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Let's raise £3000 for an Ultrasound machine for the Medical Centre

Whilst on our medical elective in Kenya, we spent the majority of our time in the George Mudenyo Kadima Medical centre. The medical centre provides a vital space for expectant mothers to receive antenatal care and to give birth. However, the centre is in great need of an Ultrasound Machine which will allow clinicians to prevent and prepare for hundreds of complications during the labour process and ultimately save lives. The Ultrasound machine will also allow clinicians to more confidently diagnose both miscarriage and ectopic pregnancy, providing mothers with a much higher quality of care, both physically and emotionally.  We are keen to continue fundraising for this vital piece of equipment and have set up a virgin money giving page which can be accessed through the link below.  An ultrasound machine costs about £3000, however for the mothers supported by the medical centre in Musanda it really is priceless.  Thank you so much for your support.  https://uk.virginmoneygiving.co
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Kwaheri

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Kwaheri Whilst working in the medical centre in Musanda we have been working on a number of research projects with a view to tackling some of the major issues in the area. In particular we have been collecting data on the malaria vaccine. This was introduced last year and is first given to children at 6 months. Whilst the vaccine is free, it is still relatively novel and therefore parents are sometimes reluctant for their children to have it. As well as working to understand why this is we were also hoping to discover more about the efficacy of the vaccination. We do not yet know for certain how good the vaccine is at preventing malaria and have therefore been gethering data on how often vaccinated children are in fact contracting malaria. So far the results look incredibly promising, however the study will need to run for another few months to gather enough data in order to make reliable conclusions. In the meantime, the main challenge has and will be promoting the vaccine and ensu
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Gizani

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Gizani This weekend we were invited to join the Egmont Trust, a funding body for NASIO, as they assessed the impact of the projects currently undertaken by the charity. Amongst many interesting insights into prospective plans, we were most overwhelmed by the peer education system, nutured by the charity for the last 6 months. This programme is run by a number of young people who attend school in the area. The idea is that these 'Peer educators' provide education, support and advice to other young people in the area and work to promote responsible attitudes to sexual health. The subject of sexual health and gender based attitudes are ones we have found particularly difficult to accept and navigate. Sex is an impossibly taboo subject and cultural opinions can seriously impede education as well as have severe psychosocial implications for both individuals and families. During a health club we attended, peer educators were making headway with teaching classes about the signs an
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Sukuma!

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Sukuma! It's been a busy few days since we last posted with lots happening in the medical centre and beyond. Our Wednesday morning began with a home visit to one of the Nasio sponsored children. We were told the harrowing story of how this little girl had become an orphan and how she is now cared for by her grandparents. The mud hut we visited was split into two rooms, one with a collection of chairs and the other a sleeping area for the grandparents and two children. The whole building was not much bigger than a shed with mud floors and walls but the grandmother was overjoyed at how it offered her family a safe haven. We learnt that this incredibly stoical lady in her seventies was responsible for ploughing the family farmlands by hand, planting local crops such as black nightshade and selling them at the local markets in order to see the family get by. This trip was an eye-opener in terms of the realities of how local Kenyans live. We moved from here to St Irene's for o
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Mzee na mchanga

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Mzee na mchanga Our week has begun with the delivery of our first baby. After being brought to the medical centre in the morning, the labour quickly progressed and the mother was taken into the delivery room - a stark white-tiled room with only a wipe clean bed. The mothers in Kenya give birth without any pain medication. As doctors and nurses with so few resources to hand, you must hope that the delivery is unenventful and straight forward. Thankfully this was the case and the only difficulty was checking the dilation of the cervix which was incredibly painful for the undertsandably reluctant mother. During the labour itself there was little to do other than offer encouragement and support, as well as a hand to hold. Talking to this brave lady, she mentioned that this was her second child but that the pain of labour was different each time. It was important for the labour to progress quickly as we had few tools in which to monitor the welfare of the baby and we were therefore all k
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Mvua

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Mvua We are sat out in the garden of the Guest house in Musanda, having watched the sun set and heard the timely rumble of thunder preceding the monsoon rains that come at around 5pm each evening. The chatter of insects cuts through the gathering darkness whilst we recollect the day. Being a Sunday, we were invited to our first Church service in Musanda this morning and were glad to bear witness to the jubilation of singing, dancing and clapping. Beneath the beautiful and impressive harmonies lay a simple joy and gratefulness for everything we are inclined to take for granted each day. We were honoured to be welcomed by the congregation - though were quite unprepared to be asked to give a speech! On a more mundane note, we are discovering some of the challenges of daily life in rural Kenya. And without running water, took to having our first monsoon shower last night. This was largely comprised of sitting in our towels and looking up at the stormy sky, 'waiting for the rains
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Habari Yako!

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Habari Yako! We are halfway through our first week in Kenya now and settling in well. We are forming a routine of early starts, 3 delicious and very varied meals prepared for us per day and our work in the medical centre and with the children. Since we last posted we have been involved with many of the charity's different projects.  Our main focus is at the medical centre where we have been working with Godfrey, the clinical officer and the nursing team. Godfrey's job involves seeing around 40-50 walk in patients per day and forming a rapid diagnosis with the support of the simple but effective laboratory tests available to him- more on this in a later post. As well as the outpatient work, the centre has 3 small wards for inpatients and a very busy maternity ward. The children supported by the Nasio Trust get their treatment for free and we have already seen a number of them benefit from the centre.  Today we were introduced to the Spirulina project which meant an ea
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