Easing the Pain and Suffering of the Poverty-Stricken Copts Living with Disabilities
The experience the organization has gained from conducting home visits and in-person case studies for many of the disadvantaged Copts living with disabilities is priceless. Simply providing these families with a mobility device or making small home modifications can make a huge difference in their lives, while decreasing the real chances of falling and getting injured.
Our home visits and case studies for the disadvantaged Copts living with disabilities in Egypt have helped us discover that many wives, husbands, and parents have to carry their loved ones when they need to use the restroom or take a shower due to the fact that they can’t afford to purchase mobility equipment, which increases the chance of falling and getting injured.
Thank God, with your support, the organization has purchased medical equipment and paid for medical services for many of the poverty-stricken Copts living with disabilities. For example, we have purchased manual and electric wheelchairs, crutches, walkers, white canes, hearing aid devices, sore prevention mattresses, electric medical beds, medical lifts, medicine, and paid for medical services.
$100 enables Coptic Cross to purchase a manual wheelchair.
$1000 enables Coptic Cross to purchase an electric wheelchair for students to be able to navigate to their various classes.
$1500 enables Coptic Cross to purchase Patient Medical Lift or make home modifications.
Serving those with disabilities in poor Coptic communities, the organization works hand in hand with the Coptic Church to visit each home and conduct a full case study. Following this, Coptic Cross assigns a church volunteer as a case manager for the family. Often, the organization chooses a team to serve a family. For example, a doctor, pharmacist, nurse, psychologist, and housekeeping worker.
With the help of volunteer medical professionals, the organization then determines which medical equipment is suitable for each individual. For instance, individuals who don’t leave home, may be eligible to receive a manual wheelchair, while a student who goes to school or college during the weekdays may be eligible to receive an electric wheelchair.
At times, the organization may decide not to purchase a new medical device if the patient has a device that can be repaired or maintained properly. In this case, the organization ships the medical device to one of the maintenance shops (most of these shops are in Cairo Egypt), gets the necessary repairs completed and shipped back to the patient.
In addition, Coptic Cross Ministries conducts home inspections during site visits to evaluate if any modifications are needed to make the home safer and provide further disability accommodations. These evaluations alone may help save lives, promote safety, and potentially decrease the chances of falling or getting injured. This reduces complications and in some serious cases, reduces the chances of death.
Upon the purchase of a medical device, volunteers deliver the device to the home, install it, and train the patient and their family on how to operate it as well as maintain it properly.
Thank God, with donor support, Coptic Cross Ministries has helped many disabled individuals who were suffering due to the lack of medical equipment and services. Now, for many of them, their health conditions have improved because they received sore prevention mattresses, wheelchairs, medical lifts and most importantly, medical attention.
