WHERE: Impfondo, Republic of Congo (Brazzaville)

WHEN: Internships can be scheduled any time of year with approval

WITH WHOM: Dr. Joseph and Rebecca Harvey (pictured) and their team

Overview: Come and serve with us at Congo’s 60-bed Pioneer Christian Hospital located in the heart of the central African rainforest. The mission of the hospital is to provide health and hope to those who need it most. The hospital serves an estimated population of 300,000 people, including local residents, villagers, and vulnerable people groups including indigenous peoples, refugees, the poor, elderly, chronically ill, and AIDS orphans and widows.

Q & A with missionaries:

1. What are some roles that interns could take on while serving with your team?

At the hospital we have a 17-acre campus with 32 buildings and therefore there are a variety of roles that interns could fill that would be a blessing to us. Here is a list of several: Children’s Ministry Worker, Administrative Assistant, English Teacher, Healthcare Worker (Physician, PA, RNP, Midwife, RN, Lab Techs, X-ray Techs, Ultrasound Tech, Pharmacist, Pharmacy Tech), Healthcare Student, Auto Mechanic, Diesel Mechanic, Construction, Electrician, Carpenter, Cement Worker or Bricklayer, Radio or Media Tech and more!

2. What are some ministry tasks that you want the intern to accomplish while serving with you?

One of the interns’ tasks is to be learning some of the local and national languages (Lingala, Aka, or French). They assist with various aspects of our dynamic hospital-based, radio, community health ministry. Nursing students or medical professionals who serve with us will have inpatient rounds, outpatient visits and other daily tasks as well as be on call for emergencies and problems.  We can discuss projects for other interns with different skillsets. All interns will participate in church-planting, discipleship, worship, prayer, and revival.

3. What else would you like potential interns to know about the hospital?

Our team is a combination of ex-pat volunteers and paid Congolese staff and we provide a full spectrum of services 24/7 including: Obstetrics, Medicine/Pediatrics, Surgery, Consultation, Laboratory, Medical Imaging, Pharmacy, Chaplaincy, Administration, Maintenance, and Security.

Conditions commonly treated include malaria, sexually-transmitted diseases, tuberculosis, typhoid fever, HIV/AIDS, leprosy, meningitis, monkey pox and other infectious diseases. Less exotic conditions including pregnancy, hernia, hypertension, gastritis, diabetes, trauma, and other diagnoses are also commonplace.

The hospital aims to offer healing to the whole person, integrating physical, social, and spiritual treatment as needed. As a result, Pioneer Christian Hospital is having a positive impact on the mortality and morbidity of the entire region through the medical, surgical, and chaplaincy services provided.