The Rapha Project
SLM’s Response to the COVID Crisis in India
By Ron Barnes
But a certain Samaritan… when he saw him, he had compassion on him… bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine… and took care of him (Luke 10:33–34 kjv).
As the crisis in India began to unfold last April, I cried out to God, feeling helpless watching many Indians I have come to know and love personally over the years, succumb to COVID. In the beginning, the United States’ news had little to say, but as the magnitude of the crisis became more evident, it began to be the top news even in the United States.
It was heart wrenching to me to think that the lack of medical attention, oxygen, and simply beds inside a hospital were creating a crisis that the country has never seen before. People were dying in lines outside medical facilities while waiting until a bed “opened up” to be treated. Once inside the doors, they had a fighting chance for recovery, but if left untreated, their lives were in grave danger.
I watched, horrified as the very parks I had done outreach and evangelism in were being used as temporary morgues and crematoriums. God, what would you have us do? We aren’t a medical mission, but do we still have some sort of obligation?
After a few days of asking God what we should do, I received a phone call from a Source of Light missionary kid, studying here in the United States. His grandfather and his father have been SLM missionaries for many years and I have come to know him well as he has grown up.
He shared with me a desire to spearhead a project to address some of these very same concerns I had and he had already done a significant amount of work laying the foundation for a speedy response. For such a young man, it was bold and ambitious, and as we began to interact back and forth, I sensed he was on the right track, with just a little guidance.
Very quickly, he was able to set up committees of leadership in the United States and on the ground in India, overseeing the project from a variety of vantage points and responsibilities. Within days, the Lord put together a strategy, plan, workers, doctors, and funds to see this effort started.
While this is meant to be a temporary project of SLM, focused on meeting the physical and medical needs of the affected communities during the worst of the pandemic, our desire is to leave the facilities in the hands of an ongoing medical ministry in India for continual use in their ministries.
But further, our hope is that in historically Muslim and Hindu stronghold communities, those treated will remember the love and compassion shown to them by the Christian Samaritans at SLM through the Rapha Health Center. Pray with us!
We waited for the last possible moment to submit the latest, most up-to-date information, for submission for this Fall Reaper. As one can imagine, with an ever-emerging pandemic and trying to work within the constraints of lockdowns, things change literally moment to moment.
In the end, we believe the team God has assembled with the doctors, nurses, consultants, and staff, has come up with an amazing plan for what will likely be the third wave of the COVID crisis in India. The second wave lasted almost 2 months, and due to strict lockdowns, the spread slowed, but only temporarily. What doctors have learned is that the third wave will hit our target areas extremely hard, once again overwhelming the current hospitals. This trend has started in other regions just within the last week and is likely to hit our region at the beginning of July.
With this in mind, we decided to postpone the first phase of opening only one floor of the hospital, which will make the final two floors easier to finish before the next wave. This will allow us to fully stock the hospital, prep and train the workers, doctors, and staff, and fully test the construction that has been accomplished to refurbish the building.
The doctors and staff are eager to get to work, to be able to once again feel useful, particularly against this plague that has sieged their country and overwhelmed their colleagues in the medical field. But they are also glad to have adequate time to prepare, and without the noise and dust of the construction. They will have plenty of other things to worry about without having to deal with the construction.
Our local SLM team of missionaries and volunteers are also staging to be able to provide food and encouragement to those who visit the hospital. God has been providing the resources needed to begin this first hospital project through generous partners and through believers on the ground offering their time and their own meager resources to chip in wherever needed.
We have also been blessed to provide jobs for people who have been without work due to the COVID crisis. One such example was a 17-year veteran of the Indian Air force, Paul Machery, who lost his job due to COVID. He comes to us with 15 years of experience in administration and facility management and was a clear choice to be the hospitals Facility and Procurement Manager. He and his wife were extremely grateful to join our team, particularly since his wife also lost her job as a teacher. With a home loan, two children, and live-in parents, finally having a job was the answer to prayer they needed.
We have many similar stories from people who have joined this team, and we look forward to watching God use them all.
Once again, remember us in prayer. Source of Light is not first a medical ministry, but we undertake certain projects and outreaches in an attempt to be “salt and light” in the community, and our ultimate goal is to carry out our overall ministry vision and purpose of making disciples of all nations. We hope and pray that those who we have ministered to physically will remember the love of Christ that was demonstrated to them in their time of need, like that Samaritan. And that the seeds planted in this time of plague in India, in some of the hardest soil for the Gospel, would bring forth fruit.
We don’t know for sure what this next wave will bring to the Rapha Project in Bangalore, India, but we will be ready and looking forward to whatever and whoever the Lord brings down our path. Particularly to those who have “fallen into the hands of robbers,” we will strive to be Good Neighbors.
PROJECT OVERVIEW
Objective
- The intent is to quickly set up a facility in Bangalore to provide immediate relief to a taxed medical system
- We are also looking to setup temporary 20-bed ”Covid Care Centers” with oxygen in 3 rural areas in South India that are most impacted and have no access to medical services
- Assist local pastors who are impacted with Covid
Project Time-Frame and Growth
- Objective is to keep the Bangalore facility open for 3–4 months
- Depending on funding received, we would like to open similar facilities in other rural areas in South India where medical facilities are severely limited
- Our partners have the capability to quickly set up temporary facilities within 2 weeks
Current COVID Situation – India – As of June 2021
- Active Cases: 3.7M
- Total Deaths: 254K
- Other Considerations:
- Daily new cases: 360K–400K (18 day average)
- Percentage of Indian population living in villages: 65.53% (World Bank Collection of Development Indicators)
Financial Responsibility
- It is our commitment to ensure complete transparency and accounting of all funds received and disbursed
- We have a Certified Accountant with 34 years of experience who is donating his time and expertise to maintain our financials and ensure compliance with local laws
- We will be providing regular updates to our partners and donors
Facility Details
We have secured a wing of a local hospital that has not been in operations for a couple of years. It has the following
- 150 Beds
- Oxygen generators that can supply to all 150 beds
- 4 ventilators with more being negotiated
- Walls need a new coat of paint and deep cleaning/sanitization
- Need to arrange for food service to patients and families on site
Staffing Details
- Number of Beds – 150
- Number of Physicians – 15
- Number of Nurses – 30
- Number of Supporting Medical Staff – 37
- Other staff: 40 (security/ maintenance, housekeeping, reception, IT)
Expected Outcomes
We expect to serve between 400–450 patients a month who need urgent and critical care such as oxygen
