Common Questions Asked About Dongdaewon

How do we know the North Koreans don't misuse the money?

Eugene Bell send NO money to North Korea.  The money raised buys medicine.  Each patient has sputum samples taken to find out which drugs they are resistant to.  A drug program is then tailor made for that specific patient, giving them the drugs that they will best respond to.

Aren't We Supporting Something That Is In Breach of UN Sanctions Against North Korea?
The work of Eugene Bell is not in breach of UN sanctions against North Korea and has been able to continue in spite of these.  For a more detailed statement about this, check here.

How do we know that the patients get their medicine?

Eugene Bell run a strict monitoring program and insist on visiting each centre (currently 12 centres) that they work with.  They look at all patient records.  Each centre gets a list of the supplies coming and all supplies are checked.  Each patient knows what they should get as well.  Each patient is tested every six months - if they do not take their medicine, they will not get well.  Additionally, each patient is photographed which helps identify patients and provides a visual record of how they are doing.  The fact that patients are graduating from the MDR program, cured of TB shows that they are getting their medicine.

Why don't we send clothing and other supplies?

There are limits to what things can go into North Korea.  The North Koreans can get clothing. However, medicine is in extremely short supply and this is what there is a desperate need for.

Why don't we treat regular TB patients when they are so much cheaper and we could help more people?

Since 2009, the World Health Organization (WHO) has committed to providing  first line TB treatment in the form of DOTs meds for North Korea.  MDR is a growing concern.  Eugene Bell currently have over 1000 MDR patients on their books, with many more people desperate for treatment.  This is currently where the need is greatest.

Eugene Bell have enough money.  Why do we still support them?

At every center Eugene Bell visits there are people desperate to get on a MDR treatment program because they have failed DOTs treatment multiple times.  Recently, North Korea have reached out for help to expand the MDR program.  For every patient that EB accepts, they have to guarantee coverage of medicine for the life of treatment, which could be two to three years.  This can cost around $USD5000 per patient.  It is heartbreaking to have to take some patients and leave others because there are not the resources to provide for medication.  MDR continues to grow and EB is one of the few organizations successfully working with this problem in North Korea.  The more resources they have, the more patients that can be treated.  Wouldn't it be a wonderful thing to leave a clinic knowing that you could help all those who needed it?!  

Brunch With Punch - A Knockout Event!

··· Silent Auction ···

Bid on this fabulous brunch for 6 people!

What could be better than a

delectable brunch home cooked just for you?!

Our mystery chef has a wealth of experience and

their brunches are not to be missed!

Your chef for this event:

·     Studied at the California Culinary Institute in San Francisco

·     Authored a successfully selling cookbook

·     Has run cooking classes in the USA and Korea

·     Ran a successful catering business and bed & breakfast inn.

Don’t Miss Out!  

Get a Group Together and Bid TODAY!

Date:  You decide!

Location:  Either in your home or the chef’s home – you choose!

A Day In The Life ...

Often people wonder what happens when an EB team visits one of their care centres.  Currently Eugene Bell work with six MDR care centres.  Some are near Pyongyang and some are quite a ways out in the countryside.  The picture below shows the recent fall visit itinerary.

Generally the team spend their nights in a hotel in Pyongyang which means some days there are very early morning starts - well before the sun comes up.

The day usually starts with the team gathering, sharing breakfast and then gathering all the supplies for the day and heading off to the care centre.  We drive out in the countryside. 

Its great being out early in the morning because as we drive through towns and the countryside, we see workers heading to work, children heading to school and people going about everyday life.  It's a fascinating glimpse into a way of life very different to ours.

Eventually we arrive at the care centre.  There is a sense of expectation.  The EB team have great relationships with the care centre staff and patients and look forward to visiting and seeing progress made. 

The van arrives and there is lots of bowing, hand shaking and greetings, then everyone springs into action!

Dr Stephen Linton is greeted by one of the care center directors

Centre staff are normally busy setting up stations to collect patient details …

Doctors check off the medication and put the patient identifying details on each box to ensure that the correct medication is given to the right patient (each patient gets their own treatment).

Patients gather for a talk by Dr Linton.  This normally consists of encouraging them to stay on their medicine (the treatment is harsh and makes the patients feel very ill), along with teaching patients about TB and MDR-TB. 

In the picture below, you can see patients looking at the information flyers they have been given and learning about their illness and how it is managed.  It is important to educate patients so that they understand the importance of staying on their treatment even when they have converted to TB negative.  They are not considered cured until 18 months – 2 years of consistent negatives.

Nurses fill out updated information on the patients and give each patient a name card and a sputum bottle.

Patients take their cards and are weighed and measured.  This information is written down.

