The October 2013, our first fall medical mission, has drawn to a close.  We found quite a difference in the overall health of the communities we work within because of the harvest. Most people had food, therefore less disease. It was wonderful to hear children laugh and see them play and even to cry much more than usual! What a difference food in the belly makes! We were told that it would be different in the spring when we are planning to go back. Food will again be scarce and there will be widespread hunger and disease rates will be increased. Because the clinics saw fewer patients per day, nurses had opportunities to spend more time with our jiggers program, schools, home and hospital visits, etc. The government has implemented a nationwide school deworming program so we did far fewer of these. Here are our numbers of patients treated:                                 Clinic- 7,818                                 Jiggers- 1,058                                 School deworming- 3,007                                 Home visits- 4                                 TOTAL: 11,887                                   Wounds- 150                                 Hospital care- 8 plus at least one planned surgery                                 Sex education classes- grade 8 and above girls: 266                                                                     -women: 56                                                                     -boys: 65                                 Crutches provided to one person.   We…

It is hard to believe that today was our final clinic.  We approached the day with mixed feelings, sadness and relief.  Five of our group will venture on safari and the other five will head home to hug their families, catch up on their rest and to return to work.  Gail, Trish and I will spend an extra day so we can dispose of supplies that we have left over.  We also have been invited to tea at Sara’s house in Kisumu.  That will be a delightful experience to be sure. The clinic today was busy and the church was very, very crowded and hot inside.  There was no rain until about 5:30 pm but we had already returned to Kakamega.  We treated 743 patients and there was no one left when we closed the doors.  A drunken man attended the clinic today wanting help with his addiction.  Rosalyn, one of Kenyan nurses, spent a lot of time with him calming him down and talking to him about his addiction and the effect it was having on his body and his family.  She did a super job.  I don’t know if Kenya has addiction programs but that is a question for tomorrow. Tonight at dinner,…

Today was unlike any other.  We didn’t break down; we didn’t leave anyone behind; and we weren’t stopped by the police nor did anything else happen that it shouldn't.  We drove to and from the clinic without incident (what is with that???). Itando is a small village near a Catholic Church, St Francis Assis.  This is the first time we worked in a Catholic Church but the priest and the nuns (we believe the nuns were from France) were most accommodating.  As usual, we started the day with a prayer and once the day was over, we had treated 792 patients in the clinic, 150 jiggers patients, held a sexual health clinic, and dewormed the 460 children in the school. This was a very poor school, with over ½ of the children orphaned.  The headmaster, who was a very compassionate man, told how the community feeds the orphan children a lunch of maize and beans and assists with school fees and uniforms for these children.  Grandmothers don’t have the ability to feed the grandchildren they inherit from their dead children.  One mother approached Gail and asked for help. “My daughter is dead; my son is dead.  I have 4 children.  Can you help?”  I will let…

We aren’t the only guests at the Sheywe although we are in the majority for sure.   This guest house is quite luxurious for its location and each year there are improvements to the grounds and the rooms.  This year, they have constructed 3 rondos that guest can stay in, round rooms with a straw roof.  They are quite nice actually  but of course demand a premium price.  Canadian Nurses for Africa volunteers are budget conscious. Our rooms are quite basic and the bathrooms haven’t changed much except some of the rooms have new mosquito nets…so no more tape for the holes.  The toliets flush somewhat better although common sense says when you shower, catch some of the water in the big black basin to help flush the toliets. Aside from fellow guests, we share the grounds with other creatures.  I managed to get photos of most of the extra guests except for Lynn’s slug…5 to 6 inches long, she swears, and very brown in color…not only was it moving in the bathroom, she found it was making a bee-line, as slugs are known to do, for her bed.  She put a basin over it and called on Gail for a rescue the following morning.  Here are…

