Kenya Gappers Healthcare Outreach ... - Practice Nursing · week Gap Year Nursing experience in Rural Kenya? She had 50 replies in 30 ... even typhoid and death. ... Plan for greywater

Kenya Gappers Healthcare Outreach Nurses for Kenya.

Caroline Fernandez Jenni Alexander

It started for us when we joined a Practice Nurse Forum & a colleague posted the following on the Forum.

“anybody interested in a 2 week Gap Year Nursing experience in Rural Kenya?

She had 50 replies in 30 minutes.

Like many Nurses we had always dreamed of VSO

work•Like most nurses, marital obligations, children and the demands of our profession always meant the right time to disappear for 6 months never came!

Her son had gone to Kenya with Camps International & was involved in various construction & conservation projects. He sent her photos of how little healthcare the rural villagers could access.

Karen then contacted Camps and asked why they did not do any medical outreach work as many Health Care Professionalscould spare 2 weeks.

• ‘find 20 nurses or health support workers who are willing to fund themselves or fund raise to join a 2 week medical outreach programme and we will liaise with the Kenyan Ministry of Health and organise the Programme!’

They Said:

And So the outreach Programme was Born in 2010, The first expedition of 22 health care workers was:-

Expectations of Nurses

• We had no idea what we would be required to do, or what would take priority.

• We knew that in rural Kenya, around 70% of people are living below the poverty line and access to proper sanitation, clean drinking water, healthcare and education are often limited or non-existent.

Expectations of the Kenyans

• Local camps staff, Medical staff, Nursing staff and politicians had no idea how the programme would be received or whether the community would attend?

• They had been visited by groups of European and American Drs and Nurses arriving with their own Agenda and not being of much practical help and expected more of the same.

• A group of British Nurses, many of whom had never left the UK before or travelled outside the developed world who said:

‘Do whatever you want with us…. No job is below us …. Just give us something useful to do!’

Those of us that had travelled widely did not expect to be able to make a difference in 2 weeks but we thought we might be able to treat this as a ‘recce’ and improve things the next time?

What they got was:

• So 19 of us met up at Heathrow Airport for the cheapest Kenya Airlines overnight flight with a change in Nairobi. (3 others would meet us in Mombassa as nervous flyers and paid the extra for a direct flight)

Heathrow

Our first night. Pooling of donations

© jenni alexander 2011

Donations of knitted hats & toys

©jenni alexander 2011

High Security Camp surrounded by electrified

Fences to keep wild animals out

Our Accommodation

©jenni alexander 2011

mess tent & showers

Cold showers with stored rain water and two toilets in Camp but long drops when working in villages

Communal area with a roof but no walls where the next days work was planned and meals were served. There was a supply of treated drinking water or soft drinks/bottled water/tusker beer purchased from fridge.

We were informed that our clinics would

• Offering treatment for all villagers simultaneously for:

• Jigger infestation • fungal skin infections • And helminths (worms)

• Nurses and health care assistants with a treatment room background quickly volunteered for this.

• Those of us who could prescribe medications and diagnose the common minor illnesses and common tropical diseases or give family planning and sexual health advice were nominated to consult.

• A third group would run the mobile dispensary and dispense medication.

• Each group was supported by Kenyan HCPs and interpreters.

Orientation & Our Transport

None of us could have envisaged how many hours we would spend in an open ex- army truck for 2 weeks in rural Kenya when it collected us from the airport!

© 2011 jenni alexander

Village Life

Local Butcher

Machinists for the Boutique-Made on site.



Umbrellas, a Camps initiative


Muhaka Clinic & Dispensary

Public Health Office & Laboratory



Malaria Testing

Tabitha’s Office

Muhaka’s water supply & taxi service



Makongeni

TEXT

Last Day at School

Community Water Pump in the village



Health Centre


Rafiki Health Centre

PHARMACY

PATIENTLY WAITING.

DONATION OF KNITTED TOYS TO CLINIC

house built by community for single mum



Entertained by local Masai



Colours of Kenya



1st day of work at Makongeni

ERECTING THE TENT

CHECKING THE MEDICATION

our first view of what was to come!

DISTRIBUTING TOOTHBRUSHES WHICH WE RAN OUT OF

Waiting for the clients

A VERY HOT DAY

Collecting Water for Jigger Treatment

The queues on day 2

queues did not diminish during our stay

WELCOMING CROWDS OF CHILDREN

These Villagers had nothing but

would share anything

PATIENTLY WAITING•We were greeted with cheers and smiles everywhere our Army truck went. Even in the supermarket where we bought every pair of flip flops in the place!



they even waited in the rain



a patient arriving & her taxi to a clinic

Local Taxi© 2011 jenni alexander

© Caroline Fernandez 2011

Arrival at Magaoni


Magaoni before the crowds


Getting ready at Magaoni

JIGGERS TEAM

DISPENSING TEAM



checking for snakes & scorpians!


OUR WATER CARRIERS (NO MALES!)



Registration

Worming

1ST JOB OF EACH DAY WAS TO WORM ALL CHILDREN AND THOSE ADULTS WHO NEEDED IT.


