Urgent Medical Saves and Changes Lives in Kenya

Getting His Life Back on Track!

Charles is getting his life back on track, and it’s your support to our Urgent Medical Program that helps make it all possible.

Thank You!

With your support, we continued to provide urgent medical care to both adults and children suffering with common illnesses found in most third world countries – malaria, typhoid, respiratory illnesses. There were hospital visits and hospital stays.

We are thankful they received the help needed, but we are most excited about seeing Charles take the next step to getting his life back on track!

It was just over a year ago we met Charles. His condition was worsening and he had no money for the surgeries needed to remove the disfigurement from his face. He was no longer able to work and provide for his family. People were afraid of him because of how he looked so no one would hire him. They had no money, no food.
Olalo stepped in to help.

We are now coming up on the first anniversary of surgery #1 and getting ready for surgery #2 in just a few days.

It’s been a long road. Literally!

The ride on hot, crowded busses to Nairobi for the surgery is a long 7-8 hours. The roads alternate between paved areas for smooth sailing and areas filled with pot holes and what seem like mile-high speed bumps to slow you down. His journey back home is the same...in reverse.

Following surgery #1, an infection in the stitches flared up and Charles had to take that same long bus ride back to Nairobi for treatment, and then home again.

The entire process was a very stressful ordeal and Charles was disappointed in the outcome of surgery. He had expected more improvement than there was.

When we saw Charles back in April, we noticed a very big improvement and saw the difference that surgery had made. Before surgery, his eye was covered; following surgery, his eye was again visible and much of the disfigurement gone, but there is still much to be done.

Following a series of set backs and delays, Charles is now getting ready to travel once again to Nairobi for surgery #2 and a visit with the dentist. We know he is anxious for the outcome of it all, but as you can imagine not too excited and very stressed about the entire process and the long road back there and home again.

There is a strong possibility surgery #3 will be needed, but for now we are focused on #2 and its outcome. While he is away in Nairobi, Olalo will provide food for his family so he has one less thing to worry about.

Please remember to keep Charles and his family in your thoughts and in your prayers!

Thank you all for the support you give to our Urgent Medical Care fund. It is You that changes and impacts lives and gives hope to those without hope. We cannot thank you enough!

Merry Broughal
Olalo of Hope-Kenya

This spring we spent a month in Oyugis, Kenya working alongside our Olalo volunteers. Experiencing the everyday activities of our medical program and our other projects gave us a better understanding of how lives are being impacted through Olalo.

These lives are impacted and being changed because of YOU and your support for our programs. For that we Thank You! Thank You!

We originally planned to tour one of the hospitals we regularly use in Oyugis, but we came down with a severe respiratory illness which dragged on for a few weeks. Not wanting to spread our virus to others, or pick up anyone else’s in our vulnerable condition, we didn’t tour.

However, husband Peter did get to experience first hand the whole hospital experience as an outpatient. Doctor evaluation, bloodwork, lab and hospital fees, plus a bag full of antibiotics, cough syrups, cough drops and variety of other medicines ran us a total of about $36 US.

I can’t say we were excited to experience the whole hospital scenario in person, but that visit emphasized why our medical program gets us so excited… it only takes a little, that goes a long way, to help so many! That’s amazing!

Without our urgent medical program and your generous support, many people who need help would be left untreated leading to chronic illness or even death.

During our visit, malaria and typhoid cases were the most common. Several people heard we were in Oyugis and came to us seeking medical help for surgeries or medications. Others would see us through the open doors of the Olalo office and come in to see if we could help with their medical needs.

An elderly Luo woman came to where we were staying several times to ask for help with the pain medication she could no longer afford for a chronic illness she was suffering from.  Each time she came, everyone in the household who could speak the language was out working. At the time we didn't know what her need was although we could see she was in distress. Finally, after a few days, she connected with one of our local volunteers and we were able to purchase the needed pain medications.

People previously helped by Olalo (and some we are still helping), came by to see us. One dear woman came to thank us again three years after Olalo paid for her treatment at the hospital. She brought us a live chicken as a thank you… an extremely valuable gift considering her life circumstances.

It is very humbling to meet the people who received help from Olalo, and to accept their heartfelt thanks and gratitude, knowing many of them might not be here today if they hadn’t received urgent medical care. I wish you could meet them all and hear their stories.

Just remember…. None of this is possible without you, our dear donors! We cannot thank you enough for being part of our Olalo family and graciously giving Olalo the financial means to impact and save so many lives.

Each and every one of you is changing a life 10,000 miles away…people you don’t even know!

That makes YOU INCREDIBLE and all of us at Olalo of Hope-Kenya Thank You!

Merry Broughal
Olalo of Hope-Kenyal