It feels like a lifetime ago that we landed in Nairobi! But a lifetime in a good way--like, "I've learned and experienced so much that I can't believe it's only been a week and a half!"
Not, "This trip is dragging on. Can I go home now?"
floor, and café on the bottom floor. In Kenya, widows are often left with everything taken away from them after their husband dies, so this ministry is so needed. We were honored to meet the Kenyan woman who is leading the ministry and to hear about the exciting things to come!The medical camp served over 500 people in one day, and was not even advertised except by word of mouth! It provided each person with an appointment with a doctor as well as a prescription and a course of medications for whatever problem they were having. WorldCOMP has a number of medical camps throughout the year, and their aim is to bring medical care to people who cannot afford it on their own. It was amazing to be a part of bringing care to so many people. It was a blessing to work with the large team of Kenyan doctors and nurses who serve with WorldCOMP. Our role was to get vital signs and a brief history with the patient before they went to see the doctor. We also had the opportunity to pray with each patient. It was precious and beautiful to get to connect with them in this way. One wonderful aspect of Kenya is that Christianity is very ingrained in the culture, and we don't have to worry about the types of regulations we have in the US about praying with patients or talking about Jesus. Our faith in Jesus allowed us to connect with the Kenyan people, even when the language barrier was present.
We spent our next day in Kakamega conducting a smaller medical camp at a boys prison and then visiting a deaf school. The boys at the prison were very excited to have visitors, especially female ones :) We had a similar role as in the other medical camp. We took vitals and a brief history before the boys went to see the doctor. 100 of the 300 boys at the prison came to be seen for medical care. We also had a tour of the prison, which was very interesting. The boys have the opportunity to go to school and learn skills such as agriculture or carpentry while they are in prison. This gives them hope of a job and income when they are released. Boys who decide to continue with school get to stay in nicer living areas, as an incentive! A group of the boys (in the picture with us above) generously washed our van. We had never seen the van so clean and white!The boys really need positive male role models in their lives. Many of them grew up without fathers or even without families. A few years ago, the prison was in a terrible condition. The boys there were sick and not well fed and they did not have any jobs to fill their time. Dr. George (a Kenyan doctor working with WorldCOMP) visited the prison after he was robbed by some boys who had been taken there. When he saw the condition of the prison it broke his heart. He joined the board and has worked to bring improvements to the prison. It was amazing to see how much better the conditions have become for the boys just because one person took a special interest in changing their situation. Now many of the boys have asked Jesus into their hearts and hopefully many will continue to go to church when they are released, because Christian community will do a lot to help keep them on track.
After leaving the prison we visited a school for the deaf in Kakamega. The 68 children there were so very excited to have people come to visit! Though we couldn't speak with them, we could communicate through sign language and actions. One of my team members Allyson brought fruit gummies and Valentines Day tattoos to give to children in Kenya, and this was the perfect opportunity to use them! We gave each child some gummies and spent time to put a temporary tattoo on each child's hand. They LOVED them!!
It was truly heartbreaking to hear the story of the deaf children. Their school is meant to be funded by the government, but the last time they tried to collect their allotment of money, the money had been used for another purpose because of the corruption in the government. The school now has no money for food and is depending completely on donations. Knowing this, we brought sugar, beans, bread, and cooking fat for the school. When we brought the food the next day, we gave each child a slice of bread as a token of our gift to the school. They lined up eagerly for their slice of bread, and our hearts broke again to think of how little they have that they would be so excited to receive just a slice of bread. We also brought balls and jump ropes for the children to play with, because we noticed they only had one or two jump ropes for all of them. Their eyes lit up as we passed out the toys, and we got to spend the next 20 minutes playing with them. It was a joyful and carefree time for the children. It was very sad to leave them, and I wish we could meet more of the needs of the school. Please keep these precious children in your prayers, that God will continue to provide them with the food and supplies they need.
On Sunday we attended church in Kakamega, and it was a lively and joyful service. The highlight for me was the energetic worship songs, and especially the song that got people so excited that they picked up their chairs over their heads and marched around the church. The joy of the Lord that these people have is truly infectious. I know that God loves to see His people so full of hope and joy in His presence that they cannot contain themselves.
Pastor Richard from WorldCOMP was visiting the church with us, and he gave a convicting message about discipline at the service. It had a great affect on everyone at the church.
After church we had a lunch together and then we took the food to the deaf school. We took the rest of the evening to rest.
On Monday we made the long drive back to Nairobi. On Tuesday we had our first official day working at the Kenyatta National Hospital. It is a HUGE hospital with 2000 beds (For perspective, Seattle Children's has about 320) but it is still overwhelmed by the need of the people of Kenya. Kenyatta is the largest public hospital in Kenya, and as a public hospital its services are much more affordable. Most Kenyan's cannot afford the expensive care of the private hospitals, making Kenyatta extremely crowded and busy. I spent my first two days in the Emergency Department and at times I felt overwhelmed by the situation. When you walk into the Kenyatta ED, the smell is probably the first thing that hits you. It is a smell of blood, infection, and crowded bodies and it was hard for me to take at first. As I spent my two days there, I saw that they have a pretty good system for getting patients taken care of, but the sheer number of patients and lack of resources makes it very challenging to give timely and effective care. Not to mention that there are a high number of inexperienced students who are left alone to run things. All students are supposed to be supervised by an experienced nurse, but they are often left unattended. It even happened to me! I was working in an area where patients come to have their vitals and history taken and triaged, then sent to the right place. At first I was just observing and helping under a nurse's supervision, but then the nurse kept disappearing and I was left in charge of this system I had just learned! The language barrier certainly didn't help me either! I did not feel comfortable with the situation, and soon left to find someone else to take over, but I realized how much this kind of situation could slow down the system. Anyways, I learned a lot in the ED, and I met a lot of great nurses and doctors who are doing the best with what they have! We have so many resources in our hospitals in the US, but in Kenya they do not have the same amount of medical equipment and supplies. They give the patient's the care they need with what they have. Many of the patients cannot even afford to pay for the services they need, which is very sad to see.
Next week I will be in the Labor and Delivery ward at Kenyatta, where apparently the nurses do all the deliveries! Definitely different from how we do it in the US! I'm sure I will learn a ton, and maybe even help deliver some babies.
Thanks for reading my long blog! There was a lot to cover!
Please continue to pray for God's guidance for our team. Pray for health for us as we work in a new environment! Pray for us to continue to find more and more opportunities to serve the people of Kenya!
Sincerely and thoughtfully,
Christa Layne McMurray
Thanks so much for sharing this priceless literary treasure of your Kenyan experiences. Praying for you, with love!
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