Before I give you the day’s totals, I want to tell you a story, with permission from the victim.  Our matatu and our car left the Sheywe yesterday on time to drive about 45 minutes to Chavakalli.  After the car stopped at Barclay’s Bank, Gail receives a phone call from Sylvia that she had been left behind.  She wants you to know how creative she was by borrowing a stranger’s phone and calling Gail to come back and get her.  When we left this morning, guess who was one of the first in the matatu?  Right! Now for the day…we set up our clinic at a Friend’s Church in Vihalo.  When we arrived, the clinic had already been set up with the different stations ready to go.  Our helpers were selected and before the day was out, we had treated 831 patients, dressed 24 wounds, treated 100 persons for jiggers, and conducted two sexual health clinics. Gail and Trish also met with the Public Health Office for our region.  They were aware of our work and were happy to collaborate with us.  They wanted us to provide our jiggers numbers to them.  Public Health are using solutions that are ineffective for jiggers and because of that, they are…

The clinic today is on the main road to a large market.  It is interesting to see the vendors walk by with their cows and goats in tow and the market goods in baskets on their heads.  It is an important day in the week for the people of this region. Departure was delaying this morning as the matatu had a flat tire.  Put on the spare, you say?  Well that had been done once before, so off Evans went to get the tire repaired.  It didn’t take long and the nurses were on their way.  Unfortunately, our sick remained behind to get another day of rest. What an experience we had on the way to the clinic.  The road was temporarily closed by hundreds of boys and men running along and across the road in unison.  As their feet hit the pavement in rhythm, they made a grunting sound that was also accompanied by a horn.  It was described to me as “a primitive African sound that made the hair on your arms stand up”. The Vihiga area, where we work, is known for their bullfights.  The bulls shove each other around until one runs away.  The event is accompanied by much excitement, betting,…

We had an inauspicious start to the day with 5 of us down with a virus.  It seems there is always something during each mission that we haven’t experienced before and this  is certainly one of them.  As the unwell took to their beds (everyone is recovering nicely, thank you!), the strong and well worked the clinic on their own.  We treated over 500 patients and, of course, Johnstone provided jiggers treatment to very poor and to the children in the nearby schools.  We were unable to deworm the schools due to a lack of manpower but will put them on the list for next week.  For those who have followed the blog over the years, Kigama is where we dewormed a school last year by accident.  We had been taken to the wrong school by the driver.  The headmaster, realizing that opportunity doesn't knock twice, quickly organized the teachers and children and they all received their dose.  The headmaster was delighted and said “God has smiled on us today”.  This school is now on our list! Kenyans get worms from contaminated drinking water.  While there are some protected springs and bored wells close to the schools, many schools don’t have access to clean water or the wells…

I had the fortune of doing sexual health with a group of young women today at the clinic in Wangulu.  I was a little concerned about doing condom demonstrations on the altar in the church but  one of the women explained that it was ‘their’ church so it was ok.  Often I find I learn more than I teach, which is what I find inspiring about the working with the women here.  They told me that requiring a male to use a condom was something a prostitute would do and so to use condoms in the home was unacceptable.  I was happy to find the women were quite interested in using female condoms.  We had a great discussion, laughter, and fun, and we were lucky to get finished before the rains started. Lynn   Lynn also speaks to the girls in the schools with permission of the head master.   The sanitary pads that have been sewn by so many Canadian women are distributed to the teenage girls at these clinics.  For those of you who are unaware, teenage girls cannot attend school unless they have sanitary pads.  Disposable pads are far too expensive to use, and so the girls go without or use what ever…

What an awesome day today.   We treated 700 patients, held a jiggers clinic, treated 11 wounds, and dewormed 2 schools.  Trish and Sylvia started their day by purchasing and delivering a new set of crutches to the older female who had a broken leg and delivering special medication needed by a patient both needs indentified during a home visit yesterday.  On our way to Wungulu, we stopped for gasoline and saw two boys, about 12 years old, searching the garbage from the gas station’s disposal bin for items they could sell.  Their clothing was black with grime and only one was wearing shoes.  One of the boys looked at us and his eyes held no expression except of hopelessness.  He then walked away. I am often asked what Kenyan homes are like.  The homes themselves are usually two rooms, one for sleeping and one to eat in and to socialize.  The house itself is built  with a latticework of sticks, which are sealed with mud.  The home will have dirt floors.  To protect against infestation by the $3.60jiggers flea, the floors are smeared with cow dung which gives them a hard surface.  It is an activity that has to be every few weeks.  Can you…

