Baraka means peace in Kenya and our medical base station in Mathare Valley, the second largest slum in East Africa, is named after it. At the beginning of January, our Salzburg doctor Dr. Christian Gross set off for the Kenyan capital to work as a paediatrician at the Baraka Medical Center.
A nutrition center, where we care for malnourished and undernourished children and adults, is part of the Nairobi project. “It’s like an island for good survival,” says Dr. Gross. For six weeks, he treated around 60 to 70 patients a day there, mainly children. Dr. Gross lets us in on his work as a paediatrician in the examination room in the main outpatient clinic in Baraka and tells us about one of his young patients:
“The little boy looks a little pale, but otherwise he seems to be fine. But his mother reports that he often has severe pain in his legs and fingers. Our good laboratory confirms my suspicion: sickle cell anemia – a rather common, insidious blood disease in Africa with extremely painful crises and often early death. A painful future for the boy and his family seems certain.
But we can do something about it:
Our acute outpatient clinic is connected to the “Nutrition Center” with its diverse tasks. One of these is our special outpatient clinic for around 200 children and young people suffering from sickle cell anemia, which is run by the Kenyan paediatrician Dr Wafula. I also send my little patient there so that he can receive the best possible treatment. All the medication available locally and exemplary psychosocial support enable him to live a life largely free of pain and dangerous crises. The mother is delighted that her son is in good hands with us. She would have no chance of receiving medical care in a state hospital. Because without money, they don’t even look at you. The Nutrition Center is run by the Kenyan nurse Caroline. Language and cultural barriers are minimal thanks to the close cooperation with the local staff.
Other areas of focus include acute treatment (e.g. rehydration) for diarrhea patients and the professional treatment of children with rickets. The vitamin D drops required for this are provided by the Austrian Doctors.
A major problem in Nairobi, as I experience time and again in other projects, is poor people’s diseases such as tuberculosis. We treat these patients in our special outpatient clinic. There is room for around 2,000 patients, mostly those suffering from tuberculosis and HIV who are particularly needy.”
The “Nutrition Center” of the Baraka Outpatient Center in Mathare Valley in Nairobi is an example of how we try to create “help that lasts” for those in need. How long have doctors been working there? The German Doctors started the project in Nairobi in 1997 and since then an incredible 777 unpaid missions have been carried out. Dr. Gross’s assignment was his fourth in this project.
