We are making significant progress in 2023 on developing community-based healthcare volunteer programs. Medic Outpost started its Kajaido Maasai land project at the end of 2022, and we have now completed the initial training for the Community Health Volunteers (CHV). Training will continue with a total of six-monthly trainings in the Kajaido service area. I am hoping to raise funds to finish this training, which will include first aid kits and a complete diagnostic program.
Kenya The Kenya projects will be a focus for Medic Outpost for the rest of the year. Our goal is to finish our CHV training by the end of the year and test this concept. If we get positive results, we would like to use this model in other places. We have treated over 240 Maasai people in our medical camps, and the 10 CHVs will be responsible for the village follow-ups. They will be trained and provided with equipment, and the rural clinic will supervise their work. The Africa Team has also treated more than 16,000 children for intestinal worms in Nairobi.Medic Outpost will be taking a group of volunteers to Kenya from November 5th to 15th, 2023. Currently, we have 5 nurses committed and are hoping to find 3 more to go with us. The cost is $3800.00 USD, all-inclusive except for airfare. There will be 4 days of hands-on work in the Maasai land and activities in Nairobi. We have planned a two-day safari in the Maasai Mara after the medical camps. Please spread the word on this. 8 would be a good group for our first attempt at this. I have built in a donation which is tax deductible
Maasailands, Kajiado District, Kenya
Often there was no visible signs of a road in the hard packed red soil of the Kajiado District. No tracks or ruts were visible to me in this drought impacted semi-desert landscape. Only our colleague and friend Moshack, who lives the village could navigate this maze of scrub and stream wash outs. We were heading to Olosinya. Olosinya is a small cluster of villages in the middle of Nyiri Desert of Southern Kenya. There is about a 1000 or so Maasai that claw out a meager existence from by raising cattle and goats. The region had no significant rainfall in over two years. The drought has taken a toll on the wildlife which include giraffe, gazelle, ostrich and elephant. Many of the Maasai’s prized cattle have also died from the lack of water and vegetation. The Maasai are grazers and do very little farming even in the wet times. This only compounds their plight in a long dry stretch. Maasai will often graze their cattle for many miles to try and find enough for them to eat. Women and children are usually left in the Manyattas or the mud huts. Manyatta are usually surrounded by piles of thorn bushes that form a fence and protection from the predators. Cattle are a form of currency in this land and are not eaten. Goats are the main high protein staple for the Maasai. This is supplemented with some rice and corn meal provided in trade or with aid agency support. It is not a life for the fainthearted.
The Medic Outpost mission is to begin an outreach program in the bush for these people. The goal at Medic Outpost is to develop healthcare capacity within the remote and isolated communities. We have been very successful in training local people how to treat life threatening emergencies and identify illness within the community when they are miles for any medical care. Many of these people have to walk over 10 miles to the clinic that has few resources. You can imagine the hardship of carrying a grandmother or a child that far. Olosinya is our first stop on our quest to help the Maasai take care of themselves. They have a clinic that services the outlying villages in the 150 square mile area. Kwa is the clinical officer at the lkelonyeti clinic. His training is similar to a nurse practitioner in the US. Unfortunately, the clinic has few resources and very little medication. Medication is needed that is specific the chronic healthcare needs of these people. During our three days working in the Kajiado, we identified serious chronic health issues from Hypertension and diabetes to malnutrition and infection. There is a traditional belief that these chronic health problems do not exist with these people. Due to this misguided belief, these conditions are not tested for in the community. It is an important task for Medic Outpost to bring these conditions to light. Mr. Wengine grew up in the area and speaks the Maasai dialect Maa. This is language skill is essential to develop healthcare for these people and presents another challenge for our Outpost team. Medication is needed along with other equipment for the clinic. Medic Outpost also identified a need for midwife training and supplies. This will prove a challenge for us since the midwives in the area are very traditional. Fortunately, we have experience in Latin America with a similar situation.
These people are very proud and giving. The local church is the center of the community and were very supportive of our work. We hope to expand our operations in the Kajiado district in 2023 and provide more support and capacity building using the Community Health Volunteers. Sarah and I will be returning in the early Spring to develop our programs. If you would like to find out more about this program or be a part of it as a volunteer or sponsor, please contact Larry Hill at larry.hill@medicoutpost.org.
Afya Kid's Africa
The Medic Outpost Africa Team has done a fantastic job this year. Our dedicated group of folks are trying to focus on the largest of the public School in the slums outside of Nairobi. Their focus in now in the Korogocho slum area on the Northwest side of Nairobi. This area has a higher number of low resource public schools. These schools are very poor and can have as many at 3500 students in them with class sizes often over 75 students. The team consists of up to 8 members with our team covering medical treatment, training on first aid, and hygiene. It is a very difficult and challenging project and I am so proud of our team there.
Medic Outpost is in the process of registering as a nongovernmental organization in Kenya. This registration will allow the organization to be eligible for more funding opportunities in the future. If you are interested in being involved as a board member for our Kenya operations then please let me know.
Please help us buy medications for these children. We need
12,000 doses to reach our goal.
Links:
Grettings all,
I will be heading to Africa in a few days to begin our training programs for healthcare workers and school staff. We are partnering with the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Education to provide instestinal parasite treatment, eye exams, first aid for children, and preventative health education in primary schools. Medic Outpost will also be donating medical kits and first aid kits to schools in the Nairobi Slums. Our goal is to treat and train at least 4 schools a month and then expand the program using our trained Community Health Workers. I will sending out our newsletter while in Africa, "Dispatches from the Field", and short reports on how we are doing. Please stay tuned for those. Thank you all for your help and support.
All the Best,
Larry Hill
Director
Medic Outpost
Links:
Medic Outpost programs have been a tremendous success in the Marurui Slums of Nairobi. Together with our partners Rebuild Hope, Nadhari Community Clinic, and the Ministry of Health we have provided over 6000 treatments for intestinal parasites in multiple schools. The dose has an age range of 1 year to adult and will treat the worms for a year. Intestinal parasites cause poor physical development, mental development issues, and make it very difficult for children to concentrate and focus in school. This is a huge problem in poor areas in Africa and we are going to continue the fight as soon as the children get back from their Spring break. Our goal is to find funding for more medications and to add vitamins to our treatment regime as well. I will be returning to Africa soon to conduct community healthcare worker training in these communities. This training will extend our reach and provide valuable resources and follow up. Training locals in the poorest areas is the corner stone to our sustainability plan for Africa. Please consider helping us provide medications and training to these wonderful people. I will be providing more information on this as we move through the year.
Project reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.
If you donate to this project or have donated to this project, you can recieve an email when this project posts a report. You can also subscribe for reports without donating.
