Health resources for mission trips

One of our NCF members preparing for a short-term mission trip had this question for Grace Tazelaar, NCF Missions Director. . . .

Shelley : My husband and I are going to India and have been asked to bring health-related materials to use as "train-the-trainer" curriculum for pastors to take into the villages. Do you know of any current curriculum or JCN articles? If not, I plan to create some but it would be SO nice not to reinvent the wheel! Thanks!

Grace: Thanks for contacting NCF about your upcoming trip to India. I'm sure that God will grow you through this experience!

You asked about health education materials to take along on a short-term mission trip. There are good materials that are free and downloadable from Arne Gorske and his team at Health Education Program For Developing Countries (HEPFDC). They have worked closely with the CHE Network and LifeWind, two organizations that have been involved in community health development for a number of years. They have developed health education materials for long-term healthcare programs around the world.

The key to successful health education is not so much imparting information as it is to help the learner own the information and put it into practice. Using adult education and participatory education methodology is essential. So I would encourage you to explore the HEPFDC website and read the materials on how to use their training materials.

If you wish to purchase some materials, the health education materials available from Teaching Aids at Low Cost are also excellent. They also have a great listing of textbooks for health and community health development. They are located in the UK and so you will need to convert the prices from pounds into dollars.

NCF will be partnering with Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, KY, to hold the Global Health Missions Conference there November 10-12, 2011. This is a great opportunity to join ~2500 other healthcare professionals interested in and involved in healthcare missions. I hope you'll consider joining us!