Pokot Travel Health Clinic
On Thursday we accompanied Sister Freda and her husband Richard on a travel health clinic. It was a very interesting (to say the least) 2-hour drive with a car filled with ten people on “roads” that barely had a path cleared. When we arrived, we were greeted by a group of 60 or so people dressed in bright clothes singing songs (the only word I understood was Jesus). This was probably my greatest moment of culture shock-I felt like I was in a completely different world. As I looked around in all directions, all I could see were some shrubs, trees and a few huts and mud houses in the distance. Richard told me that we were the first white people some of these people have ever seen. They all surrounded a little church waiting to seek medical attention. We quickly began unloading the medical supplies and setting up inside. Sister Freda and her staff had quite the methodical system. Ten or so people would come in and state what was bothering them. Then they would be written prescriptions that Allison and I would fill into little bottles for them to take home. My afternoon consisted of pouring medicine into little bottles and writing the name of the medicine and instructions on labels. Some children were immunized and some people were even tested for HIV. At one point we ran out of little bottles to put the medicine in, and not wanting to disappoint anyone, Sister Freda and her staff had us wash out the water and soda bottles we used for lunch and had them filled with medicine. The day flew by and was probably one of my favorite days here. It was such a cool experience to witness and take part in. Sister Freda visits this community twice a month because their closest hospital is about a 3 hour walk. The church gave us a rooster to show their appreciation for the clinic and we had to drive home with the rooster (still alive) under our seats (Ah!-Allison and I were officially creeped out)
This is what it looked like in all directions around
Here is the small church where the clinic was held with patients waiting outside...
Here's the medicine we used all afternoon...
Some Pokot women and their children waiting to be treated...
Me, Allison, and Richard inside the clinic...
Allison and I playing pharmacist...
Sister Freda checking the heartbeat of a Pokot child...