01 December 2014

WORLD AIDS DAY 

Today Judy and I will go to St. Patrick's Dispensary in Bangladesh to celebrate with the theme  FOCUS, PARTNER, ACHIEVE: AN AIDS FREE GENERATION

     There is still a tremendous amount of stigma related to this disease and we are working to change that so people will get the treatment they need.

Alice and Priscilla with their vegetables

      Recently I went to church and found Alice and Priscilla selling their vegetables under a tree in the church compound.  I asked Alice if I could share their picture and story with you.  We had first met about a year ago when one of the priests asked me to see them for a medical problem.  Priscilla had been abused by her father and Alice, or Mama Priscilla as she likes to be called, was very distraught and anxious to make sure that her daughter would be alright. The father was removed from the family and there was safety on that level.  Priscilla had no serious physical ailment from the trauma but she was quite shy and cautious.   Alice needed reassurance and support so they could move on with their lives.  My ministry funds were used to address the medical needs. Next came the question of survival. The priest offered Alice a place to bring vegetables to sell at the variety sale held by the church each week. With zest and hard work they have made a start with their little 'business'.  I buy my vegetables from them and although I had to help Priscilla with her math as she counted up how much I owed she is much more confident and outgoing than last year.  In the picture you can see the sparkle in her eyes.
     Christmas is coming and it speaks to me about family and God's love for us.  To come into our world as a little baby born in a stable amidst the straw, the cattle and the odours they produce is something to ponder.  It certainly wouldn't be my idea of a safe delivery and we are trying our best to provide better than that for the most needy in the villages and informal settlements of Mombasa.  There is nothing like the love of a parent for their child to give us an image of how God loves each one of us. I saw that image in Alice and her love for Priscilla.  I hope this time of waiting during Advent will give birth to this same kind of love, peace and joy in your own lives and families.
     To date there is still no person with Ebola Virus disease in Kenya.  The epidemic continues to rage in West Africa, which is about as far away from us as New York is from California.  The stories of suffering and death are heart wrenching and it will be a very long time before those people see some improvement.  For the countless orphans that are left without family their lives are forever changed.

Priscilla, Alice, Susan

     Insecurity has come again to the coast of Kenya.  Mosques have been raided by the police and a bus was attacked by Al Shabaab.  Teachers and health workers were going home for Christmas and 28 were executed by Al Shabaab.  We feel so sad for those families and continue to take care for our own safety.
     Many thanks to each of you who contributed to the Maryknoll Lay Missioner retirement fund in the last few months.  I am planning to work as long as I can and will sign another three year contract with Maryknoll Lay Missioners next June.  On December 12th it will be thirty years since I signed my first contract in 1984. My how time flies!

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and many blessings in the New Year.

     PEACE OF THE NEWBORN BABE TO YOU

  

01 November 2014

Susan with a group of saintly sick ones in Mrima Dispensary

HAPPY FEAST OF ALL SAINTS!!!

     When I arrived at Mrima Dispensary on Oct 24th I found all these people waiting for me. This is the second month in a row that this many people have turned up early at this clinic near the Tanzanian border.  It takes me at least two hours to get there.  We have to cross a ferry and one never knows how long that will take. In addition we always get stopped by several police officers who are looking for ways to make more money for their pockets rather than protecting the safety of the average citizen.

     What makes this bevy of saints so special is that in January of this year this clinic was not functioning at all and there were no patients for me to see!!!  We had worked very hard since 2010 to get the building renovated and supplies and medicines stocked.  But the staffs were horrible. We had two nurses sent by the government and they only worked two days a week in the clinics for pregnant women and immunizations for young children. They pocketed the money they collected from these clinics and moved around to other places on the other days of the week. We paid three other staff.  The receptionist was also pocketing money.  The clinical officer (like a physician assistant) was rude to the patients and didn't know how to properly care for them.  The lab worker was in cahoots with the receptionist.  So we got out a broom and made a clean sweep!!!

     Now we have a nurse sent from the government who is very good and she has been delivering 10 to 11 babies each month.  The clinical officer is young and inexperienced but she is trying her best and learning from the patients we see together.  The receptionist is a fine young man with common sense and good ideas for improving the services.  So far he seems to be accounting accurately for the money he collects.  So with the improved staffs the patients have returned and I have plenty of work to do.

