In the suburbs of Nakuru

rs. Today I spent the whole day in Nakuru. I was looking for some strips for the Diabetic Machine but couldn't find any, perhaps I have to call some drogstores in Nairobi. As the main street in Nakuru was blocked with traffic, I took the smaller "roads" and saw how people are living there: A lot of garbage everywhere and a lack of hygiene. No wonder that Cholera and other diseases are spreading in these circumstances. Normally no whites are pasing through these areas but thanks to many friends I meet on the way, the journey seems to be practicable. Often they say hello Mama Matata. It seems that I have more friends among the poor than among the rich!

Joy with football and volleyball playing

Today the boys from the camp enjoyed playing football and volleyball. Before they tried to glue a defect ball, which they made with primitive tools, but they managed to repair them somehow. They also use to come here to fill the balls with air.

Browsing through the city of Nakuru

rs. Today I was in Nakuru to ask for the printed matter we ordered but unfortunately they were not ready. Then I met Nikolas who is selling pineapples in the streets of the city. Although I am not very fond of this fruit, I bought two of them, to help him finance his supper. Nowadays there are very few tourists and business is bad. And the locals have no money for this. I also met Tomi, the shoemaker. They are doing everything by hand here, but at the end the shoes are better off than machine made. In the town I had to be very careful because there are so many thiefs around who are waiting for opportunities...

The mood is crippled

rs. If you watch our refugees in the camp, you currently see that they are not in the best mood. They hear all the news of brutalities in the villages as in Nyeri where again violence broke out yesterday. We also have people from this village in the Rhein-Valley Hospital camp. They repeatedly tell us that they are so happy to be here and to have some security and and shelter. If you look into the faces of these displaced people you recognize their sorrow. For example Bugwua (left in picture with white hat) said, that his farm doesn't exist anymore and he doesn't know how to feed his family. He had tears in his eyes and seems to be desperate. We try to help these people and pray for them. We can only hope for a better future for all Kenyans.

Muddy Sunday...

Today it was a quiet and muddy Sunday. I had to go to the office to get something and it was very difficult and dangerous on the dirt roads. Hope it will be better on Monday. On my way I met this cute donkey-cart with his little guide.

Saturday: Time for some shopping in Nakuru

rs. Today it was raining in the morning and too dangerous to drive to the hospital on the muddy street, so I took the chance to do some shopping in Nakuru town. I left my car near a hotel where it is safer to park. The street boys who usually look after my car, where nowhere to be found. There is an animal market and a free Disco outside the town, so they probably went there. I was buying some vegetables and made a stop at the souvenir shop where I met some friends. Back home I had time to install some lost software on Nyaga's office computer.

Visit of the Head Teacher

rs. Today the Head Teacher, Mr. Njoroge, visited us. As I feel more at ease outside we met in front of our storage container. He wanted to know if this year again we will visit the school to deworm all children. As we are very busy at the moment and need all energy to keep the cholera disease in control, we agreed that we will come after the holidays. Our medical team usually goes to the school once a month to give some talks on aids, hygiene, and contraception. All these themes are a taboo for the parents as well as the teachers. So it is our doctors who have to take action.

Again more cholera cases

rs. The day started with bad news. Our doctor Wanjara informed me that over night 4 new Cholera patients came to our hospital. They were immediately isolated and became infusions. Our nurse John took all preventive measures because there still is a big risk of infection. In Nakuru town 3 people died of Cholera and also in Kisumu there were again more Cholera cases. All the time I am thinking why this disease is still so active here and the only reasons I can find are a lack of information and many patients don' take it seriously enough. Often patients are not cautious in the public and in public transports, so the risk for the others around them are big. I decided today to order vaccinations for all members of our crew. The medications should arrive on Monday.

Registration numbers to get drinking water

rs. This morning we prepared the numbers for the people to get their drinking water regularly. As we never know how long the water station will supply us with water, we want to be sure that all residents of the camp have access. So with this registration number that the woman on our picture carries around her neck, they can be sure to get the water. People from outside will not be accepted, especially because they might misuse the numbers and use the water for other purposes than drinking.

Vaccination day

rs. Today we had a vaccination day. 56 babies and 35 small children came with their mothers. Not everyboday came, because there is still some fear of cholera although in Kasambara and Thugunui the situation has thanks God much improved. Today, we also made some phone calls reagarding food supplies for the refugees but unfortunately nobody from the official offices in Nakuru wanted to know something. Perhaps we have to go there personally to get some response.

Many people have Diabetes

In the waiting room

rs. Daily routine is back. The cholera cases could be limited thanks to the given medications. But in the hospital we still have many patients. The waiting room was full the whole day. For a short time there were so many things happening at the same time that our laboratory assistant and even the cleaning woman went to help the medical staff with organizational things. Currently we have many patients with diabetes and high blood pressure. Our doctor Wanjara spezialized in treating the diabetes cases. Often a change in the food plan can do a lot. Many Kenyans not even know that they have diabetes because most of the other doctors don't check it.

