Cleanness is of paramount importance

After we purchased some rice for our camp we checked if everything is ok in the hospital. Today I was not completely satisfied with the cleanness of the medical staff, so we discussed the matter in front of the house. In general the crew works fine but from time to time you have to remember them what are the standards to be followed. - Mama Matata

RVH: Unveiling Plans of Expansion

ak. After four years in operation, the Rhein-Valley Hospital Foundation (and its board of directors) has decided it would like to do more for the people of Kasambara and Thugunui. Next year, they will commence construction of the new Dental and Optical Clinic to be able to provide more specialized medical services. Both dental and optical services are very much needed in rural Kenya, where cataracts or rotting teeth are often the only barrier preventing a person from leading a normal life. The new building will include a dental wing, an optical wing, a post-surgery in-patient room, staff residences, volunteer residences, a large kitchen and a staff eating area. Most of the medical equipment has already been generously donated by the Swiss military (much of it brand new), but the foundation is still seeking additional funds to help with building's construction.

Quiet Day to Catch Up

ak. Since it was a quieter day at the hospital, the staff took advantage of the free time to catch up on cleaning and doing administrative work. Although there is a daily protocol to keep things in order, since there are relatively few staff members, an extra day is sometimes required, especially after a series of hectic days. In the afternoon, Irene, one of the girls from the IDP camp came in because she had cut her thumb. It was also discovered that she was suffering from a severe case of conjunctivitis, or pink eye. She seemed unperturbed by the fact that she couldn't see out of one eye and was instead delighted to hear she didn't have to go to school tomorrow!

Kenyan Hot-Rod

ak. It was another busy day at the hospital. After a weekend of rain and colder temperatures, patients flooded in with flu and pneumonia-like symptoms. Luckily, all medical staff were on hand, so everything ran smoothly. At the end of the day, a funny incident occurred. Since Ruth was consumed with work at home, I had taken a taxi to the hospital in the morning. In the afternon, I was late meeting the taxi at the bottom of the hill (the 3km road is too rough for small sedans to traverse), so I ran the 3km to make up time. When I reached the bottom, heaving due to the thin 2200m air, I spotted this car. It looked so outrageous, I had to stop to take a picture. I then continued on to the main road since the taxi had not yet arrived. After 45 minutes of waiting and growing concern that it was getting dark, the taxi driver called me wondering where I was. He was parked at the bottom of the hill waiting for me. It turns out he had borrowed the outrageous car from his friend as his was in the shop for repairs. When I walked by and took the photo, he was peacefully sleeping in the back seat. We had a good laugh about the situation...and then ran out of gas 2km from the house!

Beautiful Baby Girl Born at the RVH

ak. It was an exceptionally busy Monday at the hospital today. Since Dr. Wanjara and Nurse Kennedy were on holiday, it was up to Nurse Victor, Nurse Mathew and the young Canadian intern to keep the show going! There were several interesting cases including a young boy who had been stabbed in the eye by a twig. When the boy arrived at the hospital, part of the twig was lodged in his cornea. After careful consideration whether or not the eye would have to be removed, Victor decided to remove the remaining shards of wood, which, it was later discovered, ended up saving the boy's eye. The busy day was concluded successfully when a beautiful baby girl was born at exactly 4:08pm.

Seeing themselves on photos ...

Today I had the opportunity and time to give the photos that Barbara Wieland made, to the refugees. They were all delighted to see themselves. In Thugunui they are not used to cameras and they are even afraid of being photographed because here in the wilderness people often think that some magic and negative powers are within the cameras. But once they get the photos, they are happy. - Mama Matata

Rainy Weekend in Nakuru

ak. We've been, as some would say, blessed by heavy rains the past three days. As a result, there have been multiple power outages, some of which have lasted the better part of the day. Between rainfalls, we were able to make it to the hospital this afternoon to distribute some food to the IDPs. Maintaining medical and nutrition needs for the remaining 60 members of the hospital's IDP camp is yet another task Ruth Schaefer deals with on a daily basis. The tentative plan is that the remaining IDPs will continue to live on the hospital grounds until late November or early December, but since there remain ethnic strains throughout the country, it's still not easy for the IDPs to relocate to their original homes. In the meantime, many who live at the hospital have become temporary workers and are, subsequently, able to earn a small salary that will help them get back on their feet.

