Day 1 of Screening!

Today the whole team got up bright and early!  Wake up calls, or should I say wake up knocks, were at 5:30am, breakfast at 6:00am, and we were off to the hospital at 7:00am.  There was a little hitch in transportation, but with many taxis and a few vans, we made it to our destination for the day – the Rift Valley Provincial General Hospital.

I believe every mission gets off to a hurried, somewhat chaotic start, but in no time things seem to fall in place and everyone settles into a steady flow for the screening process. That’s just how today started.  Everyone went right to work and by the end of the day 136 patients had been screened!

The Student Team got to work too.  We spent most of the day in the initial waiting tent, were patients were directed to come first.  Here they received a number on an Operation Smile sticker; numbers were given in order of their arrival.  Then they patiently waited, some for many hours, until it was their turn to proceed through the screening process.  It seemed none of the patients or families had brought anything with them – no toys, no food or drinks, no things to pass the time.  They just waited patiently, waiting for their chance to be seen by the doctors, and hoping that this time they could be helped.

Waiting area tent for those waiting to be screened.

In the tent, not only were their bubbles, inflatable balls, stickers and more, to entertain the patients and also put them at ease during their wait, but Karina and Century gave three really great health care presentations to the large groups waiting.  One of the first girls we met was named Roselyn and she was twelve years old.  She spoke Swahili but also English, as English is the main language taught in her school.  Roselyn was extremely outgoing, intelligent and sweet and we quickly recruited her to translate for the presentations.

Roselyn and I:)

The first presentation was on Burn Care and Prevention.  Karina and Century would present the information, little by little, and Roselyn would translate.  The most touching part of this first presentation, was not only watching how well they did, but also knowing that Roselyn herself was here to see Operation Smile because of a burn she received when she was a little girl, almost too young to remember.  She could share her story and help educate others on how to prevent and care for burns, through helping the Student Team.  Roselyn continued to translate for the rest of the day, assisting with the Dental Hygiene and Nutrition presentations as well.

Burn Care and Prevention Presentation

Dental Hygiene Presentation

There was also an extremely helpful Kenyan nurse, Jane, who repeated all of the translations to make sure the entire group understood the information, as she too knew how important it was.  Jane was so kind to us throughout the day.  She told me that she works at the Rift hospital and has been volunteering with Operation Smile for many, many years, since almost the very beginning.  She asked me about my education, studies and career and I found out that she had a daughter who was also 28, currently a dietician planning to get a Masters in Public Health.

Towards the end of the day, we had another group of patients arrive.  There was a very beautiful young girl who looked fourteen or fifteen but said she was twenty. Her baby had a cleft lip and palate and you could easily tell that the baby had a difficult time feeding because of its size.  Another woman, whose neck was adorned with many beaded necklaces stacked high was there with her baby.  It took a few moments to realize that her baby was happy and healthy and that the mother was here for herself.  She had skin growths on a few places on her body and it seemed that around her mouth had most likely been burned.  The left side of her mouth and her bottom lip were pulled tight and scarred.  There were a few other patients with them too.

The most interesting and intriguing part of these people is that they are from Turkana, and part of the Turkana Tribe. The Turkana tribe is a nomadic pastoralist people that inhabit the Turkana district in Kenya's Rift Valley Province. The patients from Turkana had to walk for more than four hours and then catch a bus to get to the site.  They shoes sandals were worn and tattered and they did not bring many belongings. It is hard to believe that nomadic groups of people still exist and live like they do.  There is something so beautiful about their simplistic way of life.

Four or five years ago, on another Operation Smile medical mission in Nakuru, two sisters from the Turkana Tribe arrived, both having a cleft lip.  Some of the volunteers on this trip were also on that one.  They said the girls were gorgeous, both almost 6 feet tall and with beautiful skin and teeth. 

Fortunately, they were both able to receive surgeries on their clefts before heading back to their tribe.  Ironically, today, one of the volunteers received a call from an old friend in Kenya, informing them that one of the sisters is getting ready to be married.  Something that may not of happened had she still had a cleft. 

We wrapped up this afternoon, with a packed full ride back to the hotel, then did a little shopping in the market across the street, and had dinner in the hotel restaurant.  Everyone wanted our business, so we had to be hard bargainers.  I’m not sure we were as hard of bargainers as we’d hoped to be, but the students and I are very satisfied with our purchases:)