Visiting the Village

It’s been a busy past few days. Yesterday, I went with the nurse to take vital signs of the patients. I also followed the doctor on rounds. One patient we took to get an ultrasound to look at a (possibly) enlarged liver. It was during this time that I noticed that it was difficult for patients to move around the hospital. You see, the hospital is three stories, but no elevators. This means that the patients must walk up and down the stairs…

Today, I went on rounds with the physician. One child had Rachitic Rosary, which is a deficiency in calcium. It makes the ribs to have bumps and is, in this case, caused by malnutrition, which according to this doctor, is the 3rd leading cause for the death of children in Kenya.

Later, we went through the market in town, which happens every Wednesday and Friday. They sell cloths, shoes, and fruit. There is also a lot of sheep, chickens, and donkeys that walk along the street. The donkeys are used to carry goods around.

From here, we went to the Tea Village, which is in walking distance from where I live. Limuru is known for its tea and there are acres and acres of tea farming land. All the green land is tea plants!

Unfortunately, parents go out to work in the fields, and the children (young children) had to take care of the babies. There would be 5 year-old children in-charge of newborns, and they would carry them on their backs.

Aside from the lack of food, these children really just needed love and care. They had to take care of the siblings so young that they never really get to play, as a result, they were so content just to sit on your lap and be held in your arms. They were also very fascinated with my watch and hair. My phone was especially interesting, so it was difficult to take pictures…

We played with the kids while the parents worked and we also delivered some food to them. ~$270 of food was given and it would feed the village for about 2 weeks.

I am really excited because I’ve decided to set up a go fund me to help these kids that basically live next door to me. I hope to give food and other necessities, and help kids in school, and give supplies for the women’s centre in Limuru. I know, without a shadow of a doubt, that these kids would absolutely love whatever we could buy for them!

https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-families-in-limuru-kenya?utm_source=customer&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_campaign=p_cf+share-flow-1

More stories later!

Happy Adventuring!

Gabrianne