Page 20 - History of Arabian Mission 1926-1957

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Daring World War II the miooion doctor waa called upon to act no Quar­
antine Medical Officer for a time, and likewise attended groupo of cervlce men "We are standing on your shoulders i" exclaimed these men, who remem­
who were in Kuwait on special Jobs. bered his long struggles for municipal sanitation, public vaccination, for more
humane treatment for women and children, and his pioneer activities in surgery
In 1944 Dr. Nykerk wrote: "I have continued to visit His Highness, and preventive medicine.
Sheikh Sir Ahmad al Jabir al Sabah, twice weekly, He is most friendly. We
have done some work for a contingent of British soldiers stationed nearby and The Mylrea Manorial Hospital, to which substantial contributions were
have also had the additional work of the Eastern Gulf Oil Company, as well a6 made locally, was dedicated "To the Glory of God and for the good of the people
the Kuwait Oil Company. The lowly were ministered to in large numbers in both of Kuwait" at a full annual meeting in the autumn of 1955- A modern and well-
hospitals, as well as the ruling class. Dr. Ruth Crouse had an increasing equipped hospital in every way, it is still far more modest than any state in­
number of inpatients and of obstetrical cases." stitution. The decision to erect it was made after prayerful and careful
consideration by the whole Mission, over a period of years. Both hospitals are
After the war, the amazing growth of Kuwait began. Within a few years, self-supporting, with surpluses which go back into mission work.
whole areas where the Bedouin had pitched their tents for centuries and the
camels calmly chewed their cud, were occupied by imposing buildings, surrounded The medical workers in the mission hospitals in Kuwait since 1926 have
with parked cars and trucks of the latest make. been Drs. Mylrea, Thoms, Storm, Scudder, Nykerk, and Heusinkveld; Drs. Eleanor
T. Calverley, Esther Barny, Mary Bruins Allison, and Ruth Crouse; nurses Misses
Mary Van Pelt and Madeline Tull, and Mrs. Scudder, Mrs. Heusinkveld, Mrs. Holler,
The incredibly rapid development of the oil industry brought new towns
into being, and a hospital with complete medical facilities was soon estab­ Mrs. Joan Olthoff Buckley, Miss Te Bina Boomgarden. Miss Madeline Holmes came
lished by the oil company. out to be business manager of the woman's hospital.
The huge Inmar fr a-ii royalties soon made it possible for the state Bahrain.
to spend vast sums on. ciirai services. Large hospitals were erected, includ- The Mason Memorial Hospital in Bahrain, dedicated in 1503, was built on
ing a special tuberculosis sanatorium and hospital where the best of medical
) care is given absolutely free. Doctors, nurses and technicians, from England, ground acquired by the Mission because of a vision that came to an ancient re­
tainer of the ruler. Sheikh Isa, in which the Nebi Isa - the Prophet Jesus -
Egypt and other Near East countries form the staff of the state hospitals and told him to sell a parcel of land to the missionary. It was to be measured in
clinics.
Arab cubits - "the length and breadth of the forearm of the ruling chief." Dr.
and Mrs. Sharon Thoms, who had carried on medical work under primitive condi­
A fine spirit of co-operation exists between the mission hospitals and tions in an Arab house, were the first doctors to work in the first mission-
those of the 6tate and the oil companies, and a Medical Association founded by owned hospital, so picturesquely obtained.
them in 1949 now includes representatives of all Gulf institutions, a6 well as
some from Iraq and Iran, with regular conferences.
It was therefore most appropriate that the new hospital for women and
children, completed in 1926, should be called the Marion Wells Thoms Memorial.
With the increase of every sort of medical facility in this new Welfare For years the work for women and children had crowded the Mason Memorial Hos­
State, it was natural to wonder whether the mission hospitals would be needed pital, and been carried on under inconvenient conditions. The splendid new
any more. However, our doctors have been busier than ever; it has been obvious building was a source of Joy to the women of Bahrain from the day it was opened.
that the Christian institutions have a unique service to offer, which is valued They deeply appreciated a place of privacy, where they no longer needed to draw
above the lavish material benefits of secular medical services.
their veils closely every time they heard a step or turned a comer, as they
had to do when in the men's hospital. They rejoiced in the clean bright room3
Dr. Mary Allison observed in 1950: "Progress has come rapidly in such and corridors, the cool and spacious verandahs, and felt at home at once. The
tilings as roads and buildings. But for girls born in Muslim homes life is men's hospital was relieved to have more space for its work, especially to have
sbill unchanged. Recently a film about Kuwait's romance in oil and development a spare room which could be used as a laboratory. Symbolically, a new well
was shown here. Everything of interest in the town was shown, but not a single which gave an abundance of sweet water came into use at Just this time and was t
woman was seen, not even a veiled one. Some progress has been attempted in a great Joy, after years of brackish Bahrain water.
sturting girls' schools, but for most girls puberty Is the deadline, after
which they must remain at home. My patients go on their way as the Muslim The woman's hospital soon had a nurses' home built in close proximity
women have for centuries - secluded, repressed, Igporant, resigned and to it, providing comfortable living quarters for the Indian nurses who were
hopeless. such invaluable members of the staff.
"There are always more patients than I can treat adequately. The
sJ abyss of disease here is so vast and the population is increasing so fast that 'Obstetrical work, both In and out of the hospital, shoved a gratifying
I doubt if there will ever be any sense of competition between us and other increase and was incorporated with child welfare, which had a clinic in the
hospital. Classes in child care were given to the older school girls, and vil­
hospitals." lage work was a regular part of the program.
On Dr. Mylrea's last visit to Kuwait, Just before his death in 1952, The men's hospital was carried on by a competent Indian doctor when the
he was hailed by «n his Arab friends as the maker of modern Kuwait. mission doctor went on tour. In 1930 Dr. Dame wrote: "Because of our assistant,