Little job from God sends doctor to Malawi

When you first hear Dr. Chris Brooks' story, it's easy to consider him a modern-day humanitarian hero.

A decade ago, Brooks gave up his successful medical practice and a comfortable life in Calgary to treat and heal countless throngs in Malawi, one of Africa's poorest countries.

But for Brooks, president and founder of Lifeline Malawi, it was all about keeping a promise he made years ago.

"When I was 15 and attending a Bible school back in England, I promised God that I would become a medical doctor in Africa," Brooks says.

"When I hit my mid-fifties, I came to this hard realization that I hadn't done what I promised God that I'd do."

After hearing a missionary speak about the plight of Malawi's millions at the church he attended, Brooks knew it was time to take his leap of faith.

"I decided that I'd do whatever I was called to do," recalls Brooks. "It was like God spoke to me and said, 'Chris, I've got a little job for you do to in Africa.' "

The family home and the vintage Mustang convertible were sold. Brooks says he couldn't have walked this path without the support of his wife Heather and daughter Chloe.

"Heather and I sat down and agreed we wanted to do something worthwhile for the Lord," says Brooks.

"Shakespeare was right when he said that our life, 'our time upon the stage,' is pretty short and it's up to us on how we spend it. You can play the fool, or you can do something useful."

Malawi is a narrow sliver of a nation with more than 13-million people, sandwiched between Zambia, Mozambique and Tanzania in southeastern Africa. Brooks says one of the compelling reasons Malawi called to his heart was its serious lack of medical infrastructure.

"Even today, there are perhaps 200 doctors in the entire nation. The medical needs are still pretty mind boggling and the government is appreciative of any help that you can offer," says Brooks.

Brooks first worked for a humanitarian orphanage association, absorbing the cultural sensitivity for Africa that he says is vital for any westerner to do.

That "little job" from God was launched in the humblest of circumstances. Brooks was determined to take his medical skills into Malawi's rural areas so each week, he headed for a remote acreage at Ngodzi, on the shores of Lake Malawi.

"I had a second-hand Toyota Hilux truck and a nurse. We set up a little desk with a few bottles of medicine under a tree and waited . . . and hundreds of people just started to show up," recalls Brooks.

That initial, four-wheeled adventure evolved into an eight-room medical clinic by 2001, which has been expanded through the years through donations, many from Calgary churches, faith and service organizations and individuals. One Calgary businessman is paying for a new maternity ward being built at the Ngodzi centre.

A second clinic at Kasese has been operating for two years, and true to Brooks' vision, staff continue to take their vehicles and medicines into the hinterlands on a weekly basis.

Dealing with steady streams of patients, malaria and HIV/AIDS on a sustained basis can take a personal toll.

"At the end of some long days, Heather and I would look at each other with tears in our eyes and say, 'how much longer can we do this,' " Brooks says. "But with faith, you find strength."

While Lifeline Malawi is unabashedly Christian in spirit, the only criteria for being a patient, Brooks notes, "is to be a human being."

Lifeline Malawi has been embraced by many Calgarians, whether they be small teams from city churches who stay for a couple of weeks to build a staff house or doctors who share their skills and compassion.
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Brooks say they invariable return to our affluent city with changed priorities and a richer heart.

Dr. Ian Burgess, a retired pediatrician, spent three weeks lending a hand.

"There are no efforts to proselytize the patients; we're there to preserve peoples' lives," says Burgess.

"There are some major health issues, but you get the sense that progress is being made, that things are improving in Malawi."

Brooks will turn 70 next month and says his role with Lifeline Malawi is now more of an ambassador than a hands-on caregiver.

"As God said to Abraham, 'just walk with me and I will bless you.' To the best of my ability, I think I have walked with God," says Brooks.

While he regularly travels the world to meet with potential supporters and raise funds, Brooks' heart is clearly anchored in Malawi.

"When I get off the plane and see my wife, when I smell the dust and the belching smoke of the old vehicles, and when we get home and I hear the hippos snorting down in the lake -- I know this is where I am supposed to be," says Brooks.

Brooks will be the guest speaker at Lifeline Malawi's annual fall banquet and silent auction, set for Thurs. Nov. 6 at the Calgary Zoo's Safari Lounge.

Tickets are available by calling 403-214-7780.

gmorton@theherald.canwest.com