Why funding was cut.

I have the answer! TCHD gets some funding from Samaritan’s Purse, and that wasn’t cut. The main sponsor, the German based institution- EED, is in the process of refocusing their attention. Here’s what they say.

“Africa is currently in a state of radical change and transformation…Civil society institutions cannot not replace functioning government structures, However, they can be effective motors of innovation and mobilization of self help potential and thereby contributing to establishing public institutions and facilities. Therefore, EED focuses its efforts on establishing and strengthening civil society institutions, especially those involved in the provision of and lobbying for basic social services, and promoting democracy and human rights.”

That last part is the key, although it does not really begin to explain their switch. In the past, EED provided money for immunizations, subsidized mosquito nets and water filters, etc. (just read back). They are no longer providing money for “primary” care. Instead, they will provide money for CHD to go into a community to educate and equip the people to demand these things from the government. It’s a really good idea and long over due. I have no problems with it. These are things (HIV/AIDS awareness, food security, immunizations, clean water) the government is responsible for and has neglected in the past. If organizations continue to just dump aid on countries, governments have no problem sitting back and doing nothing and stealing money. Their new way is a much more (to use the hip word) “sustainable” way of providing continuous help.

So what’s the problem? They aren’t providing any assistance in the transition from primary care to their new plan of attack. They are going cold turkey with one, to start up a new one. Leaving many, especially CHD hanging. CHD is more than willing to include an “equipping people to demand their rights” or some sort of “government focused” department, but CHD can not stop (immunizing kids, providing HIV testing and awareness, etc.) in the process!! Also, in Kenya specifically and some other countries, there is no stable government to demand these things from.

It begs the age old question, do you help some people immediately or focus on the bigger picture, not help as many people now, but change things long-term. Isn’t there some way to do both? Help the people dying now or prevent people from dying with immunizations, and challenge and encourage the government to get involved? I believe there’s a way even if I haven’t figured it out yet.

In Kenya right now, it’s more complicated than that. In a lot of the regions TCHD operates in, there is no government present. It’s not even that it’s not stable, these places don’t exist on any maps. There is no government official elected to make sure the people are represented, and many tribes are slow to trust people. CHD goes into these rural tribes to provide invaluable services to the community, and it can’t just stop! The results have been outstanding. For example, with measles, the hospital used to see more than 500 cases a year, soon after CHD started going and giving immunizations, the number of cases was reduced to less than 20 a year. This is true for all diseases. Even the percentage of people testing positive for HIV/AIDS has decreased.

As John Wright, the CEO of Tenwek said over lunch, “This fund raising stuff would be very interesting to study academically, if there weren’t real people, right now, dying. If there weren’t real diseases that will kill kids.” To give you numbers on average, we immunize 120,000 kids a year. This year, with no funding, the number has dropped to 60,000.

Do you want more numbers? Whooping cough, that used to kill at least 30 kids a year, (and there would be epidemics where 100’s of kids would be sleeping on benches or under beds at at time being treated for it) has practically been eliminated!!!! Now, the hospital sees one or two cases a year. With the clean water bio-sand filters, diarrheal diseases went from 1101 to 147 (and that was back in 2004).

Back to the “slow to trust” thing. Sam, at lunch, explained how among many tribes, especially the Maasai, trust has to be built up slowly. He worked here for thirteen years and spent six of them very slowly building up that trust. He’ll go in with CHD and set up a tent, and provide his medical services to patients (most of the time for free- especially for women and children. The men think of them as property, and a cow is certainly much more important than a wife or child’s life). A lot of times, “I can’t even get a bracelet for restoring a person’s eye sight. The man looks at me and shrugs ’she’s just my wife- don’t do the surgery, she’s not worth it.”

One time the WHO (World Health Organization) came in with all these as Sam describes them, “fancy trucks with fancy equipment.” And they were there to take a survey and treat a specific disease- they found hundreds of people with (a disease that is part of the gonorrhea family but is not sexually transmitted and causes the eyelashes to bend in and scar the eyes eventually causing blindness. It’s very prevalent in dry places where people can’t wash their faces.) Then, they disappeared without doing anything except writing down numbers. They returned three weeks later and could not find anyone. The WHO, without knowing it, had ruined the trust Sam had spent 6 years building up. When Sam returned, no one would have anything to do with him. It didn’t take him long to figure out why, but it’s taken years to build back up.