     On the home front for Kenya in general, we still have avoided the Ebola virus, unlike the USA and other countries much further away.  There have been some violent incidents on the coast which are felt to be linked to members of Al Shabaab who have come in from Somalia.  We don't go out at night and take reasonable precautions.  But we  are able to do our work and I don't feel in any more danger than if I was in New York or Chicago.

     Thanks to all of you who have offered to contribute to the retirement fund.  If you don't know what I'm talking about look at my blog for September.  There's still one more month to go before I'm officially 30 years with Maryknoll and I hope you'll take $30 out of your pocket for the retirement fund if you haven't already done so.

PEACE OF THESE SMILING SAINTS WITH EMPTY POCKETS TO YOU!!!

01 October 2014

Susan, Nancy and Winnie behind 

     If you look closely you will see a space in the white curtain to the right of this picture. One day there was a square neatly cut out of the curtain, about the size of a baby's diaper nappy.  Such is the need in this place that someone has removed a piece of the window curtain!
     This is St. Patrick Dispensary, located in the largest informal settlement (slum) in Mombasa. It is called Bangaladesh because it is near the ocean.  The rains and floods cause people to struggle with poor  dilapidated shacks that often get washed away...much like the very poor country of Bangaladesh.  St. Patrick parish is staffed by St. Patrick priests from Ireland and they opened this clinic four years ago with the help of Judy Walter, the Maryknoll Lay Missioner/nurse whom I live with.  I go to this clinic once a month to consult and teach the staff, one of whom is Winnie, a clinical officer (similar to a physician assistant in the USA). Seated next to me is Nancy.  I saw her in the clinic yesterday and asked her if I could tell you her story.
     Nancy came to the clinic over a year ago with hot painful swollen joints of her wrists, elbows, shoulders, fingers, toes and ankles.  She is a 39 year old single mother with a nine year old son who comes to collect her medicines for her when she is unable to walk.  At one time she was a community health volunteer but could no longer work due to her illness.  I was asked to see her and the diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis was confirmed in the laboratory.  I explained her illness and began her treatment.  She was to return the following week but didn't show up.  We sent the social worker to look for her.  She didn't have enough money so she didn't come.
     Chronic illness is not well understood here.  People think they should be able to take medicine for five days and if they aren't better they go look for someone else to treat them...often a local herbalist. It took repeated sessions with all of our staff to help Nancy understand that she has a chronic illness and that we will not charge her for her treatment.  There are some people who need complete charity care and Nancy is one of them.
     A few months ago a 25 year old woman came with the same problem and diagnosis...rheumatoid arthritis.  We called Nancy to come talk to her and help her understand more about the illness.  She responded to the treatment well and then she disappeared.  Nancy was concerned and asked if we had seen her.  Now Nancy has come full circle.  She not only realizes the chronic nature of her illness but she is looking out for others who are in the same boat.  I'm in that boat too.  I told Nancy that I have a similar illness (Sjogren's syndrome) and I have to take the same medicine she takes every day for the rest of my life.  Her eyes got big and I could sense a connection between us.
     Nancy has become the model patient.  She takes her medicine religiously, brings all of her records to each visit, asks questions and corrects us when we don't get some detail of her condition right.  She has not responded as well to treatment as the other young woman but she is a whole lot better and we are still trying to get her to go into remission.  There are only two rheumatologists in the entire country, both are in Nairobi 500km=300miles away.  I have been very fortunate to get advice from my own rheumatologist in Champaign Illinois by email to guide me in her treatment.
     Otherwise life in Mombasa continues to be peaceful and we hope it stays that way.

PEACE OF THE FLOATING BOATS TO YOU!           

