Today we had a bit of an earlier start as the whole team was to meet with the Governor of Vihiga County. This is the county that CNFA visits every year, holding medical camps in 11 villages. They reviewed health care programs that had been established since coming into office. Included are maternal & child care, communicable diseases & immunizations, and the training of community health volunteers. Also discussed was the possibility of working in collaboration with CNFA to provide services. The meeting concluded with a photo op with the governor, his administration and the team outside. This led to a late start at our clinic.

The clinic was a busy one, seeing over 500 people. It was wound care day for sure having several during the day. The type of wounds we see here we only see in Canada in very exceptional circumstances…if ever. Jiggers is also an ever present problem in these villages. A sand flea that burrows and causes soft tissue destruction. What I am astonished by is that they live with these wounds for months, sometimes getting periodic (should I say substandard) dressing changes, yet they they don’t seem to get septic, which is a life threatening situation. Some of the following we sent to the hospital and will have updates later. GRAPHIC WARNING:The following photos are graphic in nature, and may not appeal to some.

Team Member Intro: meet Kim. Kim joins us from Sarnia and works at Blue Water Health as a float nurse. Kim says “I’ve always wanted to do a mission ever since a presentation I went to in grade 7 about mission trips. CNFA was the best not for profit I could find. I looks more personable and has a consistent member base that I gladly wanted to be a part of.”

Today there were a few of us feeling sub par, be it jet lag, heat, humidity, poor sleeps/early mornings, always being on the run, overwhelmed by new sights, sounds and smells or just a sugar crash…adrenaline has worn off. So I leave you with these.