It can be hard to comprehend the needs of others. I look at the map above and see that there is 1 doctor for every 390 people in the USA and 1 doctor for every 33, 500 in Niger. It's just a statistic. But when I start reading stories of doctors in the midst of the suffering, it becomes so real and sobering. During residency I had only a few patients die...in Niger patients die daily. Its a different world- one I will be joining soon.

The blog posts below describe the current experiences of two doctors in hospitals in Africa...check them out. The most recent posts will give you a glimpse into the life of a physician and patients at these hospitals.

Life in Niger (from the viewpoint of a doctor spending at month at Galmi Hospital...and the blog where I found the map above)

From the Amazon to Angola (intense/heart-wrenching perspective of a doctor working at a government hospital in Angola- read the 9/20 post)

We have been memorizing 1 Cor. 4 at CIT and the first verse is one I will likely quote over and over to myself in Niger when I am weary: "Rather, since through God's mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart."