Scenes from Mukuru...
The Medical Clinic...
...and the Dental Team....
... and "yours truly..."
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Friday, October 10, 2008
Scenes from the Mission...
Below are a number of pictures from the mission ...
... and "yours truly..."
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... and "yours truly..."
Monday, October 6, 2008
Thanks to our great Team!
Our eyecare team was fabulous!! I appreciated working with Dr. Bob McClenathan from Lancaster and Dr. Amy Spotts from York who had previously worked on eye missions with Rotary. I learned alot from the ol' seasoned veterans. I also enjoyed working with our 4 colleagues from Denmark - Jesper, Henrik, Suzann, and Lise.
Kaye McClenathan did a fabulous job as "gate-keeper" in the clinic and she was the one that performed auto-refractions on most of the children - a fairly difficult job with young people who have a hard time fixing their gaze on one spot for the necessary time period. Connie Spark and Mark Warchol were busy fitting and dispensing glasses.
Mark was previously at Rotarian in York and now is a Rotarian in Texas. He also lives part-time in Russia. He is a metallurgist and engineer who works mainly with aviation materials. He is truly a MacGyver -able to fix anything. I understand on one previous Rotary mission he completely dis-assembled a surgical microscope overnight and rebuilt it. He has legendary stature in Rotary mission work.
Bob Elser and Pete Lutz from York East Rotary and Nigel Foundling from North Lebanon and Mary Anne Eckert from Boulder, Colorado were our visual acuity screening team. They worked closely with our local volunteer/translators, most of who were local university students and Rotaract members.
The final 2 days of the mission...
First of all, my apologies for the gap in posting. I did not have internet access for the last week I was in Kenya.
Last Monday and Tuesday were the final 2 days of the medical mission in Mukuru. At this point we were running as a fine-tuned machine in the eye clinic. Although we had lost 3 of our helpers as the water project finally got off the ground (more on that later), we were allotted new volunteers and things ran smoothly.
On Monday I saw an infant who had congenital cataracts in both eyes. This means that the baby is blind and the sooner the cataracts can be removed, the better sight can be restored. We did find out that there is a Lion's Firstsight Eye Hospital in Nairobi, so we made a referral to this hospital for the baby. Our understanding is that the child will receive the care she needs at no cost, so hopefully she will be cared for.
On Tuesday, the eye team was down 2 doctors. Both Dr. Bob McClenathan and myself were sorry we had eaten the cream sauce at the Italian restaurant the night before and spent the day in our hotel room. My understanding is that all went well without us.
I have not been given the final numbers at this point. Over our 8 days in Mukuru I would estimate that were saw (including simple vision screenings) around 2000 children and treated with medications or prescribed glasses for hundreds.
It was a great experience working with the children and their teachers and parents. They were all very thankful and gracious.
Last Monday and Tuesday were the final 2 days of the medical mission in Mukuru. At this point we were running as a fine-tuned machine in the eye clinic. Although we had lost 3 of our helpers as the water project finally got off the ground (more on that later), we were allotted new volunteers and things ran smoothly.
On Monday I saw an infant who had congenital cataracts in both eyes. This means that the baby is blind and the sooner the cataracts can be removed, the better sight can be restored. We did find out that there is a Lion's Firstsight Eye Hospital in Nairobi, so we made a referral to this hospital for the baby. Our understanding is that the child will receive the care she needs at no cost, so hopefully she will be cared for.
On Tuesday, the eye team was down 2 doctors. Both Dr. Bob McClenathan and myself were sorry we had eaten the cream sauce at the Italian restaurant the night before and spent the day in our hotel room. My understanding is that all went well without us.
I have not been given the final numbers at this point. Over our 8 days in Mukuru I would estimate that were saw (including simple vision screenings) around 2000 children and treated with medications or prescribed glasses for hundreds.
It was a great experience working with the children and their teachers and parents. They were all very thankful and gracious.
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Press Release
Here is an article about the mission which showed up in the press last week...
Rotary volunteers lead international medical team to Kenya
Multi-specialty initiative provides preventive care to children in Nairobi slums still recovering from post-election violence
NAIROBI, Kenya (Sept. 22, 2008 ) -- About 70 volunteers from 11 countries arrived in Kenya last week to provide preventive health care services to thousands of children in the poorest neighborhoods of Nairobi, a city still recovering from the post-election violence of December and January.
The international team includes health care professionals and non-medical volunteers from Australia, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, India, Japan, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, United Kingdom and the United States. They include physicians, dentists, dental assistants, paramedics, registered nurses, optometrists and opticians. About two thirds of the volunteers are members of Rotary clubs.
The medical mission, which runs Sept. 22 -30, will focus on the health needs of children living in the Nairobi slums of Mukuru, Mathare and Korogocho, where the poverty rate is high and access to preventive health care extremely limited.
According to UNICEF, the widespread rioting and violence that rocked Kenya in the wake of the disputed Dec. 27 presidential election "took a particularly high toll" on the residents of Nairobi's slums, where almost 60 percent of the city's population eke out an existence on personal incomes averaging less than $1 a day. As usual in such circumstances, children were among the most vulnerable victims.
According to team co-leader Connie Spark, an optician and Rotary club member from York, Pa., each child will be screened to prioritize his or her most pressing needs -- dental work, vision problems, malnutrition, injuries, infection, etc. -- then sent to the appropriate specialty stations. Spark says the team is prepared to see as many as 3,000 patients a day, and the total value of services and supplies to be delivered is estimated at $1 million.
Local physicians and other Kenyan health care professionals will participate to ensure that patients will continue to receive appropriate care after the mission concludes. All unused supplies also will remain in Nairobi for that purpose.
The international team will be hosted by Kenyan Rotary club members, many of them members of Rotarians for Fighting AIDS (RFFA), an international organization for Rotary members concerned about the HIV/AIDS pandemic. RFFA has been especially active in Kenya, where it will function as the "mobilization partner" for the medical mission, handling logistics such as transportation, housing, food and security. In all, about 125 Kenyans will participate, including Rotary-affiliated volunteers and health care professionals.
In cooperation with RFFA, the international charity Hope Worldwide will offer HIV testing and counseling during the medical mission, according to RFFA founder and chair Marion Bunch, .a Rotary club member from Dunwoody, Ga.
The medical mission is supported by a $38,000 matching grant from the Rotary Foundation. Also contributing funds are Rotary clubs in Pennsylvania, Georgia and Kenya and the Coca-Cola Africa Foundation.
Rotary volunteers lead international medical team to Kenya
Multi-specialty initiative provides preventive care to children in Nairobi slums still recovering from post-election violence
NAIROBI, Kenya (Sept. 22, 2008 ) -- About 70 volunteers from 11 countries arrived in Kenya last week to provide preventive health care services to thousands of children in the poorest neighborhoods of Nairobi, a city still recovering from the post-election violence of December and January.
The international team includes health care professionals and non-medical volunteers from Australia, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, India, Japan, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, United Kingdom and the United States. They include physicians, dentists, dental assistants, paramedics, registered nurses, optometrists and opticians. About two thirds of the volunteers are members of Rotary clubs.
The medical mission, which runs Sept. 22 -30, will focus on the health needs of children living in the Nairobi slums of Mukuru, Mathare and Korogocho, where the poverty rate is high and access to preventive health care extremely limited.
According to UNICEF, the widespread rioting and violence that rocked Kenya in the wake of the disputed Dec. 27 presidential election "took a particularly high toll" on the residents of Nairobi's slums, where almost 60 percent of the city's population eke out an existence on personal incomes averaging less than $1 a day. As usual in such circumstances, children were among the most vulnerable victims.
According to team co-leader Connie Spark, an optician and Rotary club member from York, Pa., each child will be screened to prioritize his or her most pressing needs -- dental work, vision problems, malnutrition, injuries, infection, etc. -- then sent to the appropriate specialty stations. Spark says the team is prepared to see as many as 3,000 patients a day, and the total value of services and supplies to be delivered is estimated at $1 million.
Local physicians and other Kenyan health care professionals will participate to ensure that patients will continue to receive appropriate care after the mission concludes. All unused supplies also will remain in Nairobi for that purpose.
The international team will be hosted by Kenyan Rotary club members, many of them members of Rotarians for Fighting AIDS (RFFA), an international organization for Rotary members concerned about the HIV/AIDS pandemic. RFFA has been especially active in Kenya, where it will function as the "mobilization partner" for the medical mission, handling logistics such as transportation, housing, food and security. In all, about 125 Kenyans will participate, including Rotary-affiliated volunteers and health care professionals.
In cooperation with RFFA, the international charity Hope Worldwide will offer HIV testing and counseling during the medical mission, according to RFFA founder and chair Marion Bunch, .a Rotary club member from Dunwoody, Ga.
The medical mission is supported by a $38,000 matching grant from the Rotary Foundation. Also contributing funds are Rotary clubs in Pennsylvania, Georgia and Kenya and the Coca-Cola Africa Foundation.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
The Children of Mukuru
As our bus pulls into the dirt paths in Mukuru, the children come to life.
We've been there six days and every day is the same. They come running out to the street with great big toothy smiles, waving furiously and chanting "How are you?....How are you?"
Some of the boys run alongside the bus and try to stay with the bus until they stumble or run into a cabbage cart.
In the clinic, the Kenyan children are soft-spoken, especially the girls. They are well behaved and respectful of elders. Outside the clinic, they happily run and play like children anywhere else.
The girls wear dresses. During the week the schoolchildren are dressed in their uniforms. Each school seems to have a different color scheme - blue, green, red, etc. The uniforms typically consist of checked shirts, solid sweaters (yes - in the African heat), and solid skirts or shorts.
We've seen girls as young as 8 or 9 carrying babies on their backs.
The Kenyan children, and the Kenyan people as a whole, are physically beautiful.
In the midst of such astonishing poverty, these children are generous in their smiles and waves. I can't help but to think of that as an reflection of God's grace!
We've been there six days and every day is the same. They come running out to the street with great big toothy smiles, waving furiously and chanting "How are you?....How are you?"
Some of the boys run alongside the bus and try to stay with the bus until they stumble or run into a cabbage cart.
In the clinic, the Kenyan children are soft-spoken, especially the girls. They are well behaved and respectful of elders. Outside the clinic, they happily run and play like children anywhere else.
The girls wear dresses. During the week the schoolchildren are dressed in their uniforms. Each school seems to have a different color scheme - blue, green, red, etc. The uniforms typically consist of checked shirts, solid sweaters (yes - in the African heat), and solid skirts or shorts.
We've seen girls as young as 8 or 9 carrying babies on their backs.
The Kenyan children, and the Kenyan people as a whole, are physically beautiful.
In the midst of such astonishing poverty, these children are generous in their smiles and waves. I can't help but to think of that as an reflection of God's grace!
Days 5 and 6
The eye clinic has seen about 600 children in the past 2 days.
We improved our testing of the children that are faking the vision screening to get glasses. We now have "magic glasses" which look like normal glasses but have no prescription. If one of the docs has scoped and determined that the child has little or no refractive error, and still the child can't see the big letters on the eye chart, we put on the magic glasses and miraculously the child can see 20/20.... they're busted!!
Interestingly, we have seen 3 albino children in the past 2 days. Albinos typically have very poor eyesight because the lack of pigment impedes the development of the eyes. They also are very light sensitive which is not a good trait to have in equatorial Africa. We were able to give these albino children prescription glasses and prescription sunglasses as well as several pairs of large sunglasses that fit over regular glasses. I suspect that there is quite a stigma for an albino child in African society as it appears that the very dark African mother has given birth to a white child.