This is kind of a mid-day update. I have to get back to the office. We’ve gotten the go ahead to put up a “volunteer ad” (Tenwek does not usually actively recruit any volunteers) for someone who can come and write up proposals to send out to potential donors. I spent the morning writing that, and now it’s time for editing and uploading. PEACE!

Why I’m here!

Morning The airline called and they are sending my bag on to Tenwek. It should arrive in the next few days. I have enough contacts to last me. No toothbrush/toothpaste or face wash though, but I grabbed those teeth wipe cleaners from CVS that don’t require water before I left and I have ONE more to use. (And to think I almost didn’t buy them). Lizah gave me a cell phone yesterday. All the doctors/staff have cell phones- it’s not what I expected! When I figure out how to use my number and add shillings to it – I’ll let you know!

In the future, I am ALWAYS packing an extra pair of clothes in my backpack!

It’s really really beautiful here. I am staying at the guesthouse and Lizah and Carol have everything figured out to a T! As I’m walking around I can definitely see myself coming here long-term someday. It’s a good thing I have my ticket home and the South Bronx to look forward to-otherwise I’m not sure I would leave!

Today I got to spend some time in the nursery. The nursery is for babies born prematurely. There are about forty five babies on the ward. They are SO tiny and precious. Carol prep’d me before we went in, warning me for what I might see. It’s a good thing she did. (skip over details that will make you probably want to stop reading). One was about the size of my hand! Once I find out my schedule with Community Health, we are going to see if I can help out in the nursery and the Pediatrics ward.

It’s very different from the hospitals we went to in South Africa. At one in SA, the kids were all alone. Their parents visited only every few months because it cost to much to take time off from work. Some kids refused to talk or smile because of it. Here, the parents stay with their kids and care for them, and when I walked into the ward today people smiled and waved. I really hope I get to spend more time in there!

Night

I finally know why I’m here! To be honest, I came down having no clue what I’d be able to contribute- but I knew I was supposed to be here. When asked what I was going to do, I really didn’t have a good response- I knew I was working with Community Health & Development, but doing what? I mentioned making a movie to them and Jonathon (director) sent back yes, bring the camera. But that was it. So, with a very vague idea- I started telling people I was going to make a movie. Well.. Today at my meeting with Jonathon and Rubin, I found out why I was here.

The organization who has funded them in the past suddenly cut funding last year. This year, they were barely going to open. My job is to get involved in all the different parts of their center, film what they do and how people benefit, and show why they need funding. I will go home, work all summer, and try to put together something that looks professional and can be sent out to fund raise. Wow, and the coolest part… I know I can do it!! Not the getting money part- but the making a good movie. It’s been one of those days where everything just makes sense. Like, “oh, so THIS is why I (insert everything from went to RCDS, NYU, Kenya… here).” Anyway, it’s exciting!

Long day though and many stories, there is a one year old in Hospice dying from Congestive Heart Failure. From talking to Megan, a college student following the Clerical team around (counseling stuff), and Don (the little one’s doctor)- they both seemed a little frustrated (but you wouldn’t know it unless you asked). There was nothing they could do for the baby but alleviate the symptoms, and the mother is convinced surgery will help. They’ve told her many times there is nothing they can do, but she keeps bringing the baby back here. Another patient, a five year old boy with Leukemia, needs chemotherapy the hospital cannot provide. Don keeps telling the boys dad to take him to Nairobi, and the dad keeps promising him that he will, but then Don keeps finding him in the ER with nosebleeds (this is over the past few months) and the boy is dying!

