What's Happening in Chwele, Kenya!

In April, 2019, you helped us raise funds for the full renovation of two clinic buildings in Chwele, Kenya. Many thanks to all the individuals, Rotary Club of Tigard (Noon), Tigard Community Friends Church, Multnomah Presbyterian Church, and Friends Foundation International for your specific efforts in helping us raise these funds. I spent three months in Kenya during the spring while my husband Paul spent a straight nine months there to complete the renovation work which included:

• Ceiling board construction

• A new lab

• New handwashing sinks

• New and expanded maternity wing

• Six more patient observation rooms

• Two administrative offices

• Twelve patient beds

• Two indoor toilet plumbing and septic tank

• Two showers

   
We also want to thank Portland Metro Rotary Club, Rotary Club of Clackamas, and Rotary Club of Tigard (Noon) for pulling together to provide a $4,000 Rotary District Grant for new clinic supplies and equipment as required by the Kenya Health Depart.

While in Kenya, Paul and I prepared for and welcomed a team of twenty five medical volunteers from West Hills Friends Church led by Mari Kay Evans-Smith. They arrived in Nairobi airport in late April with fifty suitcases of medical supplies and equipment which had to be driven 300 miles overnight to Makhonge village in western Kenya. We quickly put up a one week Medical Camp at the village where we were invited by Mr. John Wafula, a native of Makhonge village who lives in USA. In this place where there is no doctor, we were able to treat more than two hundred patients per day, but left more than 300 patients untreated each day due to the sheer numbers of those who needed care. Most patients who came for care had untreated chronic cases (for so many weeks, months and sometimes for years) such as diabetes, hypertension, eye problems, pain, severe skin problems, mental health issues, and even unexplained lumps in breasts for some young women.

We also welcomed Dr. Steve Wilhite, a surgeon from Eugene, Oregon who came to Kenya to volunteer at Lugulu Friends Mission Hospital near Kaimosi where he grew up and later practiced as a medical Missionary more than 30 years ago. Whenever we do these trips, we make a big difference in the lives of many people but we are usually also overwhelmed by our inability to do more. However, each trip is a life changing experience for all volunteers and for those we serve. While visiting and local volunteers are intensively pulling together to make a difference, they are usually also fostering kindred friendships that sometimes last a lifetime. A little time for Safari tour(s) to Nairobi National Park, Giraffe Center, Elephant Orphanage, Maasai Mara, Lake Victoria, etc. is always a crowning conclusion for many of our guest volunteers.