We had a successful day by treating 570 persons in the clinic.  We are seeing poorer people in this area.  In past years, we would treat around 900 to 1000  persons each day and have been wondering why our numbers are down.  It is spring in Kenya and there is more food available this time of the year.  Our Kenyan friends told us that we treat more persons in the spring because they will struggle to find food during the next few months and, as such, their immune systems become compromised and they become sick.  It still takes a lot of effort to provide treatment feven or the above numbers of people each day.  In many ways, it has been a blessing as we have been trying to establish ongoing public health initiatives, such as providing latrines in schools, safe sources of water, and protecting natural springs.  I had the opportunity to go to a natural spring today.  We descended a muddy path approximately 40 metres down a slippery slope to a spring.  At the bottom, we watched 2 young women fill their 5 gallon containers from the water pipe, swing them onto their heads, and ascend the muddy path using only small indentations in…

Remember the saying from the book, if it is Thursday this must be Belgium.  Well, if this is Tuesday, then it must be Budawye.  Budawye is a small village containing an elementary school and a church.  There were no special markings on the church so I can't tell you what denomination it was.  We started our day with a prayer, once more led by a special man named Solomen.  He has been with us for at least 4 years and each day, he is present at our location when we arrive.  He now rides a small motorcycle and is blind in one eye.  He has conducted our prayer service at the beginning of each mission.  What a delightful faithfilled man and he has a voice that is a joy to hear. The attendance at the clinic today was 554 persons.  Nearly 600 children at the elementary school were treated for worms by Johnstone, another fine man who cares greatly about his fellow Kenyans.  He treated 59 children and 2 adults for Jiggers today-a number greatly reduced from last year by at least 1/2.  As mentioned yesterday, it is wonderful how treatment and education can make a difference to lives.  So can we as Canadians change lives?  Who…

Our first mission took place in a large church owned and operated by the Salvation Army.  It was near 3 schools and a village named Ikobero.  We arrived slightly late as our driver and helpers were late coming from breakfast.  We will soon have them as hyperactive as all Canadians tend to be.  Our trip was uneventful and no vehicle breakdowns along the way.  It is funny how one starts to appreciate the things were generally take for granted, We treated 587 patients in the clinic itself, dewormed two schools and a third, who sent all their high school girls into the clinic for treatment.  It was a sea of blue uniforms for quite awhile until we managed to get them into an area for deworming.  We dressed the usual wounds and treated the other patients for respitory ailments, malaria, fevers, etc.  It is spring here and the mosquito population is as bad as I have seen it.  We all use mosquito nets but they still manage to squeeze in through somehow.  Maybe they start with the floor and work their way up from the bottom.  There is nothing like the sound of a mosquito to make you move in the night! A Jiggers clinic was…

Sunday is a day of rest in Kenya and most Kenyans attend church.  From the Sheywe, we could hear a church celebration starting with "Amazing Grace" and at least two hours later ending with the sound of drums. Two cultures coming together.  The group who arrived yesterday seemed more rested and left here in a school bus (obtained through the efforts of Gail and the supportive Kenyan team we have here) for a trip to Kisumu where they visited a market selling Kenyan artifacts and a boat trip on Lake Kisumu, where they saw a large male hippo emerge out of the lake and a mother and her baby.  So the cure for a frustrating three days of travel is shopping! The rest of us spent a portion of our day unpacking suitcases containing clinical supplies and other items.  Sammy, the manager of the Sheywe, obtained two teddy bears for his two children and told me that his children still used the wooden cars he was given last year.  The staff treat us so well here and it was learned that they had a meeting to ensure the Canadian Nurses for Africa visitors were treated well.  Each year, we hold an impromtu clinic for the staff…