01 September 2014

Susan back in Mombasa

Greetings once again from Mombasa!  This is a picture that Mary Oldham took on the steps up to our flat with some of the children who live in the home downstairs.  It's good to be back and I'm happy to say that the tensions and insecurity of the past few months have abated.  Last night Judy, Coralis and I went to a restaurant nearby and and there were many families, both young and old, enjoying the evening together.
     On Monday August 20, 1984 I began my orientation program with Maryknoll as a lay missioner.  I didn't actually sign my first contract until December 12, 1984.  It took a few months for both Maryknoll and myself to agree that this was the path I should follow.  Now 30 years have passed and I can say with a very grateful heart that it was the right decision.  In those days, Maryknoll was the only organization in the US Catholic church that offered laity a chance to work oversees for three years.  Most other organizations had short term contracts of 1-2 years and I knew from my volunteer experience that this wasn't enough time to do what I felt called to do.  Maryknoll also offered the chance to renew our contract on an ongoing basis.  I knew in my heart, even at that time, that this journey might last a long time.  And so it has.  
     Because I have completed 30 years as a Maryknoll Lay Missioner I will be a beneficiary of a Defined Benefit Retirement plan which will provide me with $30,000 annually to live a simple and dignified retirement.  Our Association is trying to raise $1,052,000 by the end of 2015 to fund this goal as we have many missioners who have given many years of service. 
     In gratitude for what I have been given over these 30 years I have given $300 to this fund.  I would like to ask you to join me in this effort.  Could you contribute $30, or more, to help us meet our goal?  These are the steps you can follow:
#1 - Make your donation
Online:       Donation link  (Type "Retirement Fund" in Comment box below donation) 
By Phone: 1-800-867-2980 
By Mail:      Maryknoll Lay Missioners, PO Box 307, Maryknoll, NY 10545-0307
Make check out to Maryknoll Lay Missioners; write in Memo line: Retirement Fund
Outside the US: Send me a message and we'll sort out how to transfer your donation. :) 

#2 - Add a comment to this blog to be counted among those willing to help us out!
I am not setting a personal goal for this effort.  I am hoping that between now and Dec 12th, the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe,  many of you will be inspired to inspire others to join me in giving thanks to Maryknoll for what we have been able to do during the past 30 years.  I have received a great deal of recognition for the things I did.  I could have done those things with other groups as a doctor. But for me this has been a vocation...a calling...to live my life as a Catholic lay woman in response to my Christian faith.  Many years ago when I was working very hard "doing" a lot of doctoring a very good friend made the comment that there was so much more to me than that.  It made me broaden my "doctoring" to reflect the light of Christ that is the source of life and all true healing.  Thanks to you for being there with me.

PEACE OF THE MOMBASA SEA BREEZES TO YOU!!!

01 August 2014

 North Coast of Mombasa June 2014

Greetings from Urbana, Illinois.
     I have been to Minnesota for the memorial of my nephew Alex on July 15th.  It was a very good gathering and the first time I have been with all my siblings in seven years.  Alex has brought us all together and he will always be with us in a very special way.
     I spoke at St. Joseph and Francis churches in Taylors Falls and Franconia Minnesota. They wanted to know more about our ministry and are giving donations to remember both Alex and Corey Corradi, a 22 year old member of their parish who died suddenly of an illness last year.  I also met with Mary Oldham and Marty Roers, both lay missioners in Kenya in the past.  Mary's friend took this picture when they visited Kenya in June.  It is a good image of the news that is coming out of Kenya...ominous.  Insecurity has continued and the US has recalled their Peace Corps volunteers.  But as the sun is still shining on this beach, there are many people working to address the ethnic tensions and corruption that is widening the gap between those who have and have not.  This too will pass.
     My brother has informed me of a way to support our Maryknoll Association without spending extra money.  Amazon has a charitable giving program.  If you are purchasing items you should go to the site smile.amazon.com.  They will ask you what charity you want to support and you can enter Maryknoll Lay Missioners.  Amazon will then contribute 0.5% of your purchase to our Association.  It doesn't cost you any extra money.  If you order from Amazon please consider designating us as your charity recipient.
    People here in the USA are asking me about Ebola.  It is a huge problem in West Africa.  I work in East Africa.  So, the current outbreak is very far away from us.  This deadly disease is caused by a virus and the only treatment is supportive.  Strict public health measures that quarantine the patients can contain the outbreak quickly.  This has happened many times in East Africa in the past. However, the outbreak has spiraled out of control in West Africa because procedures for control have not been followed.  People have less belief in modern medicine and have taken these extremely infectious patients home from the hospital or allowed them to travel when they are ill.
     I will return to Kenya on the 12th of August.  Please keep us in your prayer and I will keep in touch on this blog if anything more concerning should come up before next month.

