In addition to our work in the slums of large cities such as Calcutta, Dhaka or Nairobi, medical care and education in neglected rural areas are important parts of Austrian Doctors’ work. During my project trip to Kenya in April, I visited three stations together with Lisa Aichhorn. Lisa Aichhorn has been a new board member and junior manager of Samson Druck since the beginning of the year.
Community school for Maasai children
Two years ago, we set ourselves the task of supporting a school in the middle of the bush, among the Maasai people, about three hours’ drive from Nairobi. Eroret Preparatory School was my first of three stops on the project trip to Kenya. In cooperation with Aktion Regen, we are organizing a workshop on sexual health education and family planning. A major problem for us – for the Maasai it is part of their ‘custom’ – is female genital mutilation. I don’t want to go into the details of the types of traditional circumcision here. Too often I have sat there with my mouth open and my eyes wet just imagining the pain that the majority of our students have to go through. The fact that families live in polygamy does not make the situation of overpopulation any easier. When I see the enthusiasm with which our trained teachers pass on knowledge about family planning in their society, I am optimistic that change is possible. Step by step!
Our clinic in the Mathare slum
Unlike my other project visits, this time I was accompanied by our new board member Lisa Aichhorn, junior manager of Samson Druck. To give her an impression of the medical work of German and Austrian Doctors, we spent an afternoon in the slum clinic in Mathare Valley. Over half a million people live there in terrible conditions. A stark contrast to our first stop with the Maasai in the countryside. In addition to the hustle and bustle and the far too many people and children sitting waiting on the wooden benches in the reception room, the agonizing cries of a child were loud and clear. The seven-year-old had suffered severe burns to the entire front of her body and was undergoing a dressing change at the German/Austrian Doctors. Is it true that her father had poured scalding water over her while drunk? Domestic violence is a huge problem.
We also visited the tuberculosis ward, the HIV facility and talked to health and social workers who do a lot of important work there. We got an insight into people’s lives, especially during the home visits with long-time employee Rose Omia. Although I had already been here in 2017, the shock and sadness, but also the admiration for the strength of the people with their fates, was not absent. One example is 40-year-old Dolphin. She is raising 14 children in her 15m² mini-hut, one of whom is HIV-positive. Only three are her biological children, all the others have been adopted by relatives and people she doesn’t even know. How can you give so much when you have so little? “I love all of them equally,” she says with a smile. When things are going well, there are three hot meals a week. Coal and food are expensive.
A community center for HIV orphans & workshops
The third stop on my trip was Awasi, a small community in the west of the country. It is Rose’s home. The original plan was to build a school in the village that would be accessible to everyone. After some research, we found that there were enough schools in the area. We want to avoid setting up parallel structures to existing facilities in all areas. The HIV rate in the area around Victoria Lake is enormous, including in Awasi. There are countless orphans who still don’t have a bite to eat in the afternoon. That is why we are going to build a day care center for the many unsupervised, uncared-for kids. In the afternoons and weekends, we will offer workshops on health and economic topics to promote adult education. Two rooms have already been built, the roof is still missing. The further procedure with the “Mary Hill Self Help Group” regarding construction and financing, the importance of women on the committee, equal rights and the needs of the local people were the topics of the meetings with the members of the community. Of course, there are challenges here and there, especially when it comes to communicating with local partners.
An honest, appreciative exchange is therefore the basis for good collaboration. Perfectionism has to be put aside in this job, because some things are neither predictable nor plannable. But with a step-by-step approach, patience and careful planning, I’ve done best so far. Once again, the trip confirms to me that we as Austrian and German Doctors are working in exactly the right places with our projects.
