Franklin Graham, president of Samaritan’s Purse, traveled Friday to Grand Bahama and visited the tent field hospital that his organization is operating in Freeport.
Dr. Duane Sands, the Bahamas’ health minister, met Graham upon his arrival at the facility, which has provided medical care to thousands on the island while the flood-damaged Rand Memorial Hospital is being renovated.
Samaritan Purse, an evangelical Christian humanitarian aid organization, arrived in Freeport in September, in the aftermath of the devastation caused by Category 5 Hurricane Dorian and set up a 40-bed field hospital near the Rand. To date, more than 8,000 Bahamians have received medical care at the facility.
Graham, a well-known international Christian evangelist, said he was watching as the hurricane hit The Bahamas and stalled.
“We saw that it stalled, and we knew the destruction that would be underneath that storm,” he said. “And so, we weren’t quite sure exactly what we could do. But when we came here, we saw the hospital and the need for the people to have medical care, and the Ministry of Health opened the doors and did everything they could to assist us.
“Our goal is to help people of the Bahamas with health care,” Graham said. “And it does my heart so much good to see the hospital used, and that people are being treated and helped. As a Christian organization, we do this in Jesus’ name and we want to give Him the glory and honor.”
