So I know that I have only been here for three days, but I feel like I’ve already been here for a week, easily. My first day I met with Rosie, the on-site Shirati staff of VLOP, and went over my project work and the basics that I will need to survive and thrive in Shirati and Roche. I will be working with the Roche Health Center (RHC) on monitoring processes and conducting an evaluation of the first 3 months of operation as well as working with the three primary schools in Roche on VLOP’s uji project, which provides lunch to the students at these schools. Unfortunately, the children are on holiday until after I get back from South Africa, so I can’t begin work until then. I do, however, begin the learning process with RHC immediately. On Friday, I went with five others to RHC for the day. The drive is about 40 minutes by Hilux (Toyota truck), and the scenery is something out of a tour book. The scenery is rolling hills with trees randomly placed, corn and cassava fields, and brick houses and huts along the road and countryside, colors of spicy mustard yellow and luscious green. Oh, and the rock formations are gorgeous!
RHC is a gem of the countryside. It is obviously beautifully built and although it’s only in its first stage, it is impressive the work that has been done in the past year and the services VLOP, SHED, and visiting doctors and students are able to provide for the community of Roche. Over the day, I received tour and introduction from Nyamusi, a guy who works for VLOP, from Shirati, who went to undergrad in the states. The staff at RHC include: Nyamusi, who does registration, keeps the workers on task working on structural projects, and does Luo (local tribal language and Obama’s family tribe) translation when needed; Daniel, who lives at RHC, is similar to a medical assistant, takes vitals, gives vaccinations, and takes care of emergency cases during night and week when clinic not operating; Dorothy, who is close in training to a PA in the US, assists with doctor consultations, comes on Fridays, translates Luo when needed, and is best known for her wonderful counseling skills in informing people of grave diagnoses or positive test results of STIs; Dr. Esther Kawira, who is the head doctor of SHED and works at Sota Health Clinic and RHC; and finally the many visiting doctors and med students who assist the SHED staff in doing their best to provide needed medical care to an area with little access and resources for quality health.
As I observed, I was able to take great introductory notes on what is working well, what is not, the needs of the clinic and the general practices of the staff. Although I will be doing a much more in-depth assessment of the clinic and villager satisfaction, this was a great first day of learning. The health system of this area is interesting in that at the SHED clinics the cost of consultation and treatment is minimal and needed drugs are given to patients at cost. RHC in its small 3 month history has been able to provide treatment for certain diseases and ailments that have helped many villagers around the area (extending into Kenya). However, many more medicines and treatments are not available for the clinic or for the entire region. An exciting update, though, is that RHC is close to getting the necessary equipment to work with and treat those villagers with HIV. Although I’m not on the treatment side of this clinic, I’m excited to assist in developing this center into a major part of the Roche community and a positive light in an area that before lacked accessibility to adequate health care.
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