A few of the challenges that Pastor Bangoret and his wife Catherine have to work along, which need to be remedied in order to make El-Kabod efficient and expand are
- lack of human resources
- short supply of prescriptions
- no financial backing
In Cote d’Ivoire, volunteerism is at 0%. A total absence. There are no volunteers. It just doesnt exist. To work in the clinic, the local doctors who work there on a normal basis receive $15 a day as compensation, and the nurses get $10 a day. And they say, that even though they are paid, it is a “sacrifice” to accept such a measly wage, primarily because most of them do not live near the clinic, and the fare just to transport alone can run $20 a day. And perhaps, the real “sacrifice” also comes on the hands of El-Kabod, because they honestly just don’t have the financial capital to pay salaries and wages, even for “mediocre” help. But, the clinic is very, very busy, and they absolutely need medical professionals to staff it.
The objective:
Pastor Bangoret and his wife Catherine have enormous debts that are directly related to the medical clinic at El-Kabod. The lab itself cost between $75-80k , of which they paid 1/3 in cash and the rest in credit. They are now working to pay it off. The catch is they can’t generate profit enough to cover the deficit.
For example, because of the vision that was given to Pastor, normally the clinic sells the medication at a subsidized rate. But the only place that they can get the medicine from is the Pharmacy. The problem is the Pharmacy marks up the price for a double profit, and the clinic in turn, sells it at a low price (maybe like 10% markup), thereby not being able to keep up with the competition. Let me put it in numbers -> if a medication is $25, the Pharmacy where they hafta buy it from will charge them (even though they are a medical clinic run by the church!) somewhere around $45 or $50. That is they price that El-Kabod will pay. Now, when they are back at the clinic and a patient needs that particular medication, because of the Vision given to Pastor Bangoret to make the medication affordable for all people, they will sell it at a very deep discount, for about maybe $30. See? Therein lies a problem.
Because of the monopoly that certain organizations have with the government and tariffs, etc., prescription medication (or really any medication, to be more specific), cannot be bought at the State level. So they at El-Kabod are forced to buy at the Pharmacy at the Pharmacy rate, which as you can see, eats their bitty profit and adds to their deficit.
So how do they do it? you might ask… Well, it gets worse…
For surgical cases, you can’t even imagine.
For echographie (what we call “x-ray”), they suffer great losses! Even after this service is subsidized at the cheapest rate in all of Cote d’Ivoire, any profits generated, they are obliged to pay the x-ray techs. Another low blow –> they used to get medical supplies for the echographie, but not anymore. We are talking post-war Cote d’Ivoire.
At the end, the profit is ZERO. And, as a result, they just cannot make adequate upkeep of the material.
Pasor Bangoret’s church pays for the amenities for the clinic to run. Which, as you can imagine, the church now has a huge debt. It has gone into debt.
So their main objective is to pay off the debt. Once this is done, they can get medicines that are free, and they can truly do “social work.” It will enable the medical clinic at El-Kabod to give out medication at a very low cost, upkeep the equipment, and have basic amenities that will keep the clinic clean and functional.
*** THEY DO NOT HAVE ANY INTENTION ON MAKING ANY PROFIT ON THIS CLINIC ***
Just a little background, Pastor Bangoret, his wife Catherine, and his church are missionaries at heart. Before this clinic was built, they used to go from village to village presenting dramas and plays, free medication, etc. They even used to plant churches in remote places. But for the past 2 years, they have not been able to evangelize. Now, all of their money and resources have gone to the medical clinic, and in addition, they are stressed out! About 90 million francs has been invested in construction alone for this clinic!!!!!
Principaux: —> ON VA PAYER LA DEBTE
Secondly, there is an increasing need for an ambulance, given the level of involvement and commitment in the medical clinic. The ambulance will cost about $800. They are so incredibly thankful to God because prayer has helped save lives which could have been lost or endangered due to lack of ambulance.
This year, already, 20 babies have been delivered here at the medical clinic.
THE SECOND ISSUE they are confronting is
they need to separate the church from the clinic (property-wise). Right now, they are located on the same property. Pastor has been praying for months, and found another property, that is located very close, but is very expensive and in high demand. It costs $250,000…. but in one month, his church has secured $60,000! Praise the Lord!
He says that they are trying to focus on that project, and that they might hafta put all of their focus on it temporarily, and take their attention from the clinic, because their long-term Vision is that this current parcel of land will function as a General Hospital, including a full surgical unit (so no more “carryout” surgeries to Bethesda).
The new property is about a one-minute walk down the road. It is a truly beautiful piece of land. Pastor Bangoret says that doctors and staff will be living on the property (so as to have direct, immediate access to their patients), and visiting missionaries will be able to come and stay there when they come to work. (Very similar to a missionary complex, like ProHealth has in Nigeria.)
The work being done at El-Kabod is non-exclusive. It is for everyone in Cote d’Ivoire. Everyone is welcome. For now, Pastor Bangoret is taking it step by step, one stage to another. He said that God said to “build the center first.”
El-Kabod partners with impoverished people and will continue to do so, to distribute the medicine and supplies (and resources) to other centers and to the government and to the First Lady Simone Gbabgo. In the past, when they have shared medications with her, she distributed it to places that we experiencing the aftereffects from the war.
Social work in Abidjan, and social work in Cote d’Ivoire (as a country) has never been done before. But now, it can be, and it is being done.
Medicine in Cote d’Ivoire is VERY expensive. El-Kabod is a very important and influential church in Cote d’Ivoire, and they are fighting for the State to send a doctor or a nurse, and that would help tremendously. Also, medication can be sent (possibly 3 months prior to when we touch ground). Everyone is counting on the impact and success of this missions trip. Wow.
They are gonna impress a book report to compile to give to the government (Ministere de Sante), in order to faciliate future trips so that we won’t run into any problems at customs, and so that if the medication is sent, it won’t get held up at the ports.
In conclusion, this work that we are doing here at El-Kabod and the work that they do here at El-Kabod on a daily basis, the LORD takes very seriously. And the government of Cote d’Ivoire takes it very seriously as well.
Even our collective efforts have been further boosted by La Premiere Dame giving $4,000 of her money, and also donating $60,000 worth of medicine. El-Kabod has also received some important promises from the Embassy of Cote d’Ivoire, which are yet to be fulfilled, but will surely come to pass.