LINING UP IN ORDERLY QUEUES FOR THEIR TABLET

JiggeringThe Chigoe flea is a parasitic arthropod which burrow into exposed skin

Jiggers fleas may be tiny, but don’t be fooled by the size – once they burrow into children’s feet, they wreak huge consequences. Left untreated, they cause pus-filled sores, itchiness, disabling pain, inflammation, ulceration, gangrene, sepsis, auto-amputation, even typhoid and death. The good news is the cost of treatment is also minute – a measly £1 a foot.

NOT ONLY HANDS & FEET GET

AFFECTED. BREAST FEEDING

MUMS GET THEM

FROM THEIR CHILDREN

CRAWLING AROUND IN THE DIRT.

STAGE 1 OF TREATMENT IS WASHING IN CLEAN WATER WITH SOAP.

STAGE 2. SOAK IN POTASSIUM

PERMANGANATE

Soaking

© 2011 jennialexander

©jennialexander 2011

© 2011 jennialexander

EDUCATING THE KIDS TO DO IT THEMSELVES

STAGE 3. APPLYING HAND LOTION OR CREAM

TO THE FEET OR HANDS

NOT ONLY ARE CHILDREN AFFECTED

prevention & education

TAKING HOME SOME POTASSIUM PERMANGANATE

TO CONTINUE TREATMENT AT HOME.

SPRINKLING THE CRYSTALS AROUND THE

HOMES ALSO APPEARS TO BE SUCCESSFUL

CONSULTING

DR RAFIKI AND PATIENT

KENYA GAPPERS ,INTERPRETER & ONLOOKERS AT A CONSULT

CHAOS AT THE CONSULTING DESK

SEVERAL PROBLEMS

DOES SHE HAVE A FEVER?

LARGE CROWDS PATIENTLY WAITING

GIRL PROBLEMS & THEIR SUPPORT

GROUP

PETER WHO WANTS TO BE A

NURSE,INTERPRETING WHILST KAREN RUDD

PRESCRIBES AND KAREN GOODWIN

RECORDS

PERPEPTUA ASCERTAINS IF CHILD HAS A FEVER

WHICH MAY BE MALARIA

No confidential requirements here

Some of the conditions

Fungal Scalp Infection Filariasis

© 2011 jenni alexander © 2011 jenni alexander


A welcome break

Dispensing

AFTER THE CONSULT, PATIENTS CAME TO THE DISPENSARY

WITH THEIR PRESCRIPTION

© Caroline Fernandez 2011

DISPENSING A PRESCRIPTION

Chaos for the Dispensors


Entertainment Officer

©2011 jennialexander

packing up

pre school at Makongeni



porridge cooking


Cups were colour coded, red for girls & blue for boys

MAMMA PORRIDGE

This was the only meal some of these children had for the day & some had to stay all day until their older siblings had finished their

day at school to take them home



Recreation

4 heavenly hours on Diani Beach

Lunch at the 40 Thieves

football match between 2 local teams

NOT ALL HAD SHOES



For our Entertainment & their enjoyment

Elephant Sanctuary

A break from our 11 hour Days

Stuck in The Mud


The Group

A Safari to Tsavo


Camps International Tsavo

FAMILY ACCOMMODATION


africa



Makongeni Mangrove Initiative

Camps began working with the Baraka Conservation group in 2009. The intention was to help conserve the natural environment and to generate income for the local families. In doing so, it could also help to educate the locals on conservation (as opposed to exploitation) of the natural environment and of new ways to earn income.

Camps supports the local Women’s Project in the Mangroves both in terms of the boardwalk, planting mangroves and the fish ponds. The fish ponds provide a regular income for the women. Camps supports them in the establishment and maintenance of the ponds. It is intended to further develop the fish ponds for income and also to develop the board walk as a tourist attraction. In addition, long-term they also want to develop other tourist attractions. The involvement of the volunteers in this project helps to reinforce the connection with the local community.

BAKARI’S LOCAL CINEMA

Text

Bakari is the oldest of his family, with 2 brothers . His father was originally from Rwanda and died a number of years ago. They live with their mother and grandfather. His mother earns income by selling food, cakes, potatoes etc. Bakari and his brother Salim are now attempting to develop their small farm to make more income. He has also developed the cinema


Our Fundraising Achievements

Tank & Roof at Muhaka Dispensery

Before & After

Plan for greywater at Camp Muhaka

This year alone in Kenya we have been very fortunate to receive additional donations that have allowed us to completely overhaul the water catchment system at Muhaka DispensaryI can’t thank the 2011 Nurse Team (a.k.a. Kenya Gappers) who raised approximately £2500 which was enough funds to change all the roofs at the dispensary, paint them with a special protective paint, put in new gutters, and put in two new tanks at the dispensary. The Dispensary now has over 15000 litres of water storage facilities.

Thank you.Any Questions

©2011 jennialexander

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Kenya Gappers Healthcare Outreach ... - Practice Nursing · week Gap Year Nursing experience in Rural Kenya? She had 50 replies in 30 ... even typhoid and death. ... Plan for greywater