Toews, Helen (1926-2022)

Helen Toews
Photo: Toews Family Collection

Helen Toews: medical missionary; born 6 October 1926 in Coaldale, Alberta, Canada to Abraham and Helena (Janz) Toews. She was the fifth of six children in the family. Helen never married, but she worked as a medical missionary for many years, using her skills and knowledge to teach healthcare skills in Brazil and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire). She returned to Canada in 1991 and settled in Coaldale to help look after her mother. She died on 30 April 2022 at the age of ninety-five.

Abraham and Helena Toews, together with their older children, arrived in Canada in 1926 after fleeing the Bolshevik regime in the Soviet Union. Helen was born a few days later, on 6 October. From Winnipeg, the family moved to Coaldale, Alberta, where Helen completed high school.

Next, Helen Toews entered nursing training in Lethbridge, Alberta, before continuing to studies at the Mennonite Brethren Bible College and the University of Manitoba. After that, she spent a year in Quebec studying French before completing a two-year midwifery program in Belgium. While she was there, she studied at the Tropical Medical Institute in Antwerp.

Helen Toews had originally intended to go with the Mennonite Brethren Mission Board to the Congo, but civil unrest in that country in the 1960s caused her to alter her plans. Instead, she went to Curitiba, Brazil, where she worked at the Evangelical Christian Hospital for three and a half years.

When the political situation in the Congo (renamed Zaire) had stabilized, Helen Toews moved to Kajiji in the southern part of the country. She taught nursing and midwifery at the Kajiji hospital, as well as working as the director of the maternity ward. Access to healthcare for underserved people was one of her concerns, and she worked hard to ensure that as many people as possible could get the medical help they needed. In addition, she dealt with challenges such as a lack of supplies, conflicts among staff members, and security issues related to ongoing unrest and the hospital’s proximity to fighting in Angola.

While living in the Congo, Helen Toews participated in many aspects of community life, including a ceremony of reconciliation that the local people initiated to deal with a serious disagreement in the community. In addition, she expressed appreciation of the natural environment, besides being part of celebrations at Christmas and other times of the year. Over the thirty-three years of her service, she experienced the destruction of the buildings where she had worked in the Congo and the struggles of a disrupted infrastructure, but she continued with her tasks despite these setbacks.

After years of work in Africa, Helen Toews returned to Canada in 1991, retiring to Coaldale, Alberta, to help care for her elderly mother. Following her mother’s death two years later, Helen took up new activities, including helping to establish and develop the Gem of the West Museum in Coaldale. She also participated family gatherings and other events. In addition, she helped to explain her Congolese experiences both verbally and through written reports. Helen died on 30 April 2022 in Coaldale and was buried at the Coaldale Mennonite Cemetery on 7 May.

Helen Toews was a dedicated medical missionary whose work helped to establish important healthcare services in Brazil and Africa. Through her work and gentle presence in the communities where she worked, she was an important part of the church’s presence around the world.

Bibliography

Cornerstone Funeral Home. “Toews, Helen.” Retrieved 07 July 2023 from https://www.cornerstonefuneralhome.com//obituary/toews-helen.

Mennonite Archival Image Database. “Item 2016.013.013 - Abraham A. and Helena Toews Family.” Retrieved 7 July 2023 from https://archives.mhsc.ca/family-30.

Mennonite Archival Image Database. “Toews, Helen, 1926-2022.” Retrieved 22 June 2023 from https://archives.mhsc.ca/index.php/toews-helen-2008.

Toews, John B., Clara Toews, and Esther (Toews) Redekopp. “Helen Toews: A Practical Life of Christian Witness.” Retrieved 22 June 2023 from https://mbhistory.org/profiles/toews-h/.

Author(s)	Susan Huebert
Date Published	25 October 2023

Cite This Article

MLA style

Huebert, Susan. "Toews, Helen (1926-2022)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 25 October 2023. Web. 27 Apr 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Toews,_Helen_(1926-2022)&oldid=177737.

APA style

Huebert, Susan. (25 October 2023). Toews, Helen (1926-2022). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 27 April 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Toews,_Helen_(1926-2022)&oldid=177737.

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