Friends of Buburi trustee Noreen Collins has recently returned from her three week trip to the clinic and shares with us some exciting new developments:
‘Electricity has finally been installed at the clinic which is a great step for us. Not only will it facilitate examinations, but it also means we will be able to start immunisation programmes and hopefully in the not too distant future power a microscope so that we can carry out our own laboratory tests.
‘I look forward to boiling the kettle on our next trip…not for a cup of tea you understand, but boiling water for a delivery as our new antenatal room is now equipped and ready to go.
‘Gwenllian, a UK maternity matron accompanying me, gave a great training session with the Community Health Workers (CHWs) with the aid of “little Gwen”, a beautiful brown baby doll. It gave them important information to share with the women in the community about planning their births, the importance of visiting our trained midwife Joyce and good practices for home births, which will inevitably continue to happen.
‘The CHWs have great knowledge and are passionate about sharing it for the benefit of their community. They were thrilled with their new bicycles which will enable them to reach even more families in the community.
‘Lonecha Apopo, a fully qualified nurse, has been supporting the clinic team during busy periods on a part-time basis. This has highlighted the benefit of the additional support and the need to employ a new nurse. However, recruiting is a problem in this rural area as most young nurses want to work in Nairobi or Mombasa.
‘Our search for a clean water supply continues. We had a hydro-geological survey conducted during our visit and we now know that it is possible, although expensive, to dig deeper. We are pursuing a variety of options and hope that we can have a water supply installed next year.
‘Thank you to everyone for their continued support and generosity. Together we are making a real difference to this small rural community.’