Visit to Joska...

Okay - so I was told we were leaving at 8:30 to take the one hour ride to visit our boarding school in the town of Joska. Being a Mzungu (white person) I arrived 15 minutes early - only to discover that they were about to leave without me! Ah! They were definitely being way out of character! And - I had to visit the lady's room, which was met with much disapproval. Oh well!

I rushed as fast as I could and ran out to the van, only to move forward about 10 feet to this kiosk! We waited while our driver, Julius and the co-driver Juma argued about getting Mandazi for the rode...well, you can imagine what I was thinking! My co-worker, Jane, read my mind!

But, it did give me an opportunity to snap this photo...oh, by the way Juma won the argument and after about 10 minutes we drove off without the Mandazi!
After picking Irene from the petrol station and Isaac from the roadside on the way, we travelled for about an hour and started the morning at Joska with tea. Then we joined the kids for their devotion/chapel time. We arrived as they were getting very warmed up in their praise and worship - WOW!

This little girl looks around 5 or 6, right? We found out she is actually 11 or 12 years old. All the kids up front were awesome and helped us so much to praise our amazing God.
And the rest of the kids were enjoying the music and singing...
...as was Isaac! He is one of the social workers at the centre where I work, but he is responsible for this school so he visits at least once per week...



Here is "Pastor Juma"...greeting the children and introducing Isaac to introduce Jane and me.
...and here is Isaac greeting the children and then giving them our names...
Here I am telling them my names and where I am from...
...and Jane telling them a bit about what we do and just greeting them.
...and here is the view from outside - it was an overflow crowd!
Sign announcing Missions of Hope Int'l (MoHI) sports day...
And the reason Jane and I were there - to address the parents and tell them a bit about Business Development Services (BDS) our micro-enterprise program...the preschool kids sat so patiently at the front of the room!
...some of the parents listening to Rebecca...the social worker for this centre. I am not really sure what she was saying, but I am certain it was information the parents needed to hear!
After I introduced myself and sort of 'introduced' the topic, Jane (we call her Mrs. Gacau) described the program and then answered many questions. I think the parents are very interested to take advantage of the opportunity we are offering.




Okay - I couldn't resist. Here is one girl who has removed her shoes and the child right next to her is bundled up like there is a blizzard outside!
Finally the children are allowed to leave! They were getting quite fidgety...but I have to admit I was very much enjoying watching them...
Some sort of election of officers...this was actually a PTA meeting...and I believe I heard the name Obama mentioned! These were, after all, democratic elections.
Jane and I took that opportunity to tour the grounds...I am very impressed with what they have achieved here in only a couple of years. The school holds over 500 students, 400+ are boarding and the rest are from the community. This is primarily a secondary school, but they have also opened the facility to the preschool age children in the nearby village.

...of course the children do their own laundry...ah! the wind blew down some of the clothes, pole! (Swahili for 'sorry' - a common expression here)

...girls dorm room...

...the kitchen!

...making Mandazi dough...this takes much muscle to cook for so many!
I was impressed with the size of the pots...(I am sure they are called something else!)

Buckets for distributing lunch...

Kitchen table...for chopping and preparation...

Boys dorm room...

...with hanging clothes!

Here are the laundry facilities...

Lunch time!

Transporting lunch...

...and our lunch!

New dorms being built...first for the girls and then for the boys. We are expecting this building to be complete by April...I am guessing end of April!

This is Irene. She talked to the kids about computers, which was her major and now she works in that field. She shared with me that she wished she had had someone help her when she was that age, so now she talks to kids whenever she gets a chance - she said these kids were so interested! As it turns out, we were on the same bus from town this morning...so we rode together from MoHI to town, which gave us a chance to chat.

Stairs for when they build up...for now it will be one floor but there are plans to expand.

We picked up a few passengers to drop along the way as we left...

...they stood here for quite some time after we drove off. Jane says they were confused since they never get to ride in a vehicle...I think they just wanted to watch!

I am so excited about what God is doing through Missions of Hope to touch the lives of so many children and their families. It is my prayer that we are able to begin a group of small business owners in this area so that the parents of these kids will be able to provide a bright future for these kids even as they gain an education through the school we have built.

82

82 is how old my dad would be today if he had not lost his battle with cancer 11 years ago. I think it is fitting that this is the day that was arranged for me to visit St. Mary's Hospital on behalf of Cancer Recovery Foundation (CRF). You see, CRF donates chemotherapy drugs to St. Mary's Hospital who in turn provides them to their cancer patients free of charge!

I even had the privilege of chatting with one of the patients, but that comes later. First Dr. Fryda, founder of the hospital took me on a whirlwind tour, proudly sharing with me some of the unique qualities of this facility.

These first two photos show the dentist's office and the pediatric dentist - it seems that everyone I met, whether doctors, nurses or cleaning staff had a look of pride in their eyes. I'll tell you why in a moment...

These next photos were taken in one of the satellite pharmacies - the one which supplies the cancer meds. This first shot shows the meticulous, but simple record-keeping used to keep careful track of all meds that leave the pharmacy.

