Healthcare with a Rotarian SMILE

Imagine if you will, that you are standing at the top of a ridge and in the distance at the bottom of a valley stretched out in front of you, is the shimmer of what looks like diamonds. That shimmering light blinding you is Lake Nakuru on the floor of the Rift Valley. The only thing marring this idyllic landscape is the concertina effect of rolling hills of verdant green, dotted with the white of sheep and the speckled hide of cattle peacefully grazing and drinking the morning dew. The air is crisp and fresh. It has rained all night in this lofty area of Nyandarua County, and we have been warned to wear warm clothing. We find out quickly that we need them.

On the previous day, an advance team of 4 Rotarians from the Rotary Club of Gachie arrived here to prepare for a Rotary medical camp. Posters have been widely distributed, and announcements made in churches to invite the residents of this rural setting and surrounding areas to come in large numbers to take advantage of free medical by a Doctor, and free prescription medicine at the Rotary medical camp being held the next day.

39 of us leave Nairobi and Nakuru at dawn heading to Mirangine Health Centre to do our Rotary service. Mirangine is situated just after Dundori on the way to Ol Kalou. In the group are 12 Rotarians from Rotary Club of Gachie, 8 from the Rotary Club of Kiambu, and 2 Rotaractors from Rotaract Clubs of Naivasha and Limuru respectively. Accompanying us are a Doctor, a Pharmacist, 4 Clinical Officers, 3 nurses and 5 clinicians from the Lions First Eyesight Hospital. We have come to support the 4 nurses at Mirangine Health Centre. The medical camp will open at 9am so we must make haste.

After setting up, patients have started to arrive. Some only have eye issues. They are a motley group of young children, teenagers and elderly patients. We direct them to the Lions Eye Hospital van. Others in this group also need medical attention. Most have come to consult with our visiting Doctor as the Mirangine Health Centre does not have a resident one. Dotted around the Health Centre is the presence of Rotarians in luminous half jackets making sure that all patients are met with a smile, and the entire process is orderly and quick. The camp will close at 4.00 pm to allow time for us to get back safely to our homes miles away. At the same time, all patients who have arrived must be served. That is our Rotary mission today.

Suddenly, there is a lull in our activities. We are perplexed but are told that priorities here are different from City ones. Cows have to be milked, livestock taken to pasture and other daily chores performed. We are urged to be patient. We take advantage of this lull to grab a cup of tea in shifts. We start the whole process again as new patients start arriving. Suddenly we are interrupted. A nurse with a beaming smile walks up to us to announce that whilst we have been busy, a baby has just been born! Excitement and joy grips all of us. We cannot help but think that this is special blessing for the camp. Rotarians open their wallets to put together a “gift” to green the new arrive. We arrive in the maternity wing to find a young Lucy Wanjiru cradling a fresh newly born girl swathed in many blankets. The baby has already been named Margaret Njambi. We congratulate her, hand over our “gift”, take a picture and go back to our stations.

Then, there is drama. A pedestrian who has just been hit by a car is driven in. The nurses take over and rush her in for examination. About an hour later, we see her being loaded into the ambulance. They are taking her to Nakuru for x-rays and further examination. We are relieved to see that she can still walk.

It is a sad day though for one family who have brought in their grown son. The kind of care that he needs cannot be provided at this Health Centre. It appears to be a mental illness issue. After a lengthy discussion with the parents, they are referred to Nakuru General Hospital. Once again Rotarians quickly raise the fare for the family to get help for their son as quickly as possible.

The last patience is served just after 4pm. On this first day of February 2020, Rotarians have served 106 patients, half of them male and the other half female. 48 eye issues have been taken care of, reading glasses distributed and advice given to those that need it that Lions Eye doctors will be available for cataract removal and other eye surgeries on 27^th February in Nyahururu.