Integrated Mobile Health Clinics: CHAT

Jambo.

We hope this report finds everyone well. I have been reading through some field accounts from a recent volunteer named, Geeta who has written some wonderful, accurate accounts of life on the road with the mobile clinic. The way in which this account is written illustrates just how active, but more importantly, how flexible the team is, how hard they work, and how they are out there, getting the job done. Pictures she refers to, you will see at the end of the article.

Enjoy the read, and thank you again for your generous donations.

~ The Team at CHAT

What an adventure – what amazing work I am seeing and participating in. I returned day before yesterday from 10 days out in the field, camping first at a campsite on a large mzungu (white) ranch, then at the district Health Office.
Here are a few images of our days with mainly the Samburu, Turkana, and Kikuyu people, A woman brings a newborn for a first check. She forms a bond with the team for family planning at the next visit.

We helped   29 women in the slums with family planning –  in a day.  These are “street girls” examining our mobilizer Violet’s implant.

We go out over bad roads and across fields.

We are setting up under trees, in the bush and by rivers.

We are using churches.

Patients waiting outside a vacant workers cottage. We used the inside.  

A Kikuyu former Coca Cola secretary, came back to the land to be a farmer.  She speaks perfect English and translated for me.

We are using the back of the truck at the district health offices where we are camping.

We used a nursery school in Samburu village.  From 8-12AM 60 2-4 year olds study in the government built school. The Samburu villagers pay the teacher.

We went to district health substations augmenting their staffing, seeing Somali and Kikuyu women, who finally said, enough.

We placed condoms in guard stations and gave to people asking for them to share with their friends and neighbors.

Peter, our driver, who knows every road and short-cut across the fields and greets many as friends, as we wait at a production farm for the workers to finish.

At the end of the day, back to camp through glorious sunsets.  Peter and Anna enjoyed my Indian cooking or I experienced their ugali (a large cornmeal cake) and ghideri (soaked dried corn and beans).