A visit to the General Hospital in Nakuru

rs. Towards noon I got a call from Alice (see picture right), nurse at the General Hospital in Nakuru. As it is Sunday I took the time to visit her. It has been about a year since I saw her last. There I also met doctor Frederick (see picture above). I quickly jumped into the uniform to be allowed to enter the operation theatre rooms. There Alice told me that they urgently need some advice. The sterilisation machine is out of order and they had no clue what could be the reason. As they know that I am a practical woman, they thought I might help. In fact I could check the machine and saw that a fuse was defective. So we replaced it with a new one and the machine was working again...

Our Blog: 10,000 views in 6 months!

We are proud that our Blog "Rhein-Valley Hospital News" is becoming more and popular with now 10,000 viewers from many parts of the world (see map). Thanks to the regular news coverage by Ruth Schäfer, director of the Hospital we can supply this daily news to you!

Without support we cannot feed the refugees

rs. Today we had a big discussion about the food. Although the Government promised us support, we still don't know if we get enough food for the refugees in the camp. Therefore we called everybody and tried to explain the situation. If we don't get food supplies from the Government side, the refugees have to look for themselves and we can give them only fresh drinking water and shelter. Our provisions are nearly finished and we need more supplies. We agreed that a delegation of the refugees will go to the DO (District Officer) on Monday to make their case. We will give them the money for the trip to Nakuru town. Let's hope for a good response; otherways I will have to intervene myself. As PS Dr. Nyikal spoke of collaboration on Thursday, we hope for a positive outcome of the problem.

Refugees discuss the problem of food supplies
in front of the Rhein-Valley Hospital

Cholera protection for 5000 people

rs. The delegation of the Government that visited us yesterday also brought us medications to protect the population against cholera. So far we could give the pills to 5000 people that should protect them for the duration of about one week. Again, there were lines of people in front of the hospital and we served them out of the window so that only ill patients had to go inside. In Kasambara the cholera situation improved a bit although we still have to be cautious. One news item was still alarming: in the General Hospital one nurse got infected after she treated cholera patients. Fortunately we were very cautious at the Rhein-Valley Hospital and reacted immediately after the first cholera cases with masks for the staff, gloves and boots.

Government promises support in the future

rs. Today we had the visit of several Government officials in connection with the cholera outbreak, that we realized a couple of days ago and which we also immediately reported to the Health Ministry. Among the guests were the Secretary of the Parliament Dr. James Nyikal as well as Dr. John Odondi of the Province Ministry of Health and Dr. Nyakiba, the District Minister of Health. Our two doctors Wanjara and John proudly showed them our hospital and all guests were very impressed with what they saw and with what we have done for our patients, our staff and the refugees in the camp. Dr. Nyikal thanked as many times and promised full support of the Government in the future. The above picture shows Mr. Nyikal greeting Ruth Schäfer, director of the Rhein-Valley Hospital at the end of today's meeting.

Cholera: 100 cases and 10 deaths

rs. In the regions of Naivasha, Kasambara, Escharira and Nakuru the cholera has broken out. Now the Ministry of Health seems to wake up after 10 people died and 100 cases were noted. Last week we already informed the authorities about the situation but they didn't react. Today they visited our place and tomorrow more officials from the water and health department will come to discuss what has to be done. The Government always speaks of collaboration. We hope that finally we can work together and also get proper help.

Refugees get their medications in the Rhein-Valley Hospital

Visiting the Nakuru Press

rs. Early this morning I drove to the industrial district of Nakuru and went to the Nakuru Press, where all our printed patient cards are being printed. I was not allowed to take any pictures inside the building. Jakob, one of the workers helped me bringing the package to the car. Then, I realized that I have forgotten my disk with the file. I took the chance to ask if they would also produce receipt books and I gave an order of 100 pieces, to be finished next week. I was speaking with the workers ouside when suddenly the director came. He is an Indian man. The white people born here in Kenya are not so easy to understand. They have quite a different mentality. A strong resentment against the black is often to be felt.

Our big cleaning day

rs. Today we had a major cleaning day. All the mattresses were take out of the hospital and the blankets and pillows were disinfected. The toilets and washrooms were especially cleaned. Six refugee men helped us the hole day, all together we were a crew of 14 workers. After a short lunch break we continued in the afternoon and I took out my hot steam cleaner for the mattresses. At 5 pm everybody was happy that the duties were done. And when I drove home, a big rainfall started. The weather changes as quickly as some of our people change their mind...

The first tooth

rs. This young camp habitant got his first tooth. This Sunday is quiet as usual. The refugees take their time to clean everything and to go to church. By the way there are five different churches here. Most of the refugees are happy with the life in the camp and adopted well all the rules and regulations although for many of them it is quite a challenge considering their past life in the bushes.