Remote Access, Part Mbili (Two)

The medical team completed our second remote clinic of the trip yesterday.  Three teams in one: the mzungu's from Chapel Hill Bible Church, a group of young, medically inclined members of Mavuno Downtown, and the capable team from Beacon of Hope. 

We pulled into Sultan Hamud (here it is on Google Maps) around 4pm. The church we used for this camp was considerably larger than the first, and it was flanked by two mosques that blared slightly off pitch sing songy calls to worship as if they were competing with one another. The barracks we slept in that night, although covered in cobwebs and a little grimy, felt like a Hilton compared with our previous accommodations. At least this one had twin beds with firm mattresses on which we snuggled into our sleeping bags. Rows of mosquito nets were strung up using twine tossed over the rafters.

Around 6pm we turned our attention to transforming the church into a mini clinic. This one came together much faster than our first. We were now relative pros at making 14 exam rooms out of string, bed sheets, and clothes pins. Meanwhile, one of the church members serenaded our efforts with some Kenyan gospel music played through the church's Casio keyboard. Other members of the team turned a one room schoolhouse into our small pharmacy. 

The church clinic from beginning to end. The 3rd photo is while the clinic was in full swing.

After another home cooked meal by the church staff and a team meeting we turned down for the night. Everyone crawled into our beds except Brandon and Noah Wyche who strung their camping hammocks in the rafters and slept alongside the bats. 

The mosques began competing for our attention again around 4am. By about 6am, there were already patients lining up and the clinic didn't start until 8am. We hurriedly brushed our teeth, ate a quick breakfast of fried eggs and triple decker margarine sandwiches, organized the pharmacy, and opened the clinic for business. 

With the aid of several Kenyan doctors and medical officers, excellent volunteers, lab techs, interpreters, pharmacists, and one very tired clown we saw over 500 patients! Despite that volume everything ran smoothly with no major bottlenecks at any point. 

After we packed up the clinic at the end of the day there was a large group of local children hanging around. Since we had some extra candy and stickers we figured they would enjoy them. Little did we know it would start a near riot as the kids scrambled over top one another to get ahold of as many of the goodies as they could. Laura went into stern teacher mode and snapped the kids into a line to hand things out in a more orderly fashion. 

One of the many things Beacon of Hope does well is to identify a major medical need in the population they treat at these camps and then press the government to address this need in that community. We identified several cases of newly diagnosed or poorly controlled diabetes, and Beacon plans to work with the district government and Minister of Health to bring specialists regularly to Sultan Hamud for treatment and screening for this disease. 

It was a blessing to be a part of the Beacon organization for a short time. What a great trip!

And just in case you're keeping score, no zebras were hit on this trip although we did see several herds of giraffes just off the highway.