By Dr. Dilip Abayasekara
The generous giving of the people of Susquehanna Conference to Bishop’s Partners in Mission has resulted in significant gains for the two causes BPIM supports – saving lives from malaria and reducing the debt of Mission Central so that Mission Central can apply more resources to its life-enhancing work of providing God’s resources for human need. Mission Central’s mortgage debt, which was 2.5 million at the time of purchase and was down to $733,000 a year ago, has now fallen to $588,000. We are excited at the prospect of the mortgage coming down faster and faster until it is eliminated altogether. About malaria, since 2000, worldwide malaria deaths fell by an estimated 60 percent by 2015. It is estimated that 6.8 million deaths from malaria have been averted since 2001. While there was much to celebrate in the war against this killer disease, a report issued by the World Health Organization in November 2017 has sounded a warning. The report says that “… after an unprecedented period of success in malaria control, progress has stalled.”
The worldwide death toll due to malaria in 2017 was 445,000, about the same as what it was in 2016. While some countries succeeded in eradicating malaria or made huge gains against it, eleven countries reported an increase in malaria incidences and malaria-induced death. Why is this happening? The U.N. Dispatch (www.undispatch.com) gives four reasons: (1) Lack of consistent streams of money to poor countries to support prevention, communication, education, and treatment strategies against malaria; (2) conflict and crises that disrupt the effectiveness of health systems in countries that have a malaria problem,; (3) climate change leading to destabilizing weather patterns which make it more difficult to eliminate mosquito habitats and which may cause expansion of mosquito habitats; (4) resistance among mosquitos to the insecticides used in bed nets and indoor spraying and resistance in the malaria parasite itself to the drugs used to treat the disease. The WHO states that it is vital that we step up all aspects of the fight to eradicate malaria so that all the gains we have made against the disease are not undone. To put it another way, there are people living today in malaria-prone countries because of your generous and sacrificial giving. That’s part of our legacy of generosity. Don’t let that legacy be undone. Now is the time to ramp up.
The big BPIM event for the first half of this year has been Bishop Park’s brain child – a “Miles for Missions Walk/Run-a-thon” that is held in every one of the seven districts in the conference. You can read details at tinyurl.com/BishopsPIM. By the time this article goes to press, five of the seven districts would have already held their Miles for Missions, with the final two ready to complete their event shortly before Annual Conference. We are looking forward to celebrating the successes of all the districts at Annual Conference.
Please keep in mind that at Annual Conference, there will be a special offering taken for BPIM Saturday at the ordination service. You may have had a special offering or fundraiser around World Malaria Day (April 25). Bring your offering to Annual Conference and join the hundreds of others who will show their commitment to saving lives and restoring hope by supporting the BPIM fund. See you at Annual Conference.
Note: Checks should be made payable to Susquehanna Conference UMC with the memo line: BPIM, Advance #7090. Please mail to BPIM, Susquehanna Conference UMC, 303 Mulberry Dr., Mechanicsburg, PA 17050-3179.
