Medical Camp by the Numbers

Jane, Margaret and Peris have gathered some of the basic data from our Medical Camp day, and here are some of the significant numbers...

The number of Cura community members who participated in our Medical Clinic day...
Actually, it's OVER this number, AND this doesn't include the 50 of our children at the Home!

The number of male patients screened for prostate cancer.

The number of female patients screen for breast and cervical cancers.

The number of patients screened for HIV. Of that number, two patients screened positive and were referred to the appropriate government clinic for further treatment and information.

The number of patients screened for diabetes.

At least 100 people, including our 50 children, were also screened for hearing, vision and ENT issues. One of the girls in our Home has significant hearing loss, as it turns out, and is now pursuing treatment. As Jane recently pointed out, all of these services are expensive enough for the local community that almost none of them would have had either testing or treatment had we not collaborated on this important event. 

THANK YOU to those who gave their time, talent and resources in support of this successful day!

Mondays are for Books

Thanks to generous donors in the US and Canada -- and most especially thanks to Afretech, who provided shipping -- Cura Secondary School just received new library books!

Quick Sunday Visit -- with socks

More socks from One World Chorus and the Rox and Sox event in Portland? YES, please! 

Also, let's dance! It's what Sundays are for. 

Happy Mother's Day from Cura!

Cura Clinic and Valley ENT --- Best Medical Camp partners, ever!

The Grace Wanjiku Mweru Cancer Foundation, Valley ENT and ACK Cura Clinic partnered yesterday for an event that exceeded our expectations in every way. Our volunteers were on-point, the community turned out in droves, and even Citizen TV made an appearance. The event was possible because of fund-raising done by Leah (see previous blog post!) back home in Louisiana -- I was thrilled that she could be here to help with the preparations and even conduct some of the testing along side her Cura counterparts. 

John, Stephen, Leah, Gilbert and Duncan -- with the banner announcing our event.
Many thanks to Roselyne from Valley ENT for providing our signage!

Emily with the Grace Wanjiku Mweru Cancer Foundation, woman-ing a table of educational materials. Cura community members were screened for breast, cervical and prostate cancers, and were welcome to take informational flyers. Many thanks for the Foundation for providing qualified personnel to do these crucial screenings!

I was working all day, so didn't have a lot of time for photos... but this is one from early in the day. Once the tents were up at about 8:30, there was already a queue and the Clinic waiting room was full. Many thanks to all the volunteers who got the word out in advance of our event!

Special thanks to Roselyne, who found us a couple of years ago and has kept up such great energy for volunteering with us. She rallied her Valley ENT team, brought equipment and supplies, and tirelessly conducted hearing testing all day. Here's Henry, her first Cura Rotary Home patient of the day!

Leah woman-ed the blood pressure testing area -- and once the adult crowds abated, Joyce and Minne came in for their own assessments.

Citizen TV came out to capture images of our event -- here's Moses, the Home Manager, doing his interview for the press. Thanks, again, to Roselyne for making the arrangements for the media presence!

Here's our team after a 10-hour work day -- having served hundreds of people and still smiling!

Yeah yeah, work. But also fun.

We had lots of work to do today to finalize the upcoming Medical Camp and organize for the lab maintenance... but we also had lots of fun!

Car ride!

Coloring!

Blowing bubbles!

Hair-stylin'!

Gratitude Art

Leah worked at the Clinic again today, and I worked with the teachers at Cura's Primary and Secondary schools to prepare them for completing scholarship applications on behalf of their students. We had a little time, though, for a  lunch time art project -- and the kids made thank you drawings for their sponsors!

Lunchtime Shenanigans

I stayed in Nairobi today, meeting with three different potential non-profit partners and picking up scholarship applications from Kenya Education Fund -- but lucky Leah got to spend the day in Cura, shadowing the activity at the Clinic and hanging around the Home! We'll both be back in Cura all day tomorrow -- and Friday, too -- as we finalize plans for Saturday's big event!

Un-Glamorous Tuesday

Everyone's back in school in Cura now -- teachers and students are hard at work, and I'm trying to stay out of their way. I'm still peeking in windows, though, and feeling thankful that I'm not in charge of washing the lunch dishes! In fact, we were treated to a lovely lunch at the home of Moses and his wife -- and we even outran the downpour mid-day. Life is good!

Volunteer Leah was a great sport today, as the Clinic staff and I labored over each line of the budget for this weekend's Medical Camp. We've got a wonderful team member in Roselyne, who's bringing her colleagues from Valley ENT (Nairobi) as part of their social responsibility program -- and civic-minded members of the Cura community have signed up to help the event run smoothly. Watch for more photos this weekend!

Monday Scenes

The word is out that our Clinic will host a medical camp (Health Day) next Saturday... signs like these lined the road on the way up to Cura today!

We ran into Grace along the road, too, which is always a pleasure...

and this sign awaited us when we arrived. The greeting was from the children and for each other, of course -- they are excited to be reunited after their holiday break!

Saturday at the Clinic

Volunteer Leah has arrived with a bag full of useful donations for Cura Clinic -- with help from Dr. Sophie Omoro in Louisiana. Jane, Perris and Margaret helped unpacked the bags and sort the new inventory! We are grateful for the donation!

Prior to going through the stack of swabs and syringes, we had a meeting to prepare for next week's Community Health Clinic, which will include screenings for HIV, diabetes, and breast and prostate cancer, as well as ENT, vision and hearing assessments. Lots to plan -- the word will start to spread after tomorrow's event announcement at church! 

Friday

Cura is quiet when the children are on holiday...

But the teachers at both the Primary and Secondary schools are busy with preparations!