01 February 2018

STAFF HOUSE ELDORO DISPENSARY

OH ME OF LITTLE FAITH

     In 2012 I used my mission money to help renovate the maternity at Eldoro Divine Mercy Dispensary.  It took two years to complete the project and cost over $10,000.  There were so many problems with the Committee for the dispensary and the government I don't want to remember them.  Between 2014 and 1015 there wasn't one delivery in the unit.  I felt I had thrown the money away.  The Sister In Charge was changed several times and the current Sister told me that they needed a staff house so that a nurse could be living there all the time and on call.  I was VERY reluctant to put 

STAFF AND COMMITTEE MEMBERS

anymore money into this place.  But this Sister seemed serious so I 'caved in'.  I didn't give the money happily.  I prayed that I wouldn't have to regret another bad decision.  The dispensary also changed the Committee members and the new chairman seemed to be a man who cared about improving health care in this remote village.  Lo and behold they finished the building and accounted for all the funds that were provided...again over $10,000.  In December 2016 there were four deliveries.  In 2017 there were 37 deliveries during the whole year.  This past month I visited the unit and met with the Committee and staff.  Sister Anne and the Chariman, Peter, are standing on either side of me.  It has been a five year ordeal with a happy and promising ending.  With everything I've done here it has always taken longer than I had anticipated.   I still believe in the government mandate to provide clean and safe deliveries to mothers at the dispensary nearest to their home.  But there is a long way to go.  You have to have a lot of faith to stick your neck out, stick with it, follow through and hope for the best!!!

     I have been asking my Kenyan friends about President Trump's most recent description of the continent we live in.  To my surprise, many of them were not offended. They agree that the government of Kenya is corrupt, has been involved in extra judicial killings, the police are a law unto themselves and many of the leaders on the continent are authoritarian dictators who have turned their countries into the expletive that President Trump used.

     However, one person told me she did take umbrage at his insinuation that all of these people were stupid, ignorant and lazy.  Kwamchetsi Makokha in the Daily Nation provided some statistics to challenge this stereotype.  There are 2.1 million African immigrants in the USA.  This constitutes 4.8% of the immigrant population.  88.3% have a high school education.  41.7% hold a Bachelor's degree.  And I, myself, can witness to the tremendous faith, courage and hard work of people that I have been privileged to work with.  Eldoro dispensary above needed more than me and money to provide good maternity services to women who often die with their babies in a mud hut in pain and agony.  

EVA MSANDO

POLITICS

     On 30th January Raila Odinga swore himself in as the "Peoples' President" in Nairobi.  I was in a remote village doing clinics and had no network so I had to rely on the BBC radio in my phone for news.  The government shut down several media stations and they are still off the air.  Apparently they are being investigated for assisting in a 'treasonable' act...meaning taking pictures of the swearing in of Mr. Odinga.  Half the people I talk with say the elections are over, President Kenyatta was reelected and they want to move on with their lives.  The other half believe that the first election was won by Mr. Odinga and the results were rigged.  They are very unhappy, as is this woman.  Eva Msando is the wife of Chris Msando.  He was the IT expert of the Independent Elections and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) that ran the elections.  He had proudly announced that he had insured that the servers for the elections could not be tampered with.  A week before the elections he was brutally murdered and to date he has been publicly forgotten.  There has been no one charged with his murder and I never hear anyone asking about him. I cannot get this picture out of my mind and I wonder what the future holds for Kenya ??? 

LENTEN CAMPAIGN KENYA 2018

  

WE HAVE A BIG CHALLENGE THIS LENT

IN KENYA

TO BRING JUSTICE AND PEACE

FOR ALL