Integritas’ newsletter 2022

Dear friend,

On behalf of Integritas Healthcare I want to thank you for your support throughout 2022, your prayers, time and financial donations. We are grateful for them all.

Christmas lights symbolise Jesus, Light of the World. As Christians we believe if we follow Christ we will not be in darkness, but will have the light of life (John 8v12). Our world is full of darkness and suffering. Integritas Healthcare seeks to be a beacon of God’s light and hope, into the darkness of prisons and other secure environments.

Highlights of our HEART in the past year:

Healthcare:

Our lockdown tele-medical services into police stations and prisons in the Philippines continue.
First summer visit to the Philippines since the pandemic started
Strengthened links with the British Embassy, including a generous donation of equipment to Integritas and our first trip as an NGO into previously inaccessible jails in another country in the Western Pacific Region beyond the Philippines.

Expertise & Advocacy:

Expert-witness work in some challenging overseas and UK court cases, shining a light on injustice and ill-treatment, supporting the most vulnerable in their time of need.

Research:

Research is resuming after the pandemic. Subjects include the significance of jail-crafted tattoos and the acceptability of menstrual cups amongst Filipina detainees.

Training:

We provided training for twenty nurse assistants in the Philippines. This training is a valuable way of contributing to the quality of care available locally.
Teaching the International Christian Medical and Dental Association on torture and ill-treatment medicine and Roman Catholic prison chaplains on medical ethical dilemmas in UK prisons.
We’ve seen the Health and Justice Track completed for a second round.

Challenges and hope for the year ahead:

Heavy workload and health challenges for our chief medical officer Rachael Pickering, including 5 bouts of covid, long-covid and associated issues. Rachael’s time off has severely limited our work this year. We hope and pray that she will be back to full strength soon.
We are getting closer to the end of our journey to register with the Charity Commission in the UK. We hope to be able to claim gift aid on donations and attract funding from grant-making bodies soon.
We are looking forward to expanding opportunities for elective students to work with us on the ground once again.
We are always looking for volunteers in all capacities: medical, research, financial, bookkeeping, IT – if you would consider joining us for any amount of time please do get in touch.

Would you join us in praying for:

The detainees, ex-detainees and their dependents whom we serve.
Building and developing strong relationships in the UK, Philippines and beyond to give us the ability to support vulnerable detainees seemingly out of reach of any hope or help.
God’s protection and blessing for all Integritas and Integridad staff and volunteers in the work they do.
God’s provision to enable this work to continue in his name.

Thank you again for enabling us to use our medical expertise to share God’s light in some very dark places.

Please feel free to share this newsletter with anyone else you know who might consider supporting our work in prayer and/or financially.