Each patient is photographed.  This is for several reasons.  It helps keep a visual record of patients and ensures that the correct patient is receiving the correct medicine.

Patients then take their sputum bottles away and have to cough up a sputum sample in the bottle.  You hear lots of hacking and coughing!  Patients return their sample to the team, who mix preservative in with the sputum, and then package it to take back to South Korea.  A medical lab will analyze the sputum, and work out the current status of the patient, along with which drugs will be effective in treating their TB.

All patients are x-rayed.

Eugene Bell have an excellent mobile x-ray van they take with them around the countryside.  Patients step inside, have their chest xrays and the doctors use these to help monitor patient progress.

Often there is a visit to the pharmacy to check off drugs and make sure everything is accounted for.  Without you and EB, there would be very empty shelves in the pharmacy!

The care centre normally hosts a sit down lunch with the clinic director, the EB team and key medical staff.  During lunch Dr Linton and the center director talk about how the work is going, what needs or difficulties there are.

Patient records are checked and Dr Seung works with the doctors to educate them about TB and treatment procedures with the patients.

Dr Seung is a TB specialist.  He is from the USA and has worked all around the world with TB so he has lots of knowledge.  He has helped the Eugene Bell Foundation streamline their treatment and protocols, and we are now seeing patients get better much quicker.

After lunch, the patients are given their medical updates.  It is a hard time as they have waited 6 months since the last one.  They are waiting to hear if they have converted to negative and whether they are still that way.  Some patients will be told they have done really well and will be graduating the program cured.  Some patients don’t receive such good news.  Stephen encourages the patients to stay strong and complete their treatment. 

Patients are then presented with their medicine boxes for the next 6 months.  The patients know exactly where their medication comes from and who their sponsors are.  Sometimes a message is videoed from the patients to donors. 

The next part of the day is my favorite part.  There is a patient graduation ceremony for those who have completed treatment and are well.  There is a lot of celebrating.  In the last couple of visits, patients have been presented with paper crane garlands as a symbol of hope and wishes for health and wellness.  Graduation can be an emotional time for patients – all are happy to be going home to family, but some are nervous about coming off medication and fearful about getting TB again.

If time allows, there can be visits to patient rooms, checkups or discussions about some cases in particular. 

Before you know it, it is time to pack up and depart.  Doctors line up to wave the team goodbye.  

The vans depart and begin the long drive back to the hotel, where the team sit down for dinner and debrief about the day.  Generally there is a lot of humor, which is a good way to release the emotion of the day.  Then, everyone heads off to their rooms to rest and prepare for the next day!  In the case of the author, heading off to my room meant another 2 – 3 hours of photo editing before bed, as pictures are needed as soon as the team gets back to Seoul.  A lot of pictures are taken in the day and tidying them up at the end of each day so they are in good shape for the EB team was important!

That’s a day in the life of a visiting EB team.  Hope you enjoyed the visit!

Photo Exhibition - Silent Auction

Looking for interesting art?!

We have something for everyone ...

Drop by the coffee shop and place a bid.

All proceeds to Dongdaewon.

Buy a picture and save a life!

Sailing Away ...

Looking for a fun, relaxing day out?!

We have just the thing for you!

Get a group together and have a great time out on Aquaholic!

(If speed is your thing ... we can provide that too!)

You can put a bid in through the silent auction at the coffee shop ... (or contact scarpenter@seoulforeign.org and she will put a bid in by proxy for you!).

All proceeds will buy medicine for our patients at Dongdaewon in North Korea.

Meet Our New Patients

One of the most heartbreaking parts of a visit to a TB clinic is seeing people come from all over, just desperate to get onto treatment.  These patients have normally failed multiple rounds of DOTs treatment and know that their only hope of cure is to get onto a MDR program.  The awful reality is that for every patient you accept, you must be able to pay for their very expensive medicine - not just for one year but probably 2 - 3 years, depending on how quickly they convert.  Some people are lucky enough to be admitted to the program.  Because of the amazing fundraising work that our SFS community have done, we have new patients!  Lets meet them ...

New in Spring 2011

Choonggook Oh 

Mr Oh is 28 years old and has now been on treatment for 10 months.  We are currently awaiting results from his sample to see how he is responding to treatment.   Mr Oh was having some trouble with his breathing because his TB has badly damaged his lungs, but wanted us to know that he will work to keep his hope up.  You can see him on the Hearts to Serve Video.

Jeonghyuk Sim

Mr Sim is 31 years old and has also been on treatment for 10 months.  We are looking forward to hearing how he is doing after the spring visit.  He is very grateful to be on the program.

Youngok Moon

Ms Moon is 33 years old and has been in treatment since April 2011.  She is managing to keep up with her medication and is anxiously awaiting her results in the Spring to find out how she is responding to it.

