Cura Clinic and GlobalFest SnoCo

I was honored to be invited to speak at the GlobalFest SnoCo -- an event that highlighted the work of local non-profits in the healthcare and development arena -- this last Friday. Here is an excerpt from my talk, celebrating the work of these amazing women -- Margaret, Perris and Jane -- who run Cura's Clinic:

Our work caring for orphans isn’t exactly a public health project, but it is tied to a larger philosophical question about what creates long term health for both an individual and her community, of course.  And that broader definition of health is actually what we’re after.

Of course, we knew right from the beginning that medical care would be a key part of our community health project. So, at the same time as we were building the Home, we constructed a basic medical clinic only steps away. This facility is small and under-supplied, but it’s local and inexpensive and an enormous step up from the options local villagers had prior to its construction.

In 2007, donations from the US paid the salary and the room and board of a full-time nurse, but the Clinic quickly became economically self-sustaining because of the constant flow of men, women and children who were eager to utilize this local facility for their basic health care needs. Now, the Clinic employs not only the nurse, but also a lab technician and an office manager, all women who are deeply committed to the health and health education of the community in which they live and work.

During my last visit to Cura, I had a long set of interviews with Jane, Margaret and Perris, the women who provide the services that save patients the time and expense of traveling to Nairobi to access basic care – and charge very little to do so.

They told me that, at the current exchange rate, a pregnancy test, for example, costs patients $1.18, and an HIV test costs $1.76.  The Clinic is in demand for these and other tests and treatments, like for malaria and for typhoid, diseases that are still pervasive in the rural Cura area.

Noting that prevention is really the best medicine, the staff also provides immunizations for local children and families. Over the last several years, these three women have mobilized immunization efforts for diptheria, measles, yellow fever, pertussis, Hepatitis B and more.

Of course, they also are called upon to do basic first aid care and triage for referrals to farther-flung facilities, when necessary. They offer basic pre-natal care, but they also provide referrals to qualified midwives and physicians, so local women get the pregnancy, childbirth and lactation support they need.

For anywhere between $300 and $500 per event, the Clinic can also host workshops to teach the community about health-related issues. They recently held a program, for example, on the glamorous topic of hand-washing and the prevention of intestinal worms. 800 local school children got to practice good hygiene and get soaps and sanitizers to take home – and they even got a healthy snack mid-afternoon! These programs have enormous impact and are inexpensive by Western standards, but even a couple hundred dollars is often prohibitive.

And free soaps and the like are often only available if they come in as donations from well-wishers in Nairobi and beyond. Though I can’t bring proper medical supplies or treatments in my own luggage, I’ve personally carried things like sanitary pads, soap and sanitizer when I travel – and I’ve lugged hundreds of toothbrushes, toothpaste and dental floss, donated by my own dentist.

These donations of items and funds to support the work of the Clinic are relatively few and far between, but the three women who work there make the most of everything that comes their way. We are immensely proud of the work the Clinic staff does to keep the Cura community healthy, while also recognizing that they are working within frustrating limitations.