I have lived in Buffalo, NY USA all of my life. I am a member of a religious
order, the Sisters of St. Joseph, founded in France about 1650. My professional
training and work is as a physical therapist. I work for a local hospital
home care program. I treat people who are very poor by the standards
in New York State. However all of my patients have clean water to drink,
food to eat, electricity, heat in the cold winter months, and a home
or apartment to live in.
This is a sharp
contrast to the many families and/or individuals I met in Kenya who
have little or no means of income, no clean water, no home or a mud
based tin or thatched roof hut without electricity. I saw young and
old dying of malaria cholera and the epidemic of HIV/AIDS.
We visited the village
of Ober where Nelson Kabaka Oloo has established an orphanage for children
whose parents have died mainly of HIV/AIDS. Sister's Hospital Long Term
Home Health Care Program where I work was sponsoring a young boy, Nevil,
who resided in that orphanage. When I arrived in Kisumu I met Nelson
and was excited about the prospect of meeting Nevil face to face. I
was sadly informed that Nevil had died in May 2003 of cholera along
with other children of the orphanage due to lack of clean water. He
was thirteen years old. Since returning home we have been able to donate
funds to FIOHK and have a well built in the village of Ober so other
people there will not die from lack of water. It only cost $2,000 and
put many local people to work as well as saving lives. It is amazing
to me what a few people can do to make a positive difference in the
lives of others
Part of my summer
I volunteered in the physical therapy department of Kisumu Local District
Hospital as arranged by Rom Wandera the coordinator of FIOHK. The doctors
and professionals are well-trained and caring individuals. The hospital
is severely overcrowded often with two adults in one bed.
There is great cooperation among the families of the patients. The families
take care of the basic needs of the patients including bathing, changing
sheets, supplying clean linens, and bringing food. There is very little
privacy in the wards and infections spread easily. Few individuals have
any health insurance and all services and medications must be paid for
prior to treatment.
One four-year-old girl I treated, Seraphine, had severe burns over her
right arm chest and stomach that had become infected. Her family could
not afford the antibiotics or skin grafting necessary to treat her and
it was likely she would die. It only cost me ten dollars to supply the
treatments needed. Since returning to Buffalo, NY I have corresponded
with Seraphine's mom and learned that she is home and slowly improving.
FIOHK is now sponsoring this child with necessary medical follow-up
and attendance at nursery school.
I am very grateful
for the opportunity to volunteer with FIOHK and hope to continue to
raise awareness of the inequality in the world and ways those of us
more advantaged can help. I plan on volunteering in Kisumu again in
the summer of 2005.
If you would like to contact me my email is lglaeser@verizon.net.
