Collecting School Furniture

ak. It was a busy day at the hospital today. The waiting room was full by early morning and the medical staff were on the run until mid-afternoon when there was a much-needed lull in patients. Later in the afternoon, students from the neighbouring Kasambara Primary School arrived to collect their tables and chairs, donated by the Swiss organization Kids-to-Kids. It took two trips with 20 students, but within 30 minutes the furniture had disappeared, destined for good use by rural Kenyan school children.

Swiss officials came to visit our hospital

rs. Today we had a visit from Switzerland. Stephan, the driver of the Swiss Embassy called me in the morning to get the directions to the hospital. As our direction signs had been stolen, it is not easy to find the way to the entrance. Eliane Candido (see picture left) from the Swiss Embassy in Nairobi came together with Monika Gwerder (right), inspector of the EDA (Federal Department of Foreign Affairs) in Bern. Both wanted to visit our hospital and the affiliated tent camp. Our doctor John showed them the hospital and I informed them about the tents. As we walked through the camp, Monika Gwerder asked why we invest so much energy into the camp while the Government closes camps. I explained that many people had fear to go home and needed a place to stay, at least until end of the year. In our camp we put a lot of emphasis on security. We do not want rapes to happen as it is the case in other camps in Eldoret and Nakuru. The Swiss guests were impressed by our work and wanted to tell others about it. Early afternoon they went back to Nairobi. I wanted to continue with some works but the daily rain forced me to go home.

Invited by Mr.Muhia and his family

sh. After enjoying our Sunday morning in the Nakuru park we could meet Mr. Meina Muhia (UN World Food Program) and his family in Nakuru town. We had lunch together and also could talk about the current situation in Kenya and tomorrow's food distribution to the IDP's - as we call them. Interdependent displaced people are in fact are not refugees. They will get again the portions for a full week. And Mr. Muhia promised that the sanitary installations also should arrive at the hospital by tomorrow. Although Monday will be a long working day I plan to go to Nairobi again to check the situation with the Container from kidstokids Switzerland who is blocked there since months. Perhaps we also get the licence plate for Mama Matata's car. We asked for it more than two years ago... Strong nerves are a big advantage in Kenya.

All those who are using Apple's new
OS X Leopard operating system;
this is a real one, taken in the Nakuru park by Stephan Holderegger

Kenya, also a paradise for zebras

270 water containers and 300 blankets arrived

sh. Today was a multifaceted day - regarding our work as well as the weather, which presented itself from the very hot to a fairly cold side. Early in the morning we got a call from Mr Meina Muhia (UN World Food Program) that he wanted to discuss the latest details about the sanitary installations and that 270 water containers for the refugees waited for us to be transported to the hospital. Then we controlled the last works to dig the necessary wholes for the toilets and showers. And finally the 300 blankets donated by the Swiss Red Cross arrived! Many thanks.

Mama Mata just got the promised 300 blanket from the Red Cross Switzerland through the intiative of Heinz Heer of "kidstokids".

Swiss donate 150,000 CHF for Kenya

km. The popular Swiss weekly "Migros-Magazin" (circulation of 3 million) again presents the issues of the Rhein-Valley Hospital in today's edition on 4 pages. After a first report of the magazine there was a huge reader response and a total of nearly 150'000 Swiss Francs were donated. Dispite all problems Ruth Schäfer (Mama Matata) speaks about first signs of hope! Here is the link to the article in the online-edition:

New plaster will help the burn patients

Yesterday a boy with some heavy burn visited again our hospital for checking his condition. Last week we could successfully reduce the infections he had and a new skin is regrowing. We are now waiting for a new plaster that we should soon get from a company in Kerzers, Switzerland. With this plaster we can treat all such burns in the future.

Today we gave out more baby food, corn and cabbage, which had first to be cleaned before we could use it. The temperature again was high with 30° C (see also our regularly updated weather chart in the right column) and there is a strong wind blowing in our region. Asthmatics are suffering from the occuring dust. Tonight my partner Stephan Holderegger again is coming to visit me and the hospital. I will pick him up at the Nairobi Airport and then we have another 3-4 hours until we reach Nakuru.

I would also like to thank all people who kindly donated money for our hospital in the last few days.

Ruth Schäfer

Interview with Stephan Holderegger online

km. Through my connection with Kids To Kids (a Humanitarian Aid Programme inspired by Sri Chinmoy) I met 60-year old Stephan Holderegger from Switzerland. Since his childhood he has been handicapped by a severe immune deficiency disease that destroys the lungs. Two weeks before his predicted death, he got a phone call, inviting him to the main hospital in Zurich for a lung transplant. He grabbed his prepared suitcase and jumped into the ambulance. He called all his friends and told them if he survived the operation he would open a hospital in Kenya for the poor. Stephan got a second life and started his ambitious project right away. Not only did the hospital open in 2004 under the guidance of his partner Ruth Schäfer, but Stephan started various ventures promoting the hospital and donating organs. First he climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, then he ran the New York City marathon. If you want to know more about the founder of the Rhein-Valley Hospital, watch this interview of LIFE Voices, a monthly podcast presenting fascinating people from around the world. Just click on the image and the video will start! The HD broadcast version can be seen on srichinmoy.tv and soon also on vimeo.