Talk about a crazy weekend filled with fulfillment, purpose, and a look into Gods heart. Friday we were in the northern part of Kenya in an area called Majengo (just outside of Kisumu). Our team had an amazing opportunity to be apart of a medical camp that served 500 people! Majority of the people were widows and orphans.
As the story continues, the building we used was built by a missionary team, and then donated. A water well was built that will serve clean water to the women and the community. And all the glass for the windows was donated. Mama Nancy (the widow in the video) wants to take these widows who are rejected from the community, and make them into strong empowering women. She plans to have a bead and breakfast at the house, as well as a shop that will sell jewelry and clothing that the women will make.
That Friday I really felt like I was able to make a difference in the peoples life. Even though I only took their vital signs, I was able to bring Jesus into my small interactions even without being able to speak the language.
The next day we traveled to a boys detention center were we had the opportunity to tour the facility and provide basic medical services. I was able to talk to some of the boys about their lives, and they have some impacting stories. When the boys leave the detention center they leave as a better person. I wish we had better juvenile detention centers in the States. While the boys are here they get an education, trade skills, and a community that supports them. It is crazy to think that 7 years ago WorldComp came in to a slave camp of boys, and with the help of locals have turned it into something amazing.
That following afternoon my heart was given to a group of 60+ deaf children. I want you to understand how these children are viewed here. This home receives no government assistance, they only receive 5% of the school fees from the 60+ children, and the majority have been brought in off the streets because they are not wanted. We first came on Valentines Day, bringing little heart tattoos, gummy snacks and 200 pounds of beans. To see the excitement on the faces of these children is indescribable.
We went back the next day to deliver bread...their excitement over a piece of bread, it was like giving a 5 year old a dollar for a lost tooth. It really just gave me a better perspective over the world. We have so much back home, and most of us are happy. But placing myself here, and seeing the excitement over one slice of bread, I realize I have a lot back home to be happy about.
On our drive back on Monday we did the American tourist thing and stopped at the Equator. Our group took lots of photos, and our driver even joined us! Overall it was an amazing weekend, and unfortunately this blog post can not be a good summary of all my feelings. I will say this. if you ever get an opportunity to experience something that might be out of your comfort zone, go do it! There is so much fulfillment and gratitude in serving. And maybe, just maybe, you will find your self wanting to go back again and again. I know for me, Kenya is a place that I will continue to visit throughout my life.
With my first real day on the floor of Kenyatta Hospital I began to feel the culture shock. First off I have never been in a hospital with over 2,000 patient beds, and you know the sad part, 2,000 beds is not enough. Nicole and I were placed on the pediatric unit, which was really exciting, except I was not prepared for what I was going to walk into. To give a little perspective, Seattle Children's has about 345 patent beds, and those are hardly all in use at one time. In Kenyatta, they ideally would have 6 beds per room, which would make 20 patients per unit (80 patients for the whole floor). Well, due to the public hospital standards and not enough affordable hospitals, the unit I worked on had around 59 children (thats about 240 children for the whole floor....almost a full hospital for a single floor!!). Kenyatta Hospital can also not afford to have a lot of nurses, so on this floor one nurse can have up to 40 patients! Talk about overwhelming. Another overwhelming thought is medical bills. In the States our insurance and/or us gets the bill after our stay. At Kenyatta Hospital, patients must pay a deposit to become an inpatient. and in order to leave the hospital they must finish paying their hospital stay bill. The hospital can keep the child for months until the bill is paid! But this story gets more interesting. When a child passes away the family has 2 months to pay off the hospital and morgue bill, if they are not able to follow through the government will have the child buried in a mass grave cemetery.
My heart just really began to ache for these families and these nurses. Even though I am not a parent the thought of having to wait to leave the hospital sounds terrible, and then not being able to have a burial for your deceased child...its devastating. The nurses are so equipped with skills far beyond what I have seen in the states, and they really want to have the best practice possible, but they have to make do with what they have. These nurses have to sacrifice to much so that every child can just receive medication on time. Now, you might be wondering, where is this culture shock you talk about? Well for the first time in my life I actually felt out of place. The nurses that I followed my first part of the shift did not speak much English when with patients, so I had no idea what was going on. Then when we would go to a new patent I would not get filled in on what just happened. I felt out of place, totally unprepared, and incompetent. The nurses would ask me questions about what I would do in the States, and I did not feel like I could answer their questions confidently.
That feeling did not pass until after my lunch break. And after that I really got to see how special and amazing each of these kids are. Children no matter how sick sometimes, just want to play and be normal. They loved to play with our stethoscopes and our hand sanitizer. One of the little boys kept touching my hair saying how soft it was.
Some other things that really stood out today was how truly blessed we are to have the hospitals we have. I did not realize how much we take for granted. To have a single patient room and your own bed is a blessing. To have your own tubing that has never been used is a blessing, and to have a nurse that can be a full care taker is a blessing. Even though this Kenyan hospital was not up to American standards they are able to make do with the best that they have. I am looking forward to a day where I can be a change for a broken system like this!
