Egypt:

Kaikir Village

One morning a person called the Lodwar Clinic phone to say that there was a sick patient in Kaikir Village, 22 miles from Lodwar. The caller explained further that the patient’s condition was worsening, and she needed urgent help. Having explained the condition of the patient, Derrick Lwoto organized the necessary medicines and left for the village. It took about a half hour to drive to the village, a long way to walk for a patient who is sick. Derrick found the patient in a worse state than expected with signs and symptoms of severe malaria.

However, after assessing the condition of the patient, Derrick decided to refer her for further management. In our facility, laboratory tests for the patient were performed for malaria, typhoid and brucellosis. The laboratory report showed high titers for malaria and typhoid in the blood, so our team started treatment immediately. After receiving treatment for one week, the patient felt much better and was released to complete the rest of the treatment at home.

The patient was very grateful for the good care we provided for her. She thanked everybody for the support and good and successful treatment. She further thanked us for picking her up in her home at a time when she was very sick and needed help. We were able to take her back home in good health. Her neighbors came to welcome her and gave their appreciation to our organization for being ready to help in a time of crisis.

Kerio Village

In November, we encountered an emergency case from Kerio Village. A 6-year-old girl had fallen from a tree while eating wild fruits due to hunger. She had a deep cut on her face from falling from a height onto a sharp piece of wood. She bled until she fainted several times before our arrival. The health team was called by telephone by the pastor in Kerio Village, telling us of a serious emergency. Having heard the nature of the emergency, we packed the necessary supplies for saving this child and headed for the village.

Within forty minutes we were in the village, and we immediately gave the patient the necessary first aid to save her life. After resuscitating her, we transported her to Lodwar District Hospital. She was taken to the operating theater for the wound to be sutured. It took half an hour for her face to be sutured. We then took our patient (after recovery) to continue medical care at our clinic since we have good medicines supplied through RMF funding. It took the little girl four days to fully recover.

The mother and the grandmother of the child who accompanied her were happy for all we did to save their child. They told the health team that they were in a bad state financially at this time and had nothing to provide payment. We also provided transportation for the family back home with the patient. At home the girl was received by her relatives and neighbors with joy. They thanked the health team for arriving so fast to save the life of their child. We also promised the parents that we will be doing a follow-up check on the patient to monitor the progress after healing because she was unconscious for several minutes after a fall from a great height.

Food program

Taking mobile clinics into the remote rural regions has given the program a big challenge as we frequently encounter people with not enough to eat . Initially, our team was focused on Lodwar Town but with the purchase of a vehicle about five years ago, the team has now been able to serve the far-away villages. In almost all villages we encounter patients who have not eaten for two to three days. Due to this, the program has put in place the purchase of food for such patients who come for treatment and have nothing to eat. This has really helped such patients a great deal. The communities to which we take the mobile clinic appreciate the step that the program has taken to think of the most vulnerable section of the community. The children and the elderly form the biggest beneficiaries of this provision. Though this food is not enough for continued nutrition, it helps in taking the medicines without getting nauseated or vomiting.