As we prepare to embark on our journey to Sierra Leone I want to take this time to thank Father James O’Blaney CSsR and the people of Saint James Parish in Lititz, PA for their most generous contributions. Your $4,525 will enable us to make a difference in the lives of the people in Bo and Kabala. Please pray for the success of our trip. I will share my many stories with you when I return in March.
By LAURA KNOWLES, Correspondent, Lancaster New Era
Photo Caption: With Dr. Robert Scanlon, front right, Lancaster Catholic High School is launching the first U.S. chapter of Aiding Infants and Mothers. Pictured with Scanlon are some of the students who will be involved. Shown, front row, from left, are: Ernell Harley, Sarah Creme and Scanlon; and back row, from left, Corey Mitchell and Karrissa Miller.Laura Knowles/Sunday News
In his travels to West Africa, Dr. Robert Scanlon has seen conditions that would shock most people in the United States.
"There is no running water, limited food, no electricity, no medical care and trash that litters the ground. Conditions are so unsanitary and dangerous that people struggle to simply survive," said Scanlon during a recent visit to Lancaster Catholic High School. Scanlon told the students there that few babies live beyond their first month, dying from infections, malnourishment, AIDS and other illnesses. The antidote, reported Scanlon, can be as simple as reaching out and providing a "ray of light" to help the people of Sierra Leone, Ghana, Nigeria and other countries. The costs can be as little as $5 for vaccinations to keep a child healthy or $27 to pay for the medical and sanitary obstetrical and pediatric care.
Scanlon, of Huntington, N.Y., visited LCHS to charter the first high school chapter of Aiding Infants and Mothers in the United States. The organization, known as AIM, was founded by Scanlon four years ago. He worked with his local community on the program, including Huntington-area doctors, nurses, Catholic school students and churches.
"What I am hoping to do today is to open the eyes of the students here at Lancaster Catholic High School, to see beyond what they know here," said Scanlon. The conditions in West Africa, he noted, are incomprehensible to most students in America. To witness the extreme poverty and desperation of people in Third World countries demands a reaction and a commitment to help in whatever way possible. "In my case, as a doctor, I am compelled to go there and help to provide much-needed medical care," said Scanlon, adding that he helps to train personnel and raise money for medical equipment and medicines. Only when basic needs for food, water, shelter and health are satisfied can children focus on their educational needs. The AIM program also helps to raise money for books, paper, pencils, teachers and schools, so that youngsters can find a way out of their poverty. Scanlon explained that he was pleased Lancaster Catholic had agreed to take on the challenge of community service that extends across the globe. He hopes students will look at ways they can help in Africa and here in the United States. "I watch the students as they see the photographs of the children in Africa," said Scanlon, who presented a brief slide show on the AIM project. "I want them to know they can help in so many different ways." AIM students, educated in the importance of healthy lifestyles, will take on the task of "adopting" a village in Africa. They will be raising funds and developing ways to extend care to women and children who need health attention, basic necessities and education.
Jim Rogers, director of the Good Samaritan program and chairman of Religious Studies and Activities at Lancaster Catholic, will be going to Africa this month with Maternal Life International to scout for a village that Lancaster Catholic High School's AIM chapter will adopt. He will be joined by Scanlon, Dr. George Mulcaire-Jones and Raymond Rogers, from the National Center of Health Care Informatics. The 12 students on the AIM committee agree. They have worked on several local programs to help people. Soon they will be helping people in a faraway country. "We want to get involved and get the entire school involved in community service," said Karrissa Miller, one of the AIM committee students. As Rogers summarized, the purpose of the AIM chapter is twofold. First, the students will become better-educated about the importance of making healthy lifestyle choices, ranging from healthy eating to healthy relationships. Secondly, they will serve the world community by adopting a small village and helping to meet the medical, educational and spiritual needs of that village.
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