Socks for the refugees

rs. Again we have a lot of rain and most of the corn crop is ruined. People have not enough to eat and there might be a food shortage before the end of the year. The IDP's invested their money from the Government in buying land on which they place their tents. Money for more and for enough food is not existent. As it became cold here, I took the initiative to give some socks to the refugees ... and they are very grateful. Little Peter (see picture) is one of them. He is also especially happy since he is going to the kindergarten now.

Present from Kasambara School

Today I got a nice present. It is from the Kasambara Primary School to thank for the good collaboration with the community. It's nice to see the the majority of the Kasambara community stands behind us. - Mama Matata

Nakuru City: poor and unsafe

rs. I am not so eager anymore to go to Nakuru town, because you see the poor and hungry everywhere and it is impossible to help them all. Especially children who have nothing can be seen on the streets. The Government unfortunately does not want to recognize the situation and establish any help programs. I was in town today to get some medications that were mailed to me. If I don't have to go to town, I prefer shopping in a nearby new shopping center that is much safer.

Apreciating the work of the IDP's

Today we cleaned all outside toilets and showers. The workers and the helping IDP's made a good job and I thanked them for their work which is not common among the Kenyas; a white women thanking black people is highly appreciated here.

Vaccinations still unpopular

rs. Today our hospital was again open for mothers with their children. During the last three weeks we realized that more mothers find the way to us. Some fear the costs, others do not see the importance of vaccinations as it is the case with a 13-year old girl who came to us and got her first vaccination. The girl told me that she came from Eldoret together with her mother. Her father and her small sister were killed. In the future we will try to inform the people even better about their rights in the health system.

New medications arrived

rs. Today at 7 am I got the first call announcing the arrival of the medications this morning. Thanks God there was no rain, so the small truck arrived safely. Wanjara and myself checked the medications and stored them. Now we are ready for new treatments.

Sunday: Time for office work

rs. Today I made it only for a short visit to the hospital because of heavy rainfalls for the past five days. The roads up the mountain are muddy and dangerous, so I had to be very careful. Our labor assistant Caroline made the list for the medications to be ordered in Nairobi today and we checked it together. The only thing she forgot was a test medication for pregnancy, so we added it. As usual Sunday is a quiet day in the hospital as well as in our rural area.

Giant football to promote our hospital

This giant football made out of metal with a diameter of 3.3 m and a weight of 270 kg was created and sponsored by the Swiss company B. Lüchinger from Oberriet. Mario Lüchinger, director of the company presented it to Stephan Holderegger, who had the idea of the Rhein-Valley Hospital in Kenya. The football is meant to be signed by various football teams and aucioned off to bring some financial support for the hospital. It also shows that our hospital is still very popular among the people of the "Rheintal" in Switerland. Let's hope for a giant auction result!

Turtle Visit announces Rain

rs. When turtles appear it is a sign of rain. Indeed it rains since yesterday and the temperatures came down from 35 °C to 20° C. Again many patients came to our place for medical help. Today we also discussed the working plan for the coming weeks. As we discussed outside, suddenly we heard children screaming and we found a turtle on our ground. Some Kenyans even fear this animal...

In spite of holiday a busy day

rs. In spite of the holiday in honour of Obama's victory, there were many patients today in our hospital. The waiting room was full of people and we also had our babies' day (control and vaccination). Many patients suffered of stomach upsets and fever. Because of the many weather changes, we have more malaria cases. Our lab assistant Caroline made the necessary tests and even helped in other departments. Fortunately we have a good team work and everybody helps each other.

Celebrating President-Elect Obama!

rs. Today it was a great day for Kenyans. Already yesterday the Luo assembled in Kisumu and awaited the result of the American election. Some people placed some boxes with the names of the canditates and did some kind of fun voting. Feast tents were established and as the result was announced the Kenyans celebrated Obama as if he was their president. All over the country everybody was delighted and even President Kibaki announced that Thursday will be a nationaal holiday to celebrate President-elect Obama. Some Kenyans even said that slavery is now past and they started to feel as normal people. Also in and around our hospital there was a little celebration.

Vegetables and fruits are essential

rs. Our gardeners brought the vegetables for lunch. It is very important that the Kenyans understand that they cannot only live on Ugali, they need the vitamins in vegetables and fruits. Otherways our doctors have to give them vitamin pills when they grow older. Only the hotels and some reach people regularly eat vegetables and fruits. So it is one of our duties to inform, educate and inspire our refugees and patients how to eat healthy.

Change of weather brings more patients

rs. With the change of weather we have an increasing number of patients, especially children and elderly people. After the quiet weekend doctor Wanjara and his crew had a busy day. Even our assistants had to help and look after the children, while their mothers were being medically checked inside.

Positive Pregnancy Test

Early Saturday morning it was already very warm; the temperature went up to 35 °C! On the hospital meadow a young couple was waiting for their pregnancy test and as doctor Wanjara told them it was positive, they were delighted. - Mama Matata

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