Patient Transferred from Nairobi

ak. Today we received a special patient transferred from Nairobi. Since the patient had been in hospital for over a week and could no longer afford the expenses, the RVH received a request yesterday whether the patient could be transferred. She arrived this morning with what was believed to be meningitis. However, within five minutes of initial consultation, Dr. Wanjara had concluded that the patient was not suffering from meningitis by conducting a simple physical test. He instead suspected the patient had developed a serious case of typhoid fever, which can sometimes cause similar symptoms to meningitis. The doctors in Nairobi had not administered the proper tests and, as a result, the patient had been treated for over a week with the wrong medication. Dr. Wanjara double-checked his clinical diagnosis with a blood test and admitted the patient when the test returned positive for typhoid fever. With medication and proper nutrition, the patient should be in good enough shape to go home in two days.

More presents for the IDP's

Today the last scenes were filmed for the feature planned by the Swiss TV team who is now in Nakuru. There were again heavy rainfalls and the conditions for the video crew were difficult. And the crew gave more T-Shirts and shoes to the IDP's.

Maina Muhia thanks Mama Matata

sh. Today Maina Muhia from the UN World Food Program visited again our hospital and thanked Mama Matata for her continuous work. We also had more activities and interviews of the TV team that covers the life in and around the hospital. Then we had Lunch together with the IDP's and all the children were happy. At 4:30 pm we were urged to go home because another of these sudden and strong rainfalls started to make everything wet and nearly insurmountable.

We just got a statement that Maina Muhia made:

Ruth Schäfer, popularly known Mama Matata in Kenya has been in Kenya for sometime, however I came to know her in January 2008 when the country was on fire due to desputed elections. As a UN WFP monitor, I was in charge of the plight of the displaced persons especially on food security. During this time, hungry mothers and their children were moving all over in search of save ground and reports indicated that a Hospital by the name Rhein Valley was a destination of many needy cases of IDP's. I decided to look for this hospital, to my surprise, I found 7500 IDP's, the second concern and encouragement was this white lady who was working with a lot of zeal and energy. I found communication between her and the old women difficult and mostly was by hands or by movement, but things were working. Her consoling heart was overwhelming particularly to the traumatized widows and widowers, children who had lost either parent or both. And despite all this wonderful job and commitment, food was the biggest challenge since the numbers of arrivals kept increasing by the day. I hurriedly took the issue to the government officials, UN and NGOs for necessary action since the burden was increasingly demanding for Ruth and the few staff in the hospital.

One fact is that the Rhein-Valley Institution was not designed to cater for tribal clashes, but the fact today it is a hospital and IDP camp all with diffrent demands and challenges. A few very encouraging facts about Mama Matata and the hospital are

-exellent hygine, no fear of outbreaks,
-high moral standard in all age groups
- high value of education
- high sense of responsibility and self control.
-Transparency and accountability.

Its quite difficult to have the actual words to describe Mama Matata but simply she has done what many have not to the desparate and at the right time. My thanks goes to Rhein-Valley management, the Donors and well wishers. I join you in prayer that we keep assisting the less disadvantaged in all societies.

Maina Muhia
Food Security consultant
UN World Food Programm
Nakuru / Kenya

Clothes bring happiness

sh. Today a busy day with a lot of work. The Swiss TV team currently filming in and around the hospital was again active and interviewed Mama Matata, Director of the hospital. Stephan Holderegger gave clothes to the children and they as well as their mothers thanked with gratitude and happiness.

The many faces of children in Nakuru

PHOTOS BY STEPHAN HOLDEREGGER

New banks for Thugunui Children

sh. Today we organized a big gathering of all school children up in the mountain village of Thugunui on 3000 m. Reason was the transportation of the chairs and tables that we got by container from the Swiss "kids-to-kids" organization. As it had rained last night, it was not easy to bring the two trucks up the mountain on the wet dirt streets. And once we had to push the truck by hand thanks to our hospital crew. As we approached the school, excitement among the young people was big. The children greeted us with palm branches and sang and danced for us. Also all the other inhabitants of the village joined the children and we had a real feast. Luckily the weather was also nice besides a small 5-minute rain. The children brought their old banks out of their classrooms and compared them with the new ones. The joy was visible in all their eyes and they were full of gratitude for all the gifts. The whole event started at 10 am and lasted until 5 in the afternoon. Watch our pictures!