Amazing day though, I met some more great people. Don and Megan who I mentioned above are the two that stick out right now, but there are so many more! This little girl is probably the cutest, most beautiful little girl I’ve ever seen. Tonight we were sitting in the meeting room and I kept smiling at her, and she kept frowning at me (maybe she’s like a year old), and then Don would smile at her and she would like collapse into giggles and I had NO idea why, and I sat there like, “what’s wrong with me, am I ugly or something?” So I gave up and turned back around, and he would just have to look at her and she’d laugh. After the meeting was over I found out he’s her doctor, and she came in with severe malnutrition and pneumonia and is HIV+, and it took a few weeks to get her to smile like that. Don is just finishing up his last year in residency, and will join a fellowship at Boston Children’s Hospital to become a critical care surgeon and he’s been here for the past ten months. He’s pretty awesome. This girls smile is THE most beautiful smile in the world.

More about Tenwek Community Health & Development- I will be learning how they work (not necessarily helping.. that takes a lot of training, but i bet i’ll learn a lot while there!), and filming (and they have two macs here with imovie so together we can work and make a general skeleton for when i go home), AND at the same time- i can teach them how to make movies on the computers. When I was sitting with the director he just like threw up his hands and was like HALLELUJAH!!! And in my head I was throwing up MY hands saying HALLELUJAH. So, while Tenwek is the hospital- most of the TCHD programs take place out around Kenya. TCHD has four satellite offices (but they do not communicate by internet nor satellites. instead, it’s via cell phone!) within a 200 mile radius. Today, I met John Stuery, who lives with his family out in the Masaii Mara. He’s in charge of community health & development out there. His father was the first doctor down here! Just now, I met a guy (another John), who has been to Tenwek a few times, but just got back from Afghanistan. I asked about safety over there (which seems like a really dumb question) and he told me about this time when some of his friends were jogging when a little boy threw a toy at them. His friend, thinking it a game, picked it up and threw it back. It was a grenade. The boy then pulled out a riffle and started shooting at them as they ran away. They came back like alive saying, “I guess it wasn’t our day to die.” I was just sitting here (eating chocolate cake) with my mouth open. Anyway, REALLY good people with REALLY good stories!!! I’ll keep passing them on!

HIV/AIDS Prevention & Care

• Operate Voluntary Counseling & Testing (VCT) centers
• Train students, Teachers & Youth Leaders in “Why Wait?” program, an abstinence based, biblical, character formation curriculum
• Prevention of mother to child transmission
• Equip churches for involvement in HIV/AIDS in their local community

Safe & Accessible Water

• Provide Bio-Sand Water Filter

• Construct rain water tanks at area schools
• Spring capping

Food Security

• Establish Food banks
• Promote drought resistant crops
• Promote dairy goats
• Provide mango seedlings

Hygiene & Sanitation

• Target primary schools for health education
• Assist communities to construct pit latrines at schools
• Train town health promoters

Maternal Child Health

• Hold immunization and antenatal care clinics
• Malaria prevention education through Community Health Workers
• Subsidized mosquito nets

Gainful Employment

• Arrange apprenticeships such as tailoring and carpentry
• Bicycle taxis
• Loans for Small Enterprise Development

Equip Church for Holistic Ministry

• Mobilize churches to lead the way in health and development outreach
• Facilitate courses to develop church leaders to be effective in ministry following the model of Jesus Christ
• Mobilize and help the church to assist AIDS orphans

Green House Training Center

• Much of the training takes place at our new Green House Training Center. This training encourages community empowerment through training on leadership, financial accountability, and cooperation.

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Mom, remember how you told me to put on a slip and I said I would just do it when I got here? I wish I had put it on before I left!

Chelsea, remember how I was trying to decide which underwear I should wear? I’m glad I chose the “17 countries. 6 weeks. 1 pair” one. Although, you will be happy to know I did wash them yesterday.

Sophia, did I tell you how my Malaria medicine gives me crazy dreams? Well, I had my first REALLY CRAZY one last night and you were in it! Your waterbottle is really coming in handy!

Christian, I hope you are feeling okay!

Nick, I’m sorry I didn’t get to say goodbye to you- I’m glad you caught me right as I was going through security!!

James, how is june term going now?

Louis and Jimmy Chalk, there’s a guitar down here in the guest house! The first thing Geoffrey asked when I sat down for lunch yesterday was whether or not I played an instrument, and when I said the piano everyone at the table cheered.