Ambassador of Goodwill

By Jine FENG, Director of Nursing Education,

Jine FENG, Director of Nursing Education, is an ambassador of goodwill for SRRSH and has been for many years. In 1996, following a directive from China’s Ministry of Health and an appeal to fulfill an obligation from SRRSH Administration, Feng traveled to the Republic of Namibia in southwest Africa for a two-year stint to assist in introducing Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) to the people of that country. The efforts of medical service were so successful, and she built such rapport with the people, that in 2014 Feng returned to Namibia for a second two-year term of duty.  “I felt so close to nascent nature there,” she explains, “and the people are so pure and thankful that it was a joy to serve there.”

While Feng’s decision to go to Namibia was a personal one - “I love adventure,” she says, -the assignment to Namibia was not lightly bestowed.  As the individuals who serve there represent SRRSH and, indeed, the nation, the People’s Republic of China expect medical personnel to be well qualified before sponsoring them on a mission.  During her earlier nursing career, Feng studied acupuncture and TCM and gained experience in applying these treatments while serving at the Red Cross Hospital in Hangzhou.  Further, she holds a Master’s Degree in Nursing from Loma Linda University (California, USA), so Feng was well prepared in experience, education and  language proficiency for the overseas assignment.  In addition, she endured a rigorous interview before a committee of the provincial government before finally receiving approval for overseas service.

In Namibia Feng was part of a four-person team – two doctors and two nurses – assigned to Katutura State Hospital in the capital city of Windhoek. Their mission was to provide free medical service to the people by TCM through such modalities as acupuncture, massage, and cupping.  “At first the people thought we were like witch doctors,” she comments with a smile, “but then we explained that TCM is based on scientific principles.”  To become a TCM doctor requires a five-year Bachelors program covering both TCM and Western medicine as the fundamental criteria for a license examination. Some of them advance to the Masters degree.   Afterward, when the people saw the “magic effects” that TCM produced, they were absolutely convinced of its value. Improvement in condition was dramatic for many of the Namibians as the Chinese team erased long-term suffering of muscular skeletal pain, headache and paralysis. Many patients came to them as a last resort after weeks and months of seeking other treatment; however, TCM produced quick, effective improvement if the condition was suitable for TCM and the condition was caught early enough. The people of Namibia now love TCM and want more Chinese doctors to come help them.

Namibia has a severe shortage of doctors. In this nation, most western medicine doctors come from other countries such as South Africa and Cuba. The four-person Chinese Medical team even sponsored one nurse who worked with them in the clinic to come study TCM in China. The University of Namibia, the only one in the country, recently approved TCM as a specialty in its fledgling School of Medicine.  Feng recalls one of her warmest memory is walking through the open air marketplace and hearing the people call out to the Chinese medical team, “God sent you here. Thank God, Thank God, you are here.”  Feng is currently writing a book about her experiences abroad with the working title of Walking in Wideness. For her it was such an honor and so spiritually rewarding to be an instrument of change in a developing African country.

Feng, center, poses with the Chinese medical team.

Feng with some of the children of Namibia.

(one more photo on next page)

Feng loved the raw beauty of nature in Namibia.

Here she poses among ancient sand dunes in traditional Chinese dress.