vermont to kenya: preparing for lwala

well, i didn't wander far this weekend. just north to my vermont home. it's beautiful right now, as always, but a special charm with the trees crowned with color. my purpose this weekend was to attend the screening of a movie called 'sons of lwala', a documentary of the genesis of a clinic in rural western kenya, in a small village called lwala, initiated by 2 brothers in a family of 6 children to commemorate their father's dream of building a place where his neighbors could receive health care. the brothers, milton and fred ochieng', are dartmouth alums and are both pursuing/finished with medical education at vanderbilt. in their 'spare' time during med school, they have been trotting the globe, literally, to campaign and fundraise to make their vision a reality. and so, the movie tells of their dramatic and passionate journeys, both literal and figurative, hither and yon.

i met milton and fred yesterday, along with their eldest sibling, omondi, who is visiting the usa for the first time, in honor of attending the movie screening. their 2 sisters, grace and florence, were also in attendance, along with the youngest sibling, solomon. this is the first time the siblings have been together since their father's death. both of their parents are deceased, from AIDS, which is prevalent in lwala as it is in many parts of kenya and africa. estimates of up to 30% of the population have HIV in their bodies. this is a lot of people. no one in the community is unaffected.

so, why this topic as an entry today? well, i am planning a visit to lwala from mid-december to mid-january to volunteer at the clinic as a nurse. finally having practical, portable skills is something new for me, a new adventure in travel, of perhaps being actually useful. there will be a lot of learning - mostly mine, i am certain - while i am there, overwhelming to be sure, with up to 100 patient visits per day at the clinic. the village itself is ~1500 people, but the catchment area has expanded to include ~50,000. this is perhaps because the lwala community clinic is the 'only game in town', so to speak, for miles. people arrive by foot, bicycle ambulance (mattresses strapped to the bike), wheelbarrows, livestock...

my hope in all of this is to do some good, get on the ground in lwala, and LOOK. SEE. FEEL. community assessment has been formalized throughout my public health and nursing education, and now i am going to press myself into service and see what i know. i also hope that this will be the first of many visits to lwala, i am looking for something to dedicate my energy and passion toward for a long term commitment. this could be it.