The highs and lows of 2011
This year Arrow Web Hospital was able to provide services to even more adults and children, potentially saving many more lives in the Nairobi slums. In 2011 we treated 13,042 (an increase of 2352 on 2010), including 2335 children under 5 and 1788 maternity cases.
As we look back over 2011, again we are so grateful for all the support we have received from our staff and board and local colleagues, and from our friends across the world. Last year we had many visitors and international volunteers from countries such as the US, the UK, Germany, Austria, Australia and France. Many of our volunteers were medical students, some were nurses and some were social workers. All of them brought with them their own particular skills and experience which they were able to share with us and we hope they learned from working with us and experiencing first hand the challenges we face on a daily basis, in providing essential services to people living in the slums.
One of the high points of 2011 was hearing that Melissa Ostoga, (one of our supporters from Australia) had won AUS $5000 in an online voting competition. Melissa had posted "her dream" on the internet and thousands of our supporters across the world voted for her. As a result of Melissa's efforts we have been able to buy essential resuscitation equipment which will save lives. We have just heard that the equipment is now at the docks in Mombasa and will soon be delivered to us.
The big disappointment of 2011 was the last minute withdrawal of support for funding by a UK charity. Their donation was to help pay for the transportation of essential medical equipment from the UK. With the help of Alison Lowndes from AVIF (
http://www.avif.org.uk/) and Jackie Keens from Aid to Hospitals Worldwide (
http://www.a2hw.org.uk/ ), we had been working on this project for over two years. Fortunately, so many of our international friends who had individually donated to this project, stood by us and agreed that their donations could be used for Arrow Web Hospital.
Our plans for 2012
Fundraising has always been difficult for us. There are so many other organisations looking for support and international donors are understandably cautious about sending funds to projects abroad. We have tried hard to improve our accounting systems to show all our income and expenditure every month and when we receive a donation we are happy to send photos and regular reports showing the equipment in use. So this year we will continue to look for partners and donors to work with us and support us.
Over the years volunteers have not only given us their time but also have brought essential medical supplies with them. This year we are hoping to welcome qualified volunteer doctors, nurses and social workers as well as young people hoping to gain experience with us during their training.
We have already had several enquiries from people hoping to visit us or volunteer with us in 2012. In January this year we were very pleased to welcome Jonathan Hirts from Virginia in the US who worked with us for a month. He helped us with record keeping in the community and during the hospital ward rounds. Also in January, Bastian a doctor from the Swiss Army volunteered with us. He helped us in the hospital and particularly enjoyed working with the children. Some were in patients and some were attending our child health clinics.
Thank you for all your help and support Jonathan and Bastian.
Jonathan tries to comfort one of our youngest patients
Jonathan chats to the children outside the hospital
Bastian takes a blood sample at the child health clinic
"On no Bastian, not another needle!"