PEACE OF SUMMER SUNSHINE TO YOU!!!

01 July 14

Giriama Soak Pit

GIRIAMA DISPENSARY

     In five days I will leave to go to Minnesota. All of my family will gather for the first anniversary of the passing of my nephew, Alex Vitalis, on July 15, 2013.  The family asked that in lieu of flowers contributions be made to my ministry account to help people in need in Kenya.  Attached are pictures taken of the renovations to Giriama dispensary that included building a soak pit and improving the 

Giriama medicine dispensing station

pharmacy and laboratory.  These were empty rooms  with nothing in them at this time last year.
     Additionally money was donated to pay for a salary for a nurse at St. Patrick Dispensary for one year.  They opened a maternity unit in the informal settlement (slum) of Bangaladesh in April 2014 and have been delivering 6 to 8 babies each month.  This is a place with 50-60,000 people and no safe facility to deliver babies.

Giriama Pharmacy

 It is not safe to go out at night  and most women delivered their babies at home and hoped for the best.  Now they have skilled nurse/midwives to assist them and assistance to take them to a bigger hospital if needed.  We hope that after one year the service can be self sustaining and pay for the nurse's salary out of the money collected for doing the deliveries.     Alex was a person who cared deeply for others, especially those who were in need or excluded for one reason or another.  His memory lives on in the lives of these people and we are grateful to those of you helped us with your gifts.  We will never forget him.
   
 

Giriama Laboratory

   Many continue to ask how life is in Mombasa with the insecurity of this past month.  There is tension.  I met Sr. Veronica two days ago and heard the details of how her father was murdered.  It is a gruesome story and no one knows for sure who is responsible.  Al Shabaab claims they did it but the attackers knew the names of many of the 60 people they killed and were looking for them specifically.  This suggests that the attackers knew the town very well and perhaps had even come from the town.  When I ask people if they feel safe they say NO!  Personally, I don't go out at night and I don't go to big modern shopping centers or restaurants.  I go to a small little grocery in our neighborhood and when I go to a bigger store to buy something special (olives or ice cream) I don't look around at all.  I just buy what is on my list and leave as soon as possible.  The churches are also targets and I go to the Saturday evening Mass which is for the children's choir.  Not many people attend and while the children have a bit of trouble getting the right pitch and rhythm it's nice to support them.  It's not a liturgy that would be much of a target for someone trying to cause trouble.
     My work has not been affected too much. The trips I do to rural clinics are not in places that are very dangerous.  The roads are bad and the people are isolated so they don't pose much of a threat to anyone.  I continue to be amazed and frustrated by the incompetence and negligence of the public health sector.  I suppose after all these years I should start getting used to it and not waste my energy on things that don't work.  This causes me more angst than the insecurity.  I'm sure that getting a break and being with my family will help.  I plan to return to Kenya the middle of August.
     On Saturday the new moon was seen and the holy month of Ramadhan began.  This is the fast that all Muslims perform each year to purify themselves and bring them closer to God.  Hopefully we will all remember we are children of one God and should love one another as God loves us.

PEACE OF THE MOON OF RAMADHAN TO YOU

16 June 2014

Mary and Sr. Veronica

FAREWELL 

          
Today has been a difficult day.  Mary, the woman I lived with for three years here in Mombasa, has been visiting us for the past week.  We had a party for some of her friends on Saturday.  This is Sister Veronica, her former supervisor for the HOPE project, Helping Orphans Pursue Education. 
     This morning we learned that Sr. Veronica's father was killed last night.  He lived in a small town six hours north of Mombasa.  40 well trained and armed men attacked the town at 8:30pm and killed 52 people, all men.  Al Shabaab has claimed responsibility for the carnage.  They burned the police station, three banks, two hotels and 40 vehicles over a five hour rampage.  It has been a great shock for all of us.
     I am fine.  I left Mombasa this afternoon to go to Voi, three hours away, to do a clinic.  So I said farewell to Mary and we are praying for the families of all those who must now say farewell to their loved ones in this tragic incident.  We continue to work and pray for peace.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

