Ghana Bandage
Tabernacle Baptist Church is helping to coordinate and serve as the World Headquarters for the Ghana Bandage Project.
Great news! The container full of bandages and envelopes arrived at the Baptist Medical Centre in Ghana, West Africa. Thanks to all of those who helped tear sheets, save envelopes and load barrels. Also, thanks to the men who helped load the container!
We are already working on the next shipment. If you are interested in helping, please call Vicki Barnes 770-386-2890. We need volunteers to tear sheets and load barrels!
George and Elisabeth Faile are the career medical missionaries to Ghana and the Baptist Medical Centre. George's father started the Baptist Medical Centre in the 1950's. George was raised in Ghana. He and one of his sisters are now career missionaries.
To send the supplies we will pack the bandages and offering envelopes into 55- gallon drums. When we fill 160 drums we will load them into an overseas container and send them to Ghana. It takes anywhere from 3 to 6 months to ship it to the hospital. The cost is approximately $10,000. The drums will be used to collect rainwater for the drinking. To cover the cost we have had donations from other churches. We've bought 160 barrels and plastic liners. The rest of the money will go towards shipping. The offering envelopes are used to dispense prescriptions. The people of the village cannot read or write. They use the back of the envelope to "draw the prescription details." They use up to 5,000 envelopes a week. If it is a small prescription they cut the envelope in half and fold it over. The types of sheets needed are any color or pattern. They need to be clean and torn into 3" strips and rolled into bandages.
Procedures for Preparing the Bandages
The sheets should be freshly washed. Cotton fabrics work best although polyester blends are fine. The simplest and best method to tear the sheets is to snip the hems, selvages (and if fitted, the elastic areas) and tear to remove. Fold the sheet in half so that you have the longest strip possible. Snip the folded sheet every 3". Tear the sheet into strips. Remove the excess threads or strings by just gleaning your hands down the strips. Roll the strips into bandages beginning by rolling the first strip on a pencil or dowel rod. Do not tape the end to the rod. At the end of the first strip, just lay the end down and place the beginning of another strip on top of the first one's end and continue to roll. You can remove the pencil or dowel at this time by gently turning it in the opposite direction. You will need about 6-8 strips depending on the length of the strips. Make the roll approximately 3-31/2" in diameter. If you want to roll one strip instead that is fine too. Put a small piece of tape on the finished roll to hold it together. The TIGHTER you can roll the better. Do not use pins, strings, or rubber bands to hold rolls together -use either cellophane or masking tape. If you have narrower rolls of sheets roll those too.
Vicki Barnes can be reached at 770-386-2890, vbarnes275@aol.com or Tabernacle Baptist Church.