We are grateful that the main group arrived safely in Kakamega at approximately 7:30 pm tonight.  Ten very tired and somewhat frustrated nurses crawled out of a 14 passenger van and a car, that was pressed into service at the last minute.  Once they landed in Nairobi and reached the parking lot with the suitcases carrying their personal belongings and the Canadian Nurses for Africa supplies, it became evident that all of the luggage and the nurses would not be travelling at the same time.  I believe there is a scientific principle that two objects can not occupy the same space at the same time, and no matter how determined Jerri and the driver were to disprove this fact, it held true.  So after much negotiation in the middle of the night and into the very early hours of the morning, a second vehicle was obtained to drive four nurses along with as much luggage as possible to Kakamega.  Both vehicles left the Rosa Mystica in Nairobi at staggered times and 12 hours later arrived at the Sheywe Guest house in Kakamega. Now for those who have read previous blogs, it is no secret that all does not go well on these missions.  This isn’t…

Our reliable Kenyan team leader, Sara, met us today at the pharmacy in Kisumu where we picked up our medication-all 46 cartons of it.  It was an exciting reunion and Sara proudly introduced us to a nurse colleague calling us her “friends from Canada”.  As we often do, we compared nursing stories.  Kenyan nurses were on strike in late 2012 and early 2013 for improvement in wages and the nurse patient ratio, which is currently one nurse for 64 patients!  Sara spoke about the frustration of nurse workloads and told a story of how one of the nurses in Labour and Delivery had seven patients all delivering their babies at the same time.  Four were in beds and three were on the floor.  She struggled to provide care for the patients, praying that there would not be any unanticipated health issues for either group.  As Sara stated, there are times that a choice has to be made between mother and baby. Sara also stated they were in need of birthing packs as they often run out of supplies for a safe delivery.  This is certainly one of the things that we will consider bringing on our next mission.  Each year as we travel to Kenya,…

Last night, the advance team of Gail, Trish, Lynn and Dawn arrived in Nairobi at 11:30 pm.  If you asked if the trip becomes easier, the answer would be no.  We flew 8 hours to Brussels, had a 3-1/2 hour rest then flew 10-1/2 hours to Nairobi via Bujumbura, Burundi.  At the end of the trip, our driver, Evans, and Jerri, our good friend from previous years, met us at the gate with smiles and the Kenyan greeting of “welcome, welcome”. As we taxied to the arrival’s gate, the original Kenyan airport arrival’s building was visible through the darkness-an abandoned building with no windows.  As you may recall, the airport burnt in early September.  The new arrivals area appeared to be a newly renovated building which had been pressed into service.  Immigration and customs presented no problem for us, although they must wonder why we travel with a lot of luggage.  I sometimes wonder if they think all westerners carry this much clothing with them when they travel.  Security at the airport was adequate but not over the top.  We asked Jerri about the terrorist attack at the mall, and he said it something that happens all over the world.  And that seems to be…

From left to right: Naima, Maegan, Tara, Dawn, Madeline, Karen, Jean, Linda, Sylvia, Trish, Gail, Lynn (absent: Francine and Lee-Ann)

On October 8th, Gail, Trish, Lynn and Dawn leave for Kenya to prepare for the arrival the 2013 medical team, who will arrive late in the day on Saturday October 12th.  Our clinics will start on Monday October 14th at Ikobera in the Kakamega-Vihiga regions of Western Kenya. This year, there are 13 registered nurses and one support person involved in the mission. We will be returning a rural area of Kenya as we have worked previously. Last year, Canadian Nurses for Africa treated just under 15,000 people in 11 days of clinics. Each patient in the clinic is registered, triaged, diagnosed, and given suitable medications, all without charge. The very ill are transferred to hospital and Canadian Nurses for Africa pays for their stay and their medication while in hospital. Thanks to all of you who contribute to our charitable organization each year. Without you, there would be no clinics. We will also hold deworming clinics at the schools, sexual health clinics and teachings, and Jiggers clinics. Due to the unrest in Kenya this year, Canadian Nurses for Africa had to decide whether or not to proceed with the trip. While we overnight in Nairobi at a convent-guest house, we will be spending the…