Hospital in world: Christian Hospital, Chandraghona

The Christian Hospital in Chandraghona (CHC), Bangladesh, had humble beginnings, but through a remarkable patchwork history of unexpected gifts and troubles, has since become highly influential in providing community healthcare and serving the people of Bangladesh in the name of Jesus Christ.

Chandraghona: 100 years agoChandraghona, translated to mean Valley of the Moon, was a small village and government outpost in the 19th century, situated between the plains of Chittagong to the west and the Hill Tracts to the east.

It held a weekly bazaar, where the hill and plain people would meet to exchange goods. It had good access via roads and the river Karnaphuli, which flows through Rangamati, and eventually passes through the port of Chittagong and out into the Bay of Bengal.

William Carey’s oldest son, Felix, was the first Baptist missionary to work in the Chittagong area; however, the people living in the hills to the east were never reached. They were shy people, rarely venturing to the plain villages except to trade, and were members of different tribes, speaking different languages.

The need to reach these tribes was recognised by the later missionaries in the Chittagong area, who appealed for people to start work in the Lushai Hills and beyond. And so started BMS’ work in the Hill Tracts.

The hospital pre-1908

CHC The hospital post-1908

White ants and red bricksIn 1905 a dispensary was set up in a forest clearing, a very basic building made with bamboo matting for walls and a corrugated iron roof. The dispensary had only three rooms, and it soon became obvious that it was an inadequate working environment: extremely hot in summer, cold in winter, and riddled with white ants.

Work began in 1907 to construct a new building and, with the help of a substantial legacy left by Robert Arthington, a hospital was built – a more robust building of red bricks and a tiled roof. The hospital proper was opened in 1908 - with the vision to serve the 12 local tribal groups.

In 1913 the medical superintendent, Dr Teichmann, started a leprosy colony adjacent to the hospital. The colony received financial backing from the Pakistan government in 1949 and was developed to become the premier centre for leprosy research and treatment in the country.

By the 1920s the number of patients had increased steadily, leading to the building of a women’s ward and the arrival of the first English nurse, Sister Timmins, who helped train up other nurses. Today the training programme is known as the Nursing Training Institute (NTI). The NTI prioritises the training of Christian and tribal students from very poor communities who would not otherwise have the chance of admission to governmental nursing schools. NTI graduates now work in over half of the 64 districts within Bangladesh, and the improved health in Bangladesh communities has been attributed to their efforts.

The hospital has a strong Christian emphasis, with daily prayers for staff and patients, and Sunday services at the Baptist church which is situated in the hospital grounds.

Read about the man healed of leprosy who became an evangelist

Overlooking CHC and the River Karnaphuli Overlooking the hospital and the River Karnaphuli

Hospital dramaThe hospital has survived many changes and challenges: treating Second World War casualties, modernising and expanding during the industrialisation of the 1950s, and narrowly avoiding devastation during the 1971 War of Liberation.

CHC in 1927

Second World WarThe year 1939 brought major changes to the hospital – Dr Teichmann left Chandraghona, and the Second World War broke out, bringing with it many challenges but also some amazing stories.

In 1942 it seemed the hospital would have to close. Singapore had fallen, and the Japanese were advancing near the Chittagong Hill Tracts. British forces were not stationed near Chittagong, and there was no means by which to defend the hospital. The doctor in charge of CHC was advised to send his wife and children to a safer place, and the female nurses and some leprosy patients had been sent home. This left only two European missionaries at the hospital: Dr Bottoms and Sister Gladys Cann. Although thin-on-the-ground, the staff were able to keep the hospital open and treat a considerable number of RAF casualties for malaria and other illnesses and injuries.

Dr Bottoms operating on a patient

IndustrialisationIndustrialisation reached the Chandraghona district in the early 1950s, when a large paper mill was erected and a hydro-electric scheme started further upriver at Kaptai. The increased population of the area placed further demands on BMS staff at CHC, but the hospital also benefitted from its proximity to the paper mill. An electricity supply was installed in 1953 and, in 1955, the mill-owners generously provided a new operating theatre.

AgricultureIn 1965 David Stockley and his wife Joyce came to Chandraghona to develop the land attached to the leprosy home and hospital. They came across new challenges as the hydro-electric dam had put all the lowland under water, and in the Stockleys’ own optimistic words, “leaving an entirely new type of agriculture to be discovered!” As he brought new land into use by terracing the hillsides, introduced new rice varieties, and employed some of the ex-leprosy patients, David helped to move the leprosy centre towards self-sufficiency, significantly improving the health and livelihoods of the patients and local rural population.

Civil warAfter years of promising developments, the hospital was hit by the next blow of disruption when civil war broke out. On 11 April 1971 the formation of the independent republic of Bangladesh was announced, with the exiled provisional government directing a War of Liberation against Pakistani forces. In the Chittagong area, Bengalis massacred Urdu-speakers, and rumours circulated of equivalent atrocities inflicted by the advancing Pakistani army on the Hindu population.

On 14 April the army advanced on Chandraghona, where Bengali troops were reported to be entrenched. The Pakistani major had orders to raze the hospital to the ground, but decided to investigate the situation first. He encountered no resistance, and the hospital was saved, though a mortar shell killed one patient in the leprosy centre. The hospital continued to function throughout the emergency.

Read how a young burn victim was treated during the civil war

Not the endIn 1998 building work started for a new hospital. Today Christian Hospital Chandraghona is large, with spacious wards, modern facilities and well-equipped operating theatres.

Hospital Day in 2000

The hospital is run by BMS partner the Bangladesh Baptist Church Sanga (BBCS). BMS supports the hospital through grants and the personnel it sends. Since 2002, BMS has sent eight Medical Teams to CHC. Mission personnel are involved in both treating patients and training local staff:

"It was hard work but we had two new doctors trained in ultrasound. I took on other things like lecturing at the nursing school, helping with mobile x-rays and continuing to improve general x-ray technique. The doctors came up to me clutching x-ray films to ask questions and it dawned on me that they had indeed taken on board aspects of the evening teaching sessions. Another significant aspect of the team's presence was Christians there were encouraged. On a personal level I felt I had received much more than I had given. I had new friends on the team and at CHC. I had been given a new heart for this country and its people and I had heard God's voice.

Dr Shyr Chui, Consultant Radiologist