Yesterday(2/10)we got the awesome opportunity to tour Kenyatta Hospital (http://knh.or.ke). This hospital has 1000
in-patient beds! Pastor Lois and her husband Pastor Peter made the connection
to this hospital, through Dr. Sadera. While at the hospital we met with one of
the oncology doctors to set up more future connections for Northwest University
students. Our group decided on 7 different units that we would all like to work
on and those included: surgery, HIV/AIDS (they call it CCU in Africa), cardiac,
pediatrics, labor and delivery, ER, ICU/NICU. I am really looking forward to
the amazing opportunities that God has been opening up. After the hospital
tour, we experienced our first rain shower with thunder and lightning. Our driver
got stuck in the traffic so we all had to pile into 2 different cars to get to
lunch.
4 girls squeezed in the back + a local nurse hidden by my professor
Today(2/11) we are going to have our first day on the floor! I am excited to see
where God places me. Before we go to the hospital we are getting to see a new
ministry at work. Nikki, the host of our team, partnered with a friend to start
a high-end fashion company. She is working with 3 local Kenyan women who make
all the clothes. This allows the women to make not only a life for themselves,
but also provides a life for their families.Here is a Facebook link to the foundation https://www.facebook.com/James127Foundation
and then here is their website http://www.judithandjames.com
. To learn more about the actual foundation you can go here http://www.j127foundation.com/#!sewing-project/cvoe.
Today was another relaxin day, but we got to experience some more Kenyan culture. Our professor led two church services today in a very impoverished area. The people are so in love with The Lord, and I love being able to feel Gods presence even when I am on the other side of the world. While on church a little boy came and sat next to me and followed me around all morning.
In between services we met an amazing man, Pastor Peter. He shared with is how important the medical camps have been in his community, espically in the slums. The medical camps have not only brought more people to the church, but have made the church present within that area. There are so many wonderful things God has done for this community.
Pastor Peter
Professor Ben speaking
After church we were going to meet with hospital staff but it did not work out. Our group went to a different mall on the other side of town. That is what I have most different being in Kenya. You are in a slum area and within 10 min you are at a nice mall with more developed buildings around you.
A view of the road on our drive to the mall
The rest of our day was spent relaxing and getting to know one another. It was a great day!
With our first day in the country our schedule included a very light load. I felt that our day was a great way to see the country and people, especially all the different aspects.
The family we are staying with has connections to a local school that is next to a very small slum of 500 people. The land was green, and the people were so happy that it finally rained. We met a man who is training to be a pastor. He gave us a tour of the school. This school is for secondary education and is privately owned, which means that each student that attends must pay for the education.
There were a few different classroom sizes as well as a computer lab and a science lab. The pastor was very excited to show us all the progress that had been made on the school grounds. A few hundred feet away was the slum. From past trips that I have been on I would say this slum is very well kept. The family we are staying with also helps with some of the local projects in the slum. There latest project is making a septic tank that will be turned into bio fuel so people can fuel their homes. They recently just added electricity for people who could afford it. One of my favorite things about going to areas like this is seeing all the joy in the children. We have so many things back home in the states that we are blessed with and we struggle to find happiness. Watching these children play with nothing, and having so many smiles and laughs is very touching to my heart.
(My friend Allyson with some of the kids)
After our visit in the slum we went to the Village Market, which is kind of like an outdoor mall. From there we went and met with a man named Richard who will be leading our team to a village about 8 hours away this coming up weekend for a medical camp. Our meeting was so encouraging but also really made us face the reality of this world.
We think about malaria and HIV/AIDS being the biggest problems in all of Africa. Well in Kenya, yes you do have those issues. For instance, due to HIV/AIDS over half of the population is under age 16. But, what really got me, was hearing about how many babies die of diarrheal disease. 1 million babies, each year. Can you even wrap your mind around that? There is such a lack of education about what to do when your child has diarrhea, and the water quality is terrible, but so many forget the most important step, which is to boil it. As much of a downer that is, what turned out to be encouraging was a little story he told us.
A boy was walking along the beach after a tsunami trying to help the starfish that had been washed to shore. There were millions of starfish that were baking in the sun. So one by one the boy picked them and threw them back into the ocean. An older man came to the boy and asked him why he was wasting his time throwing them back into the sea because there were millions of them. The boy responded as he picked up another starfish "well I made a difference for this one".
And really that is all that matters. There are so many people here that I want to help. I wish I could find the cure for HIV/AIDS, or solve the worlds water problem, but I can't. However, I can make a difference in one persons life, and that is what I am looking forward to most :)
Hey everyone I made it! After 20+ hours of travel and some crazy Disneyland type ride turbulence we made it. When arriving into Kenya it was pouring down rain. It took about 2 hours to get through coustoms and immigration. Once we got to the house we are staying at the power was out. Now, after about 12 hours the power is finally back on!! Today we are going to go explore Nairobi and then go to a small local slum for a school assignment. I am so overwhelmed to be here once again.
12 Hours till my next African adventure begins. I have been waiting so long for this moment and I can not grasp that it is here. There has been some exciting things that have happened this week. One, the Seahawks won the Super Bowl!!! Two, our group packed 400 pounds of medical supplies to bring on our trip!!!! And three, my friend Ashley in my class was healed :) These are all such amazing things, but I am really still in shock that our group of 6 nursing students raised that much. Not only did we get the 400 plus pounds of supplies (we could not pack everything) we also raised close to $1000 for medications once in the country!! God is so SO good.
The team with our supplies for the camps and clinics!
