Kenya Medical Project

Wildlife conservation, environmental protection and cultural preservation in Africa are wholly depend upon the health, education and sustainable livelihood of her indigenous people. Friends of Africa International initiates and supports community-level development projects, causes, partnerships and programming to fulfill its mission to secure a healthy, abundant and sustainable future for people, wildlife and natural habitats in Africa.

About the Kenya Medical Project

The Kenya Medical Project commenced in 2012 as an extension of Friends of Africa’s education and development project in East Pokot. The region is home to hundreds of thousands of nomadic people on a seasonal basis. Maternal and childhood mortality rates far exceed national averages, and thousands of people die each year of preventable or curable illness and injury. The reason is mostly due to the lack of any functioning medical facilities coupled with the extreme scarcity of doctors.

MAJOR MILESTONES:

  • In October of 2013, Friends of Africa International hosted a major fundraising dinner at the Phoenix Zoo to raise money for the Kenya Medical Project. Funds earned at that event were enough to commence construction of a new clinic in remote village called Korelach.
  • In 2014, Friends of Africa board members embarked on a six-week tour of the Northwestern quarter of Kenya, where they found numerous clinics that had been built by well-intentioned NGOs but had long-since been abandoned. Of the few facilities that were open, most had deplorable conditions, no water or power, inadequate staff and insufficient supply stores. The only few hospitals in the region were also barely operational with limited staff an a lack of any modern diagnostic or treatment equipment.
  • In 2014, Friends of Africa completed construction of a medical clinic in Korelach, which is located in a remote region of Kenya where nearly 1,000,000 people have little to no ready access to medical care.
  • In 2015, Friends of Africa hosted the first official Project C.U.R.E. assessment of 6 medical Kenya Medical Project facilities in the East Pokot region including the area’s largest facility, Chemolingot Hospital. During the tour, board members and the assessor met with clinicians, doctors and county health officials.
  • Following the 2015 assessment tour, Chairman Bonnie Bishop introduced the assessor to the First Lady of Kenya and began plans to honor her in Project C.U.R.E.’s 2016 First Ladies Initiative Events.
  • In March 2016, Friends of Africa co-sponsored Project C.U.R.E.’s First Ladies Initiative Events and met with the entire delegation of the Office of the First Lady to formulate strategy for distribution of medical equipment and supplies and determine future regions where clinics are needed to support Beyond Zero mobile clinic initiatives.
  • March 2016, Friends of Africa was informed that a sponsor had stepped forward to cover the cost of shipping the first 40-foot container with more than $500,000 in medical supplies and equipment to Chemolingot Hospital, the first facility designated under the Kenya Medical Project.
Friends of Africa Clinic in Korelach

Friends of Africa Clinic in Korelach

RELIANCE ON VALUED PARTNERSHIPS

The Kenya Medical Project is building synergistic, mutually beneficial strategic alliances with a number of NGOs, private companies, government agencies, local community leaders and nonprofits. Primary alliances include:

  • Project C.U.R.E., a U.S.-based nonprofit that secures donated medical provisions destined for needy clinics and hospitals in developing nations
  • African Medical and Research Foundation, also known as the Flying Doctors of East Africa, which provides emergency air-evacuations, logistics support and training for inoculations, midwives and clinicians
  • Beyond Zero, a mobile clinic initiative of Kenya’s First Lady, Her Excellency, Margaret Kenyatta. Friends of Africa is providing U.S. fundraising support and working with the Office of the First Lady of Kenya to determine areas in need of additional medical infrastructure and assign delivery of Project C.U.R.E. medical supplies and equipement. Kenya’s most remote regions
  • Help a Child Face Tomorrow, a Kenya-based nonprofit that provides a Reconstructive Surgery outreach programme for children suffering from craniofacial deformities lead by its honorary CEO and Lead Surgeon, Dr. Meshach Onguti, who is also a member of Friends of Africa International’s Advisory Board

Project CURE assessment of Killowa Hospital

PRIMARY OBJECTIVES OF THE KENYA MEDICAL PROJECT:

  • Building new clinics in underserved areas of Northeast Kenya along the border of South Sudan and inaccessible areas of the Rift Valley.
  • Refurbishing and provisioning existing clinics and hospitals to improve hygiene, ensure access to clean water and power, and facilitate functionality. We employ local members of the community to assist with cleaning, painting, construction and training whenever possible.
  • Hosting Project C.U.R.E. assessments of existing and new project clinics and hospitals for feasibility, functionality, available infrastructure and local health statistics.
  • Delivering much needed medical supplies and equipment donated by Project C.U.R.E. to Assessed clinics designated in collaboration with the Office of the First Lady of Kenya

The Kenya Medical Project is a monumental undertaking that takes a vast amount of resources. We won’t rest until everyone in Kenya has reasonable access to medical facilities.  Even with amazing partners, we can’t do it without the generosity of our donors. Will you please make a donation? Every little bit helps!