Medical Camp

A few weeks ago, we held a medical camp at Gioto.  This was a chance for those living there and in the nearby districts of London and Hilton to recieve medical treatment free of charge.  This is not the first one that has been held there by volunteers, but it was the first one that we were a part of.  The last one was held only a few days before we arrived here in Kenya.  It took a lot of planning and organization, but it was worth it in the end as everything ran (relatively) smoothly and everyone who showed up was treated.

 

setting up the tents

 

 

taking vitals before seeing the doctors

We arrived early at the slum to set up everything that we needed: the tents, chairs, tables, signs, and medications.  With everyone helping out, we were able to see the first patient at 10:15, only 15 minutes late. By Kenyan standards, this is amazing.  13 staff from the Department of Health were there to help us out, along with people from the organization we are volunteering through.

We had the camp organized so that everyone got an opportunity to use all the services that we had there for them.  They started by going into one tent where one of our volunteers who is trained as a nurse took down their vital information, like blood pressure and temperature.  From there, they moved to the next tent, where family planning and counseling was offered.  Next, there was a tent where HIV testing and counseling was offered in private.  Following the HIV testing and counselling area, they had a chance to talk to a nutritionist, who also gave out vitamins and other nutritional supplements.  Next, they were able to see one of the doctors in a separate tent.  Finally, they moved to our last tent which was a makeshift pharmacy.  There, they could pick up any medications that the doctors had prescribed for them or their children for free.

Jane, a 15-year old rape victim, and her 8 month old child at the medical camp.

By around 3:00, the everyone had been treated.  In total, the doctors saw about 150 patients.  This is quite a bit lower than showed up to the last camp and lower than what we had planned on seeing, but it might be that with the feeding program that we have for the kids now they aren't getting sick as often.  Unfortunately, there was a higher positive rate from the HIV testing than the last time the camp was held.  About a third of the people who were tested ended up being HIV positive.  This doesn't necessarily mean that the rate is going up, but maybe those who were scared to get tested the first time realized that it is better to know so that they can take advantage of the counseling that we have to offer them.  A lot of those who came to our medical camp did not want to go into the virus testing and counseling tent out of fear for the result.  We did not force them to go, but strongly encouraged them to.

HIV testing

Family Planning

After all those who wished to see a doctor were through with the camp, we had to take down all the tents and pack up all the tables, chairs, and left over medicine.  It ended up being a long day, but I'd like to think that it was a successful day where we were able to help a lot of people.

-Kyle and Kate