01 June 2014

Hansen's disease (Leprosy)

     Another very interesting clinic at Bamba this past week.  I can hardly believe I saw what I saw myself.  There were twenty patients waiting when we arrived after our two hour drive.  I saw 23 and, as is usual, the last were the sickest.  This man was #22.  He'd been sick for five years and had been seen at the government hospital to no avail.  He was losing the toes on his left foot and couldn't close his left eye.  His right hand had contractures of two fingers and his limbs had no feeling...the numbness of Hansen's disease that attacks the nerves.  Other patients had cancer of the prostate and cervix, elephantiasis caused by filariasis, a 10 year old boy with such bad heart disease his chest was thumping, a 60 year old woman who also had a thumping chest because her high blood pressure had ruined her heart and two men who had had strokes because of high blood pressure.  We are trying to hire a clinical officer to see patients on a daily basis.  Currently Sr. Veronicah goes once a week and I go once a month.

     Now, notice the small woman standing next to the man.  Her name is Tecla and she is my new translator and assistant.  Sr. Veronicah has a passion for helping people in need and I told her that I needed someone who speaks Giriama because so many of these people don't speak Swahili. Both Tecla and I were in need. Sr. Veronicah knew Tecla had been working in a little store seven days a week from sunrise to sunset.  She is 24 years old but is a dwarf.  Veronicah decided to give her a chance and see how she would work out.  She is one of the best assistants I have ever had...bright, kind, sensible and eager to learn. We are paying her a better salary than the store and she doesn't have to work 84 hours a week!   

     I have also accepted elder status this week as I drove through a busy market trying to find my way out.  The road was blocked at several corners and the young men all called me grandma and encouraged me to drive around the obstacles!

     The local economy on the coast is destroyed because all the tourists have left due to insecurity.  7000 people have lost their jobs in the tourist industry and one shop owner downtown said she can go for a whole week without selling anything.  While I was waiting in the long line to cross the ferry one of the young men who sells trinkets to the people waiting in their cars greeted me.  I rarely buy anything but he likes to say hi.  He noticed that my shoes were getting worn and asked if he could have them for his wife when I was through with them...he called it 'booking' and asked me to put him first on the list!  I told him there were no other names on the list and bought two rosaries from him...my small contribution to assisting the local economy.

     The insecurity is real.  Two young men arrested with huge bombs hidden in their cars are in the local prison.  The bombs were exploded by police in Shanzu, about 12 miles away, and the tremors were felt here in the city.  Those were big bombs and would have killed many people if they'd succeeded.  The two men almost escaped from the prison with the help of a police officer who had been paid billions of shillings to get them out.  Now the judges go to the prison for their trial as they are too dangerous to take to court...or the system is too corrupt to manage them properly. And corruption is the key word.  Last week a young man who is a volunteer at the Cathedral walked a block down the street to buy some bread.  The police picked him up and threw him in jail because he didn't have his ID on him.  So the priest had to go down and pay money to get him out. The police make a lot of money picking on little people who are just going about their daily business while the big people buy their way to cause real trouble. 

     Today is Madaraka (Responsibility) Day...the day that Kenya received freedom for internal governance from the British.  Since it falls on a Sunday we will have a holiday on Monday making it a three day weekend.  The skies are overcast and hopefully some rain will fall for the farmers.

PEACE OF THOSE HARDWORKING RESPONSIBLE PEOPLE TO YOU!!! 

24 May 2014

     Two nights ago, around 9:30pm, another incident occurred downtown when the police were arresting a man to be questioned for criminal activities.  Three men emerged from behind them and hurled a grenade which injured one officer and a passer-by.  Panic ensued and the suspect and three attackers disappeared into a narrow alley.  I had heard this story Friday morning but waited until I saw something in the paper today, Saturday, to confirm that it happened.  The Mombasa County Commissioner has "assured Coast residents and visitors that Mombasa is safe and that 'isolated cases' of insecurity should not scare them".  I am smiling.  We do not go out at night and tomorrow our Maryknoll community has rescheduled our monthly meeting to be held at my house in the afternoon.  I have just returned from Saturday evening Mass and the streets are deserted.  Very unusual.
     On a good note, I did go to my clinic near the Tanzanian border yesterday and it went well.  This is the clinic that had fallen apart at the beginning of the year and I was so disappointed.  However things have turned around and it is busy once again.  The last two patients were very sick and I was sorry that they hadn't come earlier as we had to refer them elsewhere.  There was no difficulty making the trip and again the traffic was unusually light so it didn't take us hours to get across the ferry.  We were home before dark.  Peace of the twinkling stars to you!

