Welcome to Kijabe, Kenya. Land of the feeling of never being warm but never so cold, the land of tea breaks, and the land of probably the most beautiful people on earth. I arrived here two days ago and am already feeling quite spoiled. My own room, already made bed, hot water, refrigerator, electricity, and the chance to walk right up the street where there is an abundance of fresh fruits and veggies. All a little different than my previous home in rural Haiti. I’m still trying to grasp if this is the real Kenya or if Kijabe has been built up so that it is somewhat privileged, but, oh so taken care of. I had a little wake up call to the fact that I was really in Africa as we were driving up to Kijabe from Nairobi. It took me by surprise: the Rift Valley just popped into view. It was beyond vast. Something that makes you feel quite small and that’s when I realized I am probably the farthest I have ever been from home.
So! It is quite the set up here. The hospital is big and offers a wide variety of services. I’m just pretty amazed so far. I know I’ve only been here two days and my assessment skills are probably tainted by awe and wonder right now, but everything seems well set-up and well-functioning and a substantial asset to the community. Pediatric orthopedic surgeries, C-sections, palliative care, and lab, radiology, ultrasound, and x-ray all under one roof, just to mention a few! And from what I hear, they have a pretty incredible AIDS relief program. One that has somehow succeeded in bridging the gap between health policies and the actual people in the community. This is something I’ve got to see and I’m hoping I will have a chance to follow along in the weeks to come.
So far I am working with the School of Nursing that is running here (oh yeah, did I mention they also are training their own healthcare workers in a seemingly vigorous program?). I was introduced to the Maternal Child Health clinic today that is basically being half-run by the nursing students (I was impressed). This is one aspect of public health at it’s best: pre-natal care, including blood work and HIV testing, health education, child growth monitoring and an abundance of immunizations. It was a happening place and made me pretty happy. It’s well; it’s functioning…but I’m beginning to think there is a secret for their success: a lot of support, leadership, and direction from the government’s public health system, which is the Ministry of Health for Kenya. I’m not sure how it would function, if at all, without that piece of it.
Needless to say, I am pretty impressed at what is going on here, even though my time has been short so far. Hopefully I can be a sponge. And hopefully I can get out to the rural areas to see if people are able to access the wealth of services that are available here. That I believe, is the biggest challenge to overcome, to say the least.