Before...

... and afterwards

Singing, dancing & enjoying new T-Shirts

Today the Swiss TV crew from "Tele Südostschweiz" was busy filming youngsters getting T-Shirts (sponsered by Intersport) and they all were happy. Many refugees were singing and dancing. It was also busy time for the hospital crew who always show their gratitude of being part of Mama Matata's team. I am also happy to be back in the Rhein-Valley Hospital after some longer than expected stay in Switzerland due to a leg injury.

- Stephan Holderegger

Visit from Swiss TV Station

ak. Yesterday evening, Rhein-Valley Hospital founder Stephan Holderegger arrived in Nairobi with a two-man television crew from TV Swiss South-East. The crew is in Kenya to film a six-part miniture documentary series of the hospital and its director, Ruth Schaefer. Marco Nuessli and Marc Hosig from the Swiss station made their first trip to the hospital today and were very impressed with what they saw. An appropriate day for a first viewing, it was Thursday Neonatal Day, which provides a hectic atmosphere throughout the day. Once the number of patients had reduced in the late afternoon, we enjoyed a soccer game against the IDP children and then Marco had his hair braided.

Lawn Maintenance

ak. It was lawn maintenance day at the Rhein-Valley Hospital. Since electric or gas-powered lawnmowers are rarely used in Kenya, the most common way to the cut grass is by use of a "slasher", a machete-type tool with a slight angle at the tip of the blade. To use a slasher, you must bend your body approximately 45° at the waste and slash horizontally in an arc, back and forth. Over a course of 2 to 3 hours, a skilled slasher will slash an approximate area of 20m x 20m, or 400m2. Not very efficient, but certainly an excellent workout!

A Difficult Case

ak. Today was yet another busy day at the RVH. In the late morning, we dealt with a rather difficult, complex and disturbing case. This young woman, whose exact age is unknown, is the daughter of her mother and uncle. As a result, she has a mental disability, which in Kenya is very difficult to find support for. Her mother is so poor that they cannot afford shoes and both had walked barefoot from Thugunui, four kilometers downhill. The girl presented with a severe case of pneumonia, having had symptoms for over one month. It was also discovered that the girl had been raped two years ago, and after testing, it was miraculous that she showed no signs of STIs or HIV. Sadly, despite the efforts of the RVH to properly educate and care for the people of Kasambara and Thugunui, this example shows that either neglect and/or ignorance persist as significant obstacles in dealing with patients in a rural setting, be it in Kenya or in the Western world.

Busier than Normal Sunday

ak. As Sundays are normally quieter at the Rhein-Valley Hospital, it was unusual to see so many patients today. Considering it is currently the short rain season and evenings of late have been rather cold, it is not suprising that there seems to be more cases of pneumonia and upper respiratory tract infections, especially amongst children. Although it is unfortunate to see that more people need care, it reassuring to know that these patients are a least receiving care. Prior to the RVH's existance, several of these patients could have died from such diseases which are otherwise easily treatable.

Visit from President Kibaki

ak. Kenya's President Mwai Kibaki visited Nakuru today. Early in the morning, two helicopters touched down in the field adjacent to State House, the President's Nakuru office/residence. Many of the locals watched in awe as the large helicopters engulfed them in body-shaking upcurrents and ear-piercing chopping. Since the President only seldom visits Nakuru, by late afternoon a large crowd of people had gathered around the periphery of the field, all hoping to catch a momentary view of their leader. President Kibaki spent the entire day in Nakuru and then departed as the sun was setting.

Moi Day in Kenya

ak. As it was a national holiday today, the hospital was relatively quiet. Although the staff appreciated a slight break after a busy week, the children in the hospital's IDP camp were even more appreciative of the fact that they didn't have to go to school. Moi Day is celebrated in honour of former President Daniel Arap Moi who was Kenya's commander-in-chief for over 27 years, from 1975-2002.