21 May 2014

      Greetings to all.  I know that there are many people praying for us.  It is a great comfort.  I have just returned from a clinic in Voi, three hours away, that went very well.  When I arrived home I found that the lock on the outer gate of the door had been opened but the inner door was still locked and no one entered our flat.  It is very obvious when my car is gone for two days that I am not around.  So my friend came over this evening to chat.  It's nice to have someone else around when there is trouble.  Yesterday we got news of student demonstrations in Nairobi against the increase in school fees.  The gathering turned chaotic and police used tear gas causing disruption in the town center.
      Today the newspaper reports that hotels on the coast are closing and 4000 people have been laid off of work.  I have asked around about security in Mombasa and it is still tense.  The concern is that someone is planning a major attack that will involve shooting people indiscriminately in areas of heavy traffic...either Nairobi or Mombasa...similar to the attack on the Westgate shopping mall last September in Nairobi.
      I will be going to a clinic in Mrima by the Tanzanian border on Friday and the rains have cooled everything off so that I'm a bit chilly!!!  We continue to pray for one another.  Peace of the gentle rains to you, especially those who are starting to sweat in the northern hemisphere!

18 May 2014

     Due to the threat of terrorism Britain evacuated 500 nationals from their holidays here south of Mombasa last week.  The US Embassy pulled all their people from Mombasa and closed this weekend.  Since it seemed prudent to avoid trouble we cancelled our Maryknoll meeting here in my house today and all stayed home.  It was cold and rainy...if you can believe it after all the sweating we've been doing...but otherwise the day was calm and quiet.  Thanks be to God.

16 May 2014

Greetings to all,
     I don't usually write at this time of the month but there have been several bombings in Kenya and this is the easiest way to communicate to many.
     I am in Mombasa and all is fine here at the moment.  I had gone to Nairobi by bus on 3rd May and that night when I was beginning my retreat I heard of bombing in Mombasa.  This morning I was able to talk with one of the Brothers who works with youth in the Archdiocese.  On that evening he had just finished a meeting with the young people in Mwembe Tayari, a busy, bustling center for public transport downtown. We have all been there many times; Judy passes through there every day on her way to and from work.  His right ear drum was ruptured and he fell causing abrasions to his right side but he was able to run away and call for someone to come get him.  He saw four dead bodies, two men and two women...one of whom was pregnant.  At the same time there were explosions on the beach near the Reef Hotel, the place where members of Friends Across Borders trips have always stayed while visiting Mombasa.
     Since then there have been two more incidents of explosions in Nairobi, one on a major highway and this afternoon in a busy market.  The British have evacuated tourists and stopped others from coming to Kenya.
     I am glad that I had a good retreat and feel much more rested after having a break.  We will need to be more careful in Mombasa about where we go and what we do.  We are grateful for your prayers and pray especially for the families of all the innocent people who have been injured or killed in these attacks.
     Blessings of the waning moon to you!  susan

01 May 2014

Box 84425-80100                            

Mombasa, Kenya

nagelesusan@gmail.com   

http://healthministryinkenya.blogspot.com/

     May 2014

Dear Family and Friends,

     Recently, we visited an old Arab city nearby  where we found this huge Baobab tree. It is over 500 years old!!!  Baobabs are 90% water and they can live for 10 years without rain!  I look kind of insignificant standing in front of it.  Sometimes I feel insignificant in light of all the problems and troubles there are in the world.  The last couple of weeks have brought several violent incidents to Kenya and three out of four were here in Mombasa.  People keep forgetting that we are one family and we only hurt ourselves when we hurt one another.

