Afghanistan (MNN) — Violence is just a part of life in Afghanistan. As the cold breaks its grip on the region, Taliban insurgents are coming down out of the mountains to attack the innocent. The potential for violence is forcing CURE International into action, says CURE’s Mark Bush.
“There continues to be insurgents that threaten different parts of the city. There are kidnappings occasionally. We’ve done a couple of things. We’ve increased the guard staff at our hospital. We’ve put a couple of barriers up in front of the hospital so that only people can walk into the hospital grounds.”
CURE International is partnering with the Afghan government and medical professionals to provide much needed medical care in Kabul, the capital city.
Bush tells us why they’re in Afghanistan. “What we like to do and what we really feel like we’re called to do is to go into areas of the world where the Christian witness isn’t as strong or prevalent and establish a hospital and then through our work there, through our outward evangelistic efforts are able to spread the Gospel.”
The government has welcomed CURE into the area because of the infrastructure has been destroyed by the war and years of neglect. While providing medical care is important, Bush says they’re doing much more than that when they take medical professionals into the region. “We identify doctors who are not only good in their specialties and are board certified, but they also have the desire to train and to establish doctors that are Afghans who then can take the training they received and then train other doctors.”
While providing much needed care and training is important, but Bush says they struggle with one question, “How can we most effectively be witnesses and at the same time not jeopardize our invitation, which is exactly what it is and we don’t want to dishonor that invitation.”
CURE has established the Afghan Children’s fund, which, Bush says serves a two fold purpose. “Not only is it a way for somebody here to get connected to providing care directly to the children of Afghanistan, but it’s a great witness, if you will, to the parents that sit there and say, ‘wow, there are people who care about us.'”
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