Another intereting case we saw was a younger child ( about 10 years old) who had cataract surgery when young but did not receive a lens implant and received no glasses. He has essentially been blind since the surgery without having glasses and glasses will improve his vision to at least 20/40. This will make such a difference in this child's life!!
We improved our testing of the children that are faking the vision screening to get glasses. We now have "magic glasses" which look like normal glasses but have no prescription. If one of the docs has scoped and determined that the child has little or no refractive error, and still the child can't see the big letters on the eye chart, we put on the magic glasses and miraculously the child can see 20/20.... they're busted!!
Interestingly, we have seen 3 albino children in the past 2 days. Albinos typically have very poor eyesight because the lack of pigment impedes the development of the eyes. They also are very light sensitive which is not a good trait to have in equatorial Africa. We were able to give these albino children prescription glasses and prescription sunglasses as well as several pairs of large sunglasses that fit over regular glasses. I suspect that there is quite a stigma for an albino child in African society as it appears that the very dark African mother has given birth to a white child.
Another intereting case we saw was a younger child ( about 10 years old) who had cataract surgery when young but did not receive a lens implant and received no glasses. He has essentially been blind since the surgery without having glasses and glasses will improve his vision to at least 20/40. This will make such a difference in this child's life!!
The Slum of Mukuru
As you enter Mukuru you are struck by the poverty.
The slums consist of sheet metal and wooden shantys, squeezed together side-by-side separated by narrow pathways and small, unpaved heavily rutted streets.
Every home/shanty seems to have a business of some kind in front - selling tomatoes, cabbages, butcheries, hair salons, selling plastic bottles or fried dough to name a few. Every "shop" has a sign with a unique name, mostly in English. One of my favorites is "Waka-Knife the Butcher".
Plastic garbage is everywhere. The paper trash is burned and the roaming goats eat the organic waste.
The slum is filled to the brim with people. Some are busily walking, some manning the storefronts, others just sitting and watching. The children are emerged in dust, stagnant water, and trash.
There are rows of sheet metal outhouses that serve as latrines...nothing more than holes in the ground with a little privacy. Those fortunate enough to have private latrines keep them padlocked for their own use. The less fortunate use plastic shopping bags which are heaped in large piles. These are often called "flying toilets."
The air is filled with many smells. The most prominant smell is that of dusty stench. As you pass by different areas of the slum you may smell the frying dough, or 2 day-old fish heads that are for sale, and of course there are the latrines and flying toilet piles.
Goats and chickens roam the streets among the mobs of people. Handcarts are the main transportation system within the slum, transporting anything from cabbages to plastic jugs of kerosene.
It is surprising the density of people in this slum, especially with the expanses of open land surrounding Nairobi.
The slums consist of sheet metal and wooden shantys, squeezed together side-by-side separated by narrow pathways and small, unpaved heavily rutted streets.
Every home/shanty seems to have a business of some kind in front - selling tomatoes, cabbages, butcheries, hair salons, selling plastic bottles or fried dough to name a few. Every "shop" has a sign with a unique name, mostly in English. One of my favorites is "Waka-Knife the Butcher".
Plastic garbage is everywhere. The paper trash is burned and the roaming goats eat the organic waste.
The slum is filled to the brim with people. Some are busily walking, some manning the storefronts, others just sitting and watching. The children are emerged in dust, stagnant water, and trash.
There are rows of sheet metal outhouses that serve as latrines...nothing more than holes in the ground with a little privacy. Those fortunate enough to have private latrines keep them padlocked for their own use. The less fortunate use plastic shopping bags which are heaped in large piles. These are often called "flying toilets."
The air is filled with many smells. The most prominant smell is that of dusty stench. As you pass by different areas of the slum you may smell the frying dough, or 2 day-old fish heads that are for sale, and of course there are the latrines and flying toilet piles.
Goats and chickens roam the streets among the mobs of people. Handcarts are the main transportation system within the slum, transporting anything from cabbages to plastic jugs of kerosene.
It is surprising the density of people in this slum, especially with the expanses of open land surrounding Nairobi.
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