    Then last Wednesday I saw the little boy that I mentioned in my December newsletter.  When I called the mother she didn't come into the office.  She put the little fellow on the doorstep and he walked in himself!!!  I first saw him in April last year.  He was one year old and couldn't sit up.  His muscles were all very floppy.  Now, at two years, he is standing by himself and flapping his arms like the little angel that he is.  It was very hard to get this picture because he was not at all interested in posing for the camera.  A small dose of thyroid medicine has given him the strength to grow more normally and behave very mischievously.  For me Easter has come early because he has more energy and his life is renewed.

HAPPY EASTER!!!

     So when we feel insignificant let us remember that we are part of a much greater whole.  And when we feel like there isn't much we can do, let us do what we can and then wait and see what God will do with us.  You are a great part of what we do and we are very grateful.

                  Blessings,

                  Susan Nagele

We are grateful for your prayers and financial support.  If you would like to know more about Maryknoll Lay Missioners log onto our website: www.mklm.org or call toll free 1-800-867-2980.

Sorry I haven't quite got this blog format down having done my newsletter on another document.  My blog expert, Mary, is coming for a visit in June.  We are all super excited and maybe she can get me straightened out!!!  

PEACE OF GENTLE ST. JOSEPH THE WORKER TO YOU!!!

01 April 2014

Mtumwa Dispensary

Exam Room

     I had heard about Mtumwa but didn't know there used to be a dispensary there.  Sr. Pauline had been looking for the dispensary but hadn't found it during her 7 year tenure as health coordinator.  One of her last trips was to take us there last month.  We found a building that had three small rooms at one end which had been used as a dispensary off and on for some years.  The man who last worked there left to start his own private clinic a short distance away.  His qualifications remain dubious; his motives clearly profit oriented.  People living in rural areas are often targets for unscrupulous health care providers.  We met some representatives of the village and tried to figure out what was going on  and what they needed.  The pregnant women and children must walk 15km or nine miles to go to a vaccination and antenatal clinic. Often it is late when they arrive and they are told to go back home.  The parish priest suggested we should try to begin these services.  We will see what we can do.
   

Meeting with Community

 













   
     The results for the nurses who sat for their exams came in this past week.  Both of the nurses who had gone for training on money used from my ministry account passed their exams and were literally ecstatic. They agreed to work in Kiminini Cottage hospital  for three years in return for their scholarships.  (This is the hospital that I worked at from 2003-2009.  We were trying to improve nursing staff by sending young people to school).  The woman, a single mother, was bright and needed a way to support her daughter and herself.  The young man was a former street child who had been brought to Bosco Rehabilitation program which is run by Russ Brine, a Maryknoll Lay Missioner.  It took 7 years to accomplish these goals.  It didn't fit neatly into the typical 5 year plan with targets goals and objectives.  But I think we succeeded to improve the lives, and therefore the families, of two young people as well as the health care provided in Kiminini.
     There have been more violent attacks on churches in the Mombasa area recently.  Last week three armed men attacked a Protestant church in Likoni on Sunday morning and killed six and injured 15.  No one has taken responsibility publicly and no one has been arrested.  Al Shabaab has been a continual threat to security here.  With Holy Week and Easter holidays approaching, all of the churches are taking added measures protect their faithful.

                                          Peace of the One who gave his life for us to you!                                                                           

01 March 2014

My driver!!!