Sunggook Kim

Mr Kim is 43 years old and is very grateful to have made it onto the MDR program.  He is being faithful to take his medication although it makes him feel very ill.  He is also anxiously awaiting Spring results to find out how his body is responding.

Okkyung Ri

Ms Ri is 21 years old.  She has been in treatment since April 2011 and is looking forward to finding out her results in the spring.  She is hoping to have converted to negative.  We hope so too.

The results of the first sputum tests for all of the above patients confirmed that they have MDR-TB - when they were accepted, it was assumed they did as they had failed multiple rounds of DOTs treatment.  As you can see, Spring 2012 will be the first time that these patients will see how they are responding to their medications.

New in Fall 2011

Cholryong Ku

Jounggil Kim

Kwangsu Han

These three patients were enrolled in the program, having failed multiple rounds of DOTs treatment.  At this stage, we assume they are MDR positive.  Sputum samples were taken and we are awaiting the results, which should be known in Spring 2012.  

So there you go SFS!  New patients ... all with a chance at health because of your generosity.  Keep up the great work and lets pray for our patients.  Pray that they will be strong, take their medicine, that the the medicine makes them well and that they are comforted when they feel sick and lonely and a long way from their families.

Sham O'Grams ... On Sale NOW!

Delivered on St Patrick’s Day-March 16

On sale: Tuesday, February 21 – Thursday, March 8

What is a Sham O’ Gram?  An Irish message of luck and love! The Sham O’ Gram includes a delicious chocolate treat and a personalized message from YOU!

Why should I send one?  To spread ‘Luck O’ the Irish’ and raise money to buy care packages to ease the suffering of patients in the SFS sponsored TB Care Center in Dongdaewon, North Korea.

To whom should I send one?  Anyone at SFS! Family, brothers, sisters, friends, teachers, staff …….

How do I order?  Use the green coupons available from your homeroom teachers.

Dongdaewon Cooking School

Parents!  This one is also for you ...

The Dongdaewon Cooking School is up and running again ... check out the advertisement below and sign up asap, classes are filling fast!


Dongdaewon Cooking School 1 from Sarah Carpenter on Vimeo.

All classes will be held in the Middle School Kitchen.

Each class costs 50,000 won.

Click the links below for more information about the different classes and to sign up:

Indian Cooking 1

Instructor: Jack Moon

Date: Thursday March 1

Time: 5.30pm – 8pm

Sourdough Bread Making

Instructor: Greg Neff (Middle School)

Date: Monday March 5

Time: 5.30pm – 8pm

Indian Cooking 2

Instructor:  Bhauna Bardolia (British School)

Date:  Monday March 19

Time:  5.00pm 

Korean Cooking

Instructor: Myung Kyung Sung (High School)

Date:  Wednesday April 4th

Time: 5.30pm – 8pm

Indian Cooking 1

Indian Cooking – SOLD OUT!! 
Click here for another Indian class!

Instructor: Jack Moon

Date: Thursday March 1

Time: 5.30pm – 8pm

When I go to heaven,

God’s banquet table is going to filled

with Indian food.

– Jack Moon

Do the words “Indian food” titillate your taste buds, bring to mind great aromas and generate visions of mouthwatering curries? 

Have you been wanting to make some by yourself but have been afraid to try?  Then you’re my kind of person.  Come join me on Thursday, Mar. 1, 5:30 pm – 8:00 pm in the Middle School kitchen to learn how to make Indian food for all to enjoy.  No cooking skills required…I take all comers. 

Contact: jmoon@seoulforeign.org

Indian Cooking 2

Instructor:  Bhauna Bardolia (British School)

Date:  Monday March 19

Time:  5.00pm

Bhauna cooks beautiful food!  You will be cooking:

• ·      spicy grilled soft white fish 

• ·      Chickpea curry 

• ·      Chicken curry 

• ·      Vegetable pilau (rice) 

• ·      Naan bread
• ·      Gujerati

By the end of the evening you will be able to make your own tasty Indian food whenever you are in the mood! 

Contact: bbardolia@seoulforeign.org

Breadmaking

Sourdough Bread Making

Instructor: Greg Neff (Middle School)

Date: Monday March 5

Time: 5.30pm – 8pm

Do you love sourdough bread but don’t have the time/money to fly to San Francisco to get some?  Ever think of making it instead?  Sourdough bread is possibly one of the easiest kinds of bread to make- if you have the starter.  In this workshop you will learn how to make sourdough bread and other treats using the starter.  You will be given a substantial amount of starter to take home with you, and will also learn how to keep the starter going so you can make your own sourdough bread whenever you want. Best of all, you can eat what you made!

