Ukrainian Christian doctors offer free, traveling polyclinic

Mennonite Central Committee
Saturday, 26 August 2000

ZAPOROZHYE, Ukraine -- "The work we do is like that vine," said Anna Nemchina, a no-nonsense, retired nurse-midwife, pointing to a twisted strand of plastic ivy that framed a plain, wooden cross on the unfinished concrete block wall. "You can hardly see it against those rough bricks. It's not like that bouquet on the piano," she added, indicating another artificial arrangement. "It's not showy. It's just a faint little strip of green. But you never know what's going to grow out of it."

She was reflecting on the day spent with nine other medical colleagues in Berdyansk, a city on the Azov Sea in southeastern Ukraine. All members of the Christian Medical Association (CMA) of Zaporozhye oblast (province), the group offered a day of free medical consultation as guests of the Second Evangelical Christian-Baptist Church.

In their off-duty time members of the CMA hold day-long clinics in towns and villages around Zaporozhye that do not have easy access to medical care. Even in a city like Berdyansk, people flock to the consultations because of the rising cost of health care. In 1999 the CMA undertook eleven such trips to nine different locations, serving more than 2,000 people. Mennonite Central Committee has sponsored the CMA's free, traveling clinic since 1998. When they first began, however, the doctors paid out of their own pockets.

At first glance, the location of the Berdyansk consultation -- the shell of a newly constructed Sunday school building -- didn't seem ideal, but in half an hour the doctors made it into a functioning polyclinic. They hung yellow tablecloth partitions to make individual examining areas. The dermatologist claimed the tool shed and the pediatrician received children in the back of the van. Boxes were unloaded, benches were pushed around, and Anna Nemchina called for a bucket of water to swill the brick dust off the floor of her second-floor room.

By 10:00 a.m. everything was ready. The church's pastor, Sergei Burkut, called doctors and patients together for prayer and laid down a few ground rules as well. "You might see or hear almost anything today," he said, "We're pretty crowded. Everybody please be patient and treat each other with respect." Afterwards the doctors were introduced, and the day of consultations began.

People came steadily, some waiting in line several times to see two or more of the specialists, despite the chill in the raw concrete building. Babies cried; grandmothers visited; every now and then a groan issued from the dentist's cubicle. On the steps to the hall an old man proudly extended a forefinger to passersby, displaying a large ant that had just been removed from his grandson's ear. Everyone was busy -- even the doctors' driver, a Zaporozhye pastor, who circulated in the crowd taking people's blood pressure and occasionally calling a group together for a tooth-brushing demonstration. Zoya Gerasimenko, a pharmacist and a leader of the association, briskly dispensed free medications prescribed by the doctors.

Late in the afternoon the doctors took a break and swapped a few stories. They agreed that the work was worthwhile. "Naturally, I refer people to a local specialist if I see that there's a serious problem," said neurologist Oleg Zhilenkov, "But there's a lot we can do even in a short visit."

"It helps a lot simply to listen attentively to a person," added Irina Chernova, an ear, nose and throat specialist. "Many of them don't get enough kindness."

But the greatest source of satisfaction for the CMA members is the opportunity to witness to their faith in Jesus Christ. Most of them are relatively new believers, having become Christians after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Formerly, it was almost impossible to find a Christian doctor, but now CMA members can freely relate their faith to the practice of medicine. Their traveling clinics have a strong evangelistic emphasis, usually beginning with a service of preaching, singing and testimonies. Many people who come to a medical consultation would never otherwise set foot in a church, but after the doctors have gone, it isn't unusual for church attendance to go up and for people to become Christians. Bible studies have started in villages where previously there were no known believers. At the very least, their sacrificial service has helped to warm up chilly relations, which linger from the days of Soviet communism, between local churches and governing authorities.

After twelve-hours the last of some 300 patients left, the curtains came down, and the boxes were stowed. One of the senior church leaders prepared to go home, but paused to thank the doctors. "You've sowed a lot of good seed today," he said, "Please come again."

Anna Nemchina was looking forward to putting up her feet. "Yes, I'm tired," she conceded, "But I like to do this. We've helped a few people, and you never know what the Lord is going to do with it. It's like a plant coming up -- just a little strip of green."

For more information, or to contact Mennonite Central Committee, see their website at: www.mcc.org