to serve as Hospital Administrator and Facilities Engineer and provides other short-term missionary opportunities at Phebe.

The depth and breadth of ELCA support is demonstrated by the numerous individuals and congregations who donate funding as well as supplies to Phebe.  The Upper Susquehanna Synod, companion to the LCL (under the ELCA umbrella) sends annual work teams to Liberia and has just sent its 16^th container of supplies to the hospital.  Smaller entities, including congregations such as First Lutheran Church in Cedar Rapids and Messiah Lutheran in Burlington Iowa regularly send containers to Phebe with hospital supplies, clothing and other relief materials.  Another critical U.S. Lutheran organization is Global Health Ministries which annually sends containers containing crucial medical supplies not available in Liberia.  

The Danish Evangelical Mission/ Danish Mission Council Development Department(DEM/DMCDD) has been another committed donor to Phebe through the years.  The DEM provided $225,000 in 2004 to rebuild the main hospital building.  That effort began in July 2004 (shortly after Phebe’s return to its home site) and was completed in January 2005.  Again, the interweaving of partnerships was evident in this hospital renovation project as the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) donated funds to the renovation.  The architectural firm which drew up plans and oversaw the renovation is a non-profit Christian company called “Architecture-Planning-Engineering-Supervision for Church-Sponsored Projects in Africa and Asia” (MSAADA).

The DEM also rebuilt the School of Nursing in 2000 after being ruined by warfare at that time.  Again in 2003, after it was demolished yet again, the DEM collaborated with Phebe to develop a proposal to rebuild the Nursing School. A new $227,000 proposal was submitted to the Danish Government and a decision is expected in January 2005. The ELCA is collaborating with the DEM by sending a volunteer “Clerk of the Works” to oversee work for that proposed project.

Lutheran organizations also work with secular governmental agencies to support Phebe. The United States Agency for International Development – Office of Foreign Disaster Relief provided $108,000 for the purchase and installation of three large generators (two 125 KVA and one 250 KVA) to operate the renovated hospital.  But this grant would not have been possible without partnership with the Lutheran World Relief (LWR).  LWR acted as an interface partner between Phebe and the USAID, providing oversight and support for the implementation of the grant.  LWR has pledged to continue its support for Phebe.  Two representatives are coming in late January and early February to assess our future needs and to discuss future grants through the USAID. LWR has also been a conduit for donated medical supplies and relief items.

The single largest monetary donor to Phebe since the 1990’s has been the European Union (EU).  The EU has supported Phebe in 2004 with three grants that have been crucial to the hospital’s re-emergence.  The EU has supported Phebe with large, long-term development grants as well as short-term, quick-impact grants.

The title of the first grant, “Clean Drinking Water” tells the story.  The EU provided $13,103.80 USD for the purchase and installation of submersible pumps for a sustainable drinking water system at Phebe. What the title doesn’t tell is the inter-weaving of various entities to develop Phebe’s water system, which since the end of the war has needed upgrading to be sustainable. Phebe’s first partner on this process was a French non-governmental organization called Action Contre le Faim (ACF).  ACF redeveloped Phebe’s wells by cleaning, yield testing and chlorinating three deep wells.

During the next phase of water development at Phebe, an ELCA volunteer worked along with Phebe’s Maintenance Department staff to install a submersible pump into one of the wells.  Concurrent with this effort, the EU provided an advance funding to purchase another larger submersible pump.  This effort then became a collaborative effort with ELCA volunteers who pledged to purchase a third submersible pump and a back-up transfer pump (the pump that pushes water up into the water tower). Global Health Ministries facilitated the transfer by packaging and shipping the pumps and accessories via air freight to Phebe.

These gifts of pumping equipment allowed Phebe to leverage the EU funding.  Through these partnerships, the hospital was able to enhance and expand its original concept beyond the initial proposal and provide a measure of sustainability to the hospital, thereby enhancing its credibility with the EU.

The second EU grant, “Renovation of Doctor Housing” provided $16,289.00 USD to renovate four housing units.  The EU made the decision to prioritize housing renovation for doctors and nurses based on the rationale that the medical staff was indispensable to the hospital.  The EU had funded renovation of 14 nursing housing units earlier in the year.

The EU has also funded a “Management Study” of Phebe’s organization and operations, a short-term (59-day) study by an independent consultant to determine an effective management system and organization at Phebe.  The study will focus on developing future strategies to achieve sustainability for Phebe and will provide at least two alternatives for Phebe’s management.  These types of sustainability studies are a common tool of the EU Liberian reconstruction effort and have been applied to water and power distribution systems in Liberia.  This study is scheduled to start in January 2005.

Finally are health care Memorandums of Understanding (MOU) with two non-profit, non-governmental organizations.  The first is with Doctors Without Borders-Switzerland for emergency surgery of clients from a near-by camp for Internally Displaced Persons. Phebe has almost completed negotiations with the French NGO Action Contra le Faim (ACF) to establish both a Special Nutritional Unit and a Supplementary Feeding Center at Phebe.  This MOU also is based on partnerships with the World Food Program to provide porridge for children and caretakers. UNICEF will provide milk and nutritional equipment. 

Phebe’s broad support network enables the hospital to provide health care to an estimated 700,000 persons within Liberia’s total population of 3.25 million. It is a crucial component to the fragile health care system in Liberia. 

Even as Phebe collaborates with many organizations, the hospital staff and administration always maintain its gratitude for those individuals who we consider to be part of Phebe. Thank you!