Reflections from Kenya

Between the herd of gazelles and a family of zebras, an interesting soccer match was unfolding. The players scrambling to each bounce of the ball before sunset. The animals grazing away in this peaceful co-habitation like I have ever seen before. These were the backdrops on some of the drives during our healthcare access medical mission to Nairobi Kenya in December 2023.

The Devoted Skies Healthcare Access Project objective is to help bridge the gap in modern medicine by donating medical supplies, educating healthcare providers, and engaging community members on the importance of wellbeing. After the multi-leg connecting flights, we arrived in Nairobi to learn about the people, their communities, and challenges to the healthcare delivery continuum. Having this profound context provides a unique perspective that "people are people" everywhere.

Road Trip

The 12-hour days are long with early 6AM departures and drives through remote towns in Kenya. After our courtesy visit to the local health commissioner's office, we visited the Kajiado Childcare Center for disabled children. The school provides a full academic and rehabilitation services for children of school age to gain necessary independence and function within the society without self-pity. I was amazed by the locally manufactured prostheses and the physical therapy services with swimming pools for the most disenfranchised in this community.

I often wonder, in the healthcare delivery value chain who is most important. The physician, nurse, pharmacist, or the care giver? All the licensed healthcare providers can be equally weighted, but the caregiver is almost always overlooked. The key takeaway from this childcare center that struck me is its accommodation for caregivers and understanding the psychological impact of caring for their loved ones with its counselling services.

Our visits to the rural clinics and hospitals had two resounding themes: limited healthcare personnel to cater to patients, infrastructure and amenities that seem desolate to be functional for quality care delivery. For example, there are healthcare professionals that serve as the pharmacist, nurse, and physician all in one location. And if an outreach had to be made, or a patient in labor at home, the clinic had to be locked down to go care for the critically needy.

For the Continuing Medical Education (CME) credits in the trauma hospital, there had not been electric supply for a few days. We provided a generator to power the projector and slides for our presentations. We also gladdened the entire hospital staff who had their cellphones recharged for the first time in a long time in our conference room.

People are People

We met so many people with stories not enough room to type up. Duncan is a 10-year-old boy who followed us around as we toured the school for disabled children on Day 1. He was fascinated that we came all the way from New York to visit his community. He was however most interested in sports trivia and how much we knew about sports. Not very proud to say, I failed most of his questions on best players and teams, all from years when he wasn't even born.

The communities we visited, collectively called Maasai land, are nomadic herdsman of farmers, mothers, and children. A nomadic lifestyle is one where walking is a part of everyday life. Ever wonder why Kenyans perform well at long distance running (NYC Marathons)? 😊

Before this healthcare access project in Kenya, we read that members of this community sometimes walk four hours for a medical checkup. In the comfort of our living room couches or car drives, this might be hard to fathom. Even for me, prior trips have amplified commutes on buses and motorcycles that last for hours — but walking, walking was hard to imagine. My experience in Kenya was not just about walking or running but the resilience and fortitude to consistently pace oneself through life's many ups and downs.

Thank you again for reading this piece and for your continued support. Please be on the lookout for our Annual Golf Event — Tee for a Cause — as we continue this mission together.

Sincerely, Funso Olufade, PhD Managing Director & Founder, Devoted Skies