Next you can see the inventory of cancer medications...John Doudi, the pharmacist proudly shows me the meds which require refrigeration.

And the Mzungu (white person) is Dr. Fryda. He informed me that he is the only expat on the compound and when he leaves there will be only Kenyans running the hospital.

Even now he has turned over much of the operation to the capable Kenyans who are a vital part of this organization.












Next we visited the storeroom where all the meds for the hospital are received and inventoried. This operation is run by Sister Nicolette. Notice her broad smile as she poses next to the cancer drugs!

As I asked questions about receiving, inventory and dispensing she was most gracious and eager to share with me how she maintains accurate records. She supplies the cancer medication to the pharmacy run by John and also on a per patient basis to the wards.















I discovered there are very tight controls over all the medications and the secret is to keep the process simple.








Dr. Fryda shared with me that the Mormon church donated a whole shipping container full of this special porridge that is packed with vitamins and nutrients. A perfect compliment to the cancer medication donated by CRF to help the patients maintain health once they receive cancer treatment.

Next we toured the housing area...I found out that every single member of the staff - doctors, nurses, groundskeepers, cleaning people, guards - everybody lives here! This is a community...I am thinking that is part of the secret behind all those proud smiles I kept seeing!

See the cars in the carport - they are owned by the nurses! There are very few places where nurses can work and earn enough to buy such nice vehicles. In fact I was amazed when he shared with me the monthly salaries of some of the staff. And on top of generous salaries the staff also shares what Dr. Fryda calls "incentives"

Basically it is like profit-sharing, received every month in addition to their salaries. In other words, the staff 'own' this hospital and have an amazing incentive to ensure that it is as successful as possible. Of course, along with the awesome privileges (like free housing, free education and monthly incentives) come high expectations - and it looks to me like those expectations are being met.

Next we visited the day care. All employee's children are cared for on the grounds.

Of course I loved seeing the children and they loved seeing their pictures on my camera!









Ah! They even have a computer! And the kids, as you can imagine, are quite proficient on its use...as Dr. Fryda shared "this is the next generation" for St. Mary's.


There is even a guest house on the property! for visiting teams who want to learn more about this amazing place...

As a way to give back to the community, four years ago they began using their educational center to offer a High School education to destitute children. These are kids that are surviving in the slums and on the streets. I am not sure how they got through standard 8 (or 8th grade) but if they do they are eligible to enroll in this school.

This bus transports orphans from an orphanage in a nearby town called Kangemi.

For the kids living on the streets and in the slums, they arrive here by 6am (some leaving 'home' as early as 4am), bathe, don their uniform, have breakfast, then begin their school day.

Once they are finished, after lunch around 2pm, they work - helping to keep the building clean, prepare food for cooking and other chores...
























Suddenly there was a rush of activity...the kids came running in from somewhere! Down the hall...

...and up the stairs!

The kitchen is amazing!

Upstairs I peaked into one of the classrooms...




...and into the science lab...










...and we visited the extensive library...This is the shelf of cancer research books...

















And this is where the kids spend their afternoons/evenings studying, before they must change back into their street clothes and leave their books behind for the night.

There are plans to build a boarding school for these kids where they can enjoy a more safe and secure life.






Here is one of the medical exam rooms, where I met Mary Muthoni, one of the people who has been helped with the chemotherapy medication donated by CRF.

She shared with me that she first went to Kenyatta National Hospital where she was examined and told she had a lump on her breast.

She was then given an appointment to see a doctor a month later, only to find out that she had to come back again in another month to talk to a surgeon about doing a biopsy. Her daughter referred her to St. Mary's where she was examined and then saw the doctor the same day. The following week she had a biopsy and was advised to have surgery. That was a Friday and the following Wed she had the surgery and started chemotherapy one month later. She believes she is alive today because of how quickly her treatment took place.

She believes that so strongly that she routinely speaks to other women about early detection and urges them to visit St. Mary's if they suspect cancer. I told her that her life was saved and now she is saving the lives of other women!



After calling the taxi to pick me up, I decided to just browse the grounds a bit.

This is a pleasant and serene place...

What you can't hear when you look at these photos is the chirping of the birds...and the breeze rustling through the trees.

Outside of the pediatric waiting area is this swingset...

Corridor leading to the x-ray room...

...and the entrance to the ward...

I believe the presence of the spirit of Christ is the biggest reason for the serenity!








Here is the pediatric waiting area. This gives you a glimpse at how busy and bustling the place is.

Truthfully, I cannot figure out how they are able to see and treat all these people!

And their commitment is that every single person who comes will see a doctor the same day - they may wait several hours but they will not leave until they have been treated.

When I asked Dr. Fryda how they do it, he just smiled. I think the secret is amazing organization, competent and capable staff, and the power of the Holy Spirit!

As Dr. Fryda repeated often today "This is a model that works!" I believe and hope that it will be replecated all over Kenya. Already St. Mary's has begun another facility in the Rift Valley - a little over two hours out of Nairobi.