     I have just returned from another trip to Giriama/Bamba.  It was a doozy!  On Feb 25th I did my first clinic at Giriama and saw 11 patients. It went well.  On Feb 26th Sr. Veronicah (a pharmacist) and I left at 8am with her in the driver's seat.  It took two hours to get there and there were many patients waiting for us.  This small clinic was begun to assist people with disabilities who needed physical therapy.  There is no resident nurse and Sr. Veronicah goes there every Wednesday to do what she can do.  I am now trying to go with her once a month.  I saw 22 patients and she saw 16 patients.  Most of the people I saw were quite sick...a woman with a blood pressure of 232/120 (normal is less than 140/90), several people with epilepsy and a child who may have Tourette's syndrome.  We managed to leave by 5pm for which I was grateful.  I wanted to get back to Giriama before dark and that would be in two hours.  When we neared the mission Veronicah complained that the clutch was really hard to push in.  I didn't know what to say except 'pole = sorry'!  A few minutes later the clutch went out.  She figured out she was in fourth gear and we had a distance to go yet.  She kept her cool and I kept encouraging her.  We were on a dirt road with a lot of pot holes and all we could do was hold on and fly over them.  Fourth gear wouldn't let her slow down very much.  When we neared the church she asked if she should stop and I said 'not at all...just keep going as far as you can!'  We made it all the way to the gate of the school at the base of a hill which led to her home.  She had to slow down and the engine stopped.  She tried to start it again in first gear as it was a stick shift.  No luck.  I looked out at the horizon to see a bright red sun quickly setting over the valley below.  A man walking by was the driver for the school and came over to see what was the matter.  Then the small car of some builders pulled up and they got out to help too. The men decided to take the rope off the gate to pull the car up the hill.  However, the driver jumped in the driver's seat to try to start it one more time and when it engaged he roared up the hill in first gear while we got a lift in the builders' car!  We were home by 7pm...just as the sun slipped below the horizon and night gently fell.  Both of us were grateful the clutch didn't break in Bamba and marveled at how well we arrived after a long day of challenges!

Sr. Pauline Nthenya and Susan

     I have moved this picture of Sr. Pauline and myself from the side bar.  She is moving on from her position as HIV/Health Coordinator in the Catholic Archdiocese of Mombasa.  She has been here for 15 years and is now going with two other Sisters of St. Joseph from her community to Malawi.  They will take over a hospital from the Medical Missionaries of Mary.  It has been my great privilege to work with her for the last four years and I truly cherish every moment.  I learned so much from her and she was very understanding of my limitations due to health problems.  The 8th of March is International Women's Day and we will have a celebration at our house to honor the great woman she is and say farewell. We will also welcome Sr. Salome Kamene who is taking over from her.

Blessings of all the wonderful women in your lives to you!!!

01 February 2014

 

Bamba Catholic Dispensary

This past week I was able to visit one of the remotest parishes in the Catholic Archdiocese of Mombasa.  It took me four years to get there!  We left Mombasa at 7am and reached Giriama dispensary at 9am.  I had driven this far and Sr. Veronicah drove another 2 hours to reach Bamba at 11am.  It is a dry, sandy place where the soil is black and not much good for farming.  There are a lot of bone deformities among the population and research on the soil suggests that some of the minerals it contains could be the culprit.  In addition, attempts to drill boreholes for water have been disappointing.  The water is so salty it can't be put on plants or given to animals, let alone be be used for human consumption.  There are many people with chronic illnesses.  The first two patients I saw had epilepsy.  They are lucky because they realize it is a disease and not a curse so they get relief with medicine.  A woman with very high blood pressure also had a big heart and irregular rhythm caused by damage to her heart from the high blood pressure.
     In the picture you can see a woman seated at the right under a tree.  Several women could not speak to me in swahili.  The older ones never learned and the younger ones didn't go to school long enough.  Lack of a national language really marginalizes people.  None of the three Kenyan Sisters I traveled with spoke Giriama, their local language, either.

Susan at Mrima Dispensary

     The week before last I went to Mrima dispensary and left depressed.  We have been trying to improve this unit.  The facility structure, medicines and supplies were all available.  Sadly, the staff were incompetent, dishonest and sometimes outright cruel to the patients.  I apologized to a man who had come to see me and he gave me details on how some of the staff were treating the patients.  He did say that the unit was a good place in the past.  This facility is a two hour drive away and the Health Coordinator is trying to manage it from Mombasa.  Her attempts to find a Sister to be the administrator have been fruitless.  While crossing the ferry on returning to Mombasa the pharmacist from the county where Mrima is located came up to talk to us.  Later he spoke with the Health Coordinator offering to support the five diocesan dispensaries in this county by paying for staff salaries, electricity, water, medicines, supplies, etc.  With that support health services could be provided free of charge!!!
     To be truthful, I'm still cautious and uncertain.  Things go up and down here so often it's hard to believe others.  But I would like to hope that some people care enough for others, especially those most in need, that they will help us provide the quality health care that everyone deserves.

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

Peace of the loving hearts to you!