Contact: greg.neff@seoulforeign.org

Korean Cooking

Korean Cooking

Instructor: Myung Kyung Sung (High School)

Date:  Wednesday April 4th

Time: 5.30pm – 8pm

Would you like to learn Korean cooking?

Come and join us how to make Korean food for all to enjoy.  It’s tasty, healthy and nutritious!  Impress your friends and family with your newfound skills.  Join us for a tasty evening …


We will be cooking

Bulgogi (marinated beef)

Japchae(noodle with vegetable and beef)

Haemulpajeon(pancake with green onions and seafood)

Bibimbab(cooked rice with 5 different vegetables)

Contact: msung@seoulforeign.org

TB ... Some Basic Facts

The WHO estimate that 1 person every second is infected with tuberculosis (TB).  Of those, about 5 - 10% will develop into full blown active TB.  TB is not spread evenly around the world, but mostly occurs in developing countries where poverty, overcrowding and malnutrition are common.

Types of TB
Regular TB is the most common type of TB.  This is effectively treated by DOTs programs.  Some patients are resistant to two of the most effective DOTs drugs and have a strain of TB known as Multi Drug Resistant (MDR) TB.  These patients are much harder to treat.  They require a drug program tailor made for their own unique needs.  Resistance to 3 or more of the DOTs drugs is known as XDR and is very difficult to treat.  Totally Drug Resistant TB (TDR) means a person is resistant to all known TB drugs.  There is no cure for that.  More than 50% of TB cases left untreated will result in death.

Transmission of TB
TB is airborne.  This means when people with active TB cough, spit, sneeze they send infectious droplets into the air.  A single sneeze could release up to 40,000 droplets - each one infectious.  Constant exposure to someone with TB puts a person at high risk of catching it.

Treatment
Treatment depends on the type of the TB that the patient has.  Patients are generally isolated so they do not transmit the disease and then take medication for several years.  Once a patient converts to negative status, they need to maintain that status for 18 months - 2 years to be cured.

Some of our EB patients have been chronic and so have taken a long time to convert to negative.  The program has been tweaked by Dr Sung (EB's TB Specialist) and conversions are happening quicker which means the entire treatment time is shorter.

Flute Classes!

Have you ever wanted to learn the flute?

Are you a flute player who would like to brush up on your techniques?!

Ms Hartroppe is offering a great deal on flute lessons.  

For 140,000 won you can get four 1-hour lessons.  

Contact Ms Hartroppe in the elementary school or by emailing her at 

miriam.hartroppe@seoulforeign.org 

 (Participants must have their own flutes).

An Update On Our Current Patients

As we saw in an earlier post, 5 of our current patients have recently graduated!  Lets look at how the others are doing:

Sungwon Han

Mr Han is 43 years old.  He has been in MDR treatment for 36 months.  He was so ill that he became very close to dying.  He converted to negative approximately a year ago.  Because patients have to remain negative for 18 months - to 2 years before they are considered cured, he still has some time to go.  Please pray for the successful completion of his treatment.

Woncheol Jang 

Mr Jang is 44.  He has been very sick for a long long time and has been on the MDR program for 36 months.  When Ms Carpenter met him in April last year, he was on his last chance to convert, as he was not responding to his medication.  You can see him on the Hearts to Serve video at the moment that he is told, "after all this time, you are now TB negative".  You can see him bite his lip and hold himself together.  Imagine taking year after year of drugs and being sick.  You would begin to lose hope, and then you are told, "It's a new day.  There is hope for you".  Pray for Woncheol as it is possible for him to convert back to positive.  Pray that he gets well and is able to return home to his loved ones.

Seungae Lim

Ms Lim is 29 years old and is a nurse.  Her husband also has MDR TB.  She was enrolled in the MDR program in the fall of 2010.  Her last recorded test results showed her as positive and she is anxiously awaiting her results this spring.  You can also see her in the Hearts to Serve video.  Her message back to SFS said, "I am grateful to the school and the people in the school who send us this medicine".

Youngcheol Kim

Mr Kim is 50.  He has been in treatment for 36 months and has had a very rocky path in terms of his health.  He has tested negative but has unfortunately his last results show that he converted back to positive.  He is very sick.  Please pray for him.

Younghee Kim

Mrs Kim is 50 years old.  She has been in the MDR program for 12 months.  Her last test results were positive for MDR-TB and she is awaiting her Spring results to find out if she has converted.

Please keep our patients in your prayers ... they still have a long way to go until they are cured, but they are hopeful and working hard at taking their meds.  

SFS.  

You not only provide medicine ... 

you provide HOPE! 

 Lets keep encouraged and continue to come up with great ideas to fundraise for more patients!