The Year in Review: The Nomadic Healthcare Program
This year, our Nomadic Healthcare Team left no stone unturned to reach even the most remote manyattas – traversing everything from erosion gullies, flooded rivers, muddy roads, bumpy roads, areas teeming with wildlife, and more!
The team treated an incredible 904 mothers and 2,580 children in 2023 – focusing on everything from paediatric and pre- and post-natal care to trauma responses and preventative care.
Among many highlights, some key moments stand out:
The addition of a portable ultrasound machine this year has helped us identify at-risk pregnancies and ensure safe deliveries for mothers and babies. It’s already had a tremendous impact on a preventative level, and a wonderful added benefit is that mothers also get to hear the heartbeats and determine the genders of their babies. Read our blogs about it here and here.
A highly successful eye clinic in October changed the outlook of hundreds of patients needing optical care! Highlights included a total of 940 patients being screened for a range of conditions, 139 receiving surgeries, and many receiving prescription glasses – courtesy of a partnership with the Lions Sight First Hospital and Health Yetu Foundation.
All the learners of our Montessori schools were assessed twice this year. The evaluation involves measuring their mid-upper arm circumference, their weight and recording their height– on a brand-new stadiometer that was recently donated by a generous benefactor from the US – to see if they’re on track. Nurses Dorcas and Parito also give all the students a good overall health check so that they can learn and play to their heart’s content! Read our blog about it here.
6 children, who were born deaf, received free hearing aids care from Audibel Hearing Technology and Starkey Care and Starkey Hearing
Two children received surgery for critical medical cases; a burn injury and a rare genetic disorder called multiple exostosis.
Our Healthcare Team also attended two snake training courses in 2023. With snakebites causing more than 1,000 deaths in Kenya per year, and the pastoral Samburu lifestyle including much time outdoors and foot, we’re immensely grateful that our healthcare team is optimally prepared for this threat! Read about Nurse Dorcas attending the 13th Annual East African Snakebite Conference in Malindi here, and read about the snake training that the team received from the Taylor Ashe Foundation, here.
We are immensely proud of all these achievements, and so excited about all that's being planned for 2024 – knowing that more great things are to come. Health truly is wealth! Well done & ashe oleng to Nurse Dorcas and her team.
The mobile health clinic in action at Ntaparani Manyatta. Photo by Simon Pocock.
