Hi! My name’s Mindy and I’m currently a Pre- Nursing student at Texas State. Sue and I will be sharing our experiences with you and our vision and goal for a future health clinic in Kibera. My first trip to Kibera during the summer of 2008 was more of a vision trip. I honestly had NO expectations. I knew that I wouldn’t KNOW really how it would be until I was physically there. Our group went out there to just observe and see what the community of Kibera needed or if they needed anything at all. It was a neat experience to just live among the Africans for a month and really see their struggles first hand. Although it is very difficult to express in words what I saw, what I smelled and what I heard there were three things that I saw that stood out to me when I was there that I would take advantage of daily. The first thing I noticed was the need for simple things such as a clean water source. There was no running water or any type of water source that wasn’t filled with bacteria. So everything they eat or drink has to be boiled before consumption. Another thing was not having a sewage system. The sewage system runs through the slums of Kibera. Everywhere we walked there was a stream of sewage that would be right along the road. There was this one time that we were walking through Kibera and I saws kid sitting on the outside of her house (which was the road) with no diaper or pants on and I remember thinking how unsanitary it was and how much bacteria will spread through her hands and through her body. But, that was normal for the families in Kibera. Lastly, food was very limited. The kids at the school we were spending most of our time at (New Hope Primary School) were fortunate enough to have 2 meals a day but those 2 meals may be the only 2 meals of their entire day and were not guaranteed anymore food when they got home. They would cherish lunchtime and eat every single bite. I remember when the kids would break for lunchtime and they would offer us a plate of their food. The first time I got offered to eat lunch I was given this HUGE bowl of beans and rice and was a little hesitant before I ate it. I honestly wasn’t sure if I would be able to finish it and second if I wanted to finish it. Next thing you know I’m scraping the bowl clean. It was pretty good and really enjoyed it. J Throughout the week our team members would be looking forward to rice and beans day! So, you’re probably thinking these issues are way bigger than we are. BUT, they aren’t! In addition to lots of prayer and building awareness there are so many ways that we can help promote a healthy way of living under their living conditions and with the resources that they have.
Sue:
Going to Africa was definitely not what I expected. I had an idea of what it would be like to go, but it was a totally different experience. I went in with the mindset that I wanted to do everything in my power to help the people of Kibera to the best of my abilities. When I look back, I realized how much they had affected and helped me. I knew we had a lot more than them, but seeing it first hand really broke my heart. I remember encountering kids who had cuts that wouldn't heal because they were not able to clean it properly and so it would keep getting infected. I also saw a girl who had a UTI for a year because the meds the doctors gave her was not what was needed. She did not have money to treat her UTI. It made me realize how much they needed a health care facility or any resource to help them physically.
This summer our team had the opportunity to have a Health workshop to help promote healthy living in Kibera. We taught them how to properly clean cuts and sores, how to prevent passing germs, the proper way to brush their teeth, and the importance of clean hands. We acted out skits, taught songs, and shared easy ways of remembering to brush your teeth and wash your hands often.
We also surveyed a sample of kids from each grade to get a better idea of what they were struggling with physically. We hope to use the information gathered in the future to help the kids with resources and give people a better idea of what they are dealing with everyday.
We discovered that the majority of them had diarrhea, vomited, and had headaches more than 3X a week! Finding a child who was perfectly healthy was really rare.
We had the opportunity to give each kid a bag of supplies that they could take home and hopefully practice the skills we taught them. We were able to do this by collecting donations from clinics before we left. We hope to be able to do this again when we go back.
Goal: (short term) EDUCATION is key! From just talking to the kids and interacting with them most of the children aren’t aware of basic health facts that we grew up learning such as cramping during your menstrual cycle, headaches when you are dehydrated, washing your hands before you eat to prevent from getting sick, and covering your coughs and sneezes.
Simple short- term solutions such as basic health care supplies such as band-aids, wipes, hand sanitizer, tissue, toothpaste, toothbrushes, will make a BIG difference. These simple supplies will provide a defense against the consequences from being sick. It’s a domino effect--- illnesses will cause them to miss out on school, which is the only place they get to eat 2 meals a day. Without food and nourishment the chances of getting better are very slim.
Vision: (long term) To give these kids access to long term care/health facility so that their basic health needs are treated and are monitored frequently so that they continue to live healthier lives.
With the help of Manna Worldwide, the feeding organization that we are working along side, helped purchase land near the school in Kibera for a new church building. There is extra space and our dream and prayer is to plant a health clinic there and hire a full time Kenyan staff.
Thank you all for reading our blog! This cause is very dear to our hearts and we would love to see what God has in store for the future of the lovely Kiberans! If you have any questions or input you would like to share please feel free to email us. We would love for anyone who is interested or wants to get involved in this cause to join us and meet our friends in Kibera.
-Sue and Mindy
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