After decades in the harsh climate of the sub-Sahara, the existing original Galmi Hospital building in Niger has deteriorated significantly and is, in some places, a structural hazard.
   The demand increases for quality health-care, and the vision grows for training and discipleship in the hospital, but Galmi cannot hope to meet the demands, or embrace the vision, without major renovation work.
   Below, through the story of a patient, Madame Souley, SIM’s Dr Christopher Zoolkoski communicates something of the ministry of the hospital, and the importance of Galmi’s  current redevelopment project (97450).

Madame Souley’s story
Nine months ago, Madame Souley was brought to Galmi Hospital.  It took two people to carry her, because she was too weak to walk.  She had been suffering from diarrhoea for several weeks. It hurt her to swallow, because of the thrush in her mouth.
   We admitted her to the hospital and gave her the needed IV fluids and antibiotics. Our clinical suspicion of a weakened immune system was confirmed with a positive HIV test. She left the hospital a little stronger.
   When she attended follow-up visits at our HIV clinic, we learned that her husband had left her because of her poor health and the loss of her looks. When he refused to contribute any money toward her medications or transportation to the hospital, she turned to her parents, who took her in and cared for her. Following additional lab tests showing a severely weakened immune system, we started her on antiretroviral medications.
   Later, when I saw her at the clinic, I did not recognize her as the woman we admitted to the hospital 9 months earlier.  Her diarrhoea had stopped and she had regained her appetite. When she stepped on the scale, she showed a healthy 12 kilogram weight gain.  She looked beautiful, as the extra weight had taken away the gaunt look. She had a look of hope in her eyes, replacing the despair.
   Madame Souley continues to live with her parents, though she is now strong enough to take care of herself.  Her husband has visited and asked if she will return to him now that she looks good again. She said she is unwilling to go back to him until goes to the clinic for testing and treatment.
   Recently she brought her 15-month-old daughter with her to the clinic. I played with the little girl during our visit, and gave her some sweets. Together, Madame Souley and I thanked God that her health has returned, and that her daughter continues to show no sign of congenital transmission of the virus.  With good management, this woman can hope to live to see her daughter's children.

A new central courtyard
The current Galmi Hospital building suffers from poor ventilation and a lack of space, not only for the patients, but for visiting family members as well—those who must sojourn on the hospital premises because there is nowhere else they can be housed.
   A proposal to create a central communal courtyard with verandahs extending from the current wards would not only improve natural lighting and cross-ventilation (leading to improved hygiene and patient welfare) but would also provide a natural gathering place for the daily evangelistic activities led by the resident evangelists.
   With your partnership, Madame Souley and many others like her will continue to receive health and the message of eternal life in Christ through the ministry of Galmi Hospital. If you would like to help, please send your gift to the SIM-UK office, marked for project 97450, or click on the link below to give online.

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Goals of the Galmi Hospital redevelopment project:

• To provide a safe environment for the physical and spiritual care of patients and their families

• To renovate and upgrade the hospital building to meet its goal of becoming a centre of excellence in training and discipleship