As the year draws to a close, we wanted to take some time to reflect back on all that has happened and express our extreme gratitude to all those involved. Each year since its inception, our hospital has continued to grow and develop. 2009 was no exception. Without question, your ongoing support and encouragement has helped us get where we are today. While our hospital still has many needs, we are grateful for what we have, and we are incredibly blessed that we have been able to impact our community in a positive way each and every day.
Our medical team has touched the lives of many people this year. We welcomed 3 new students into our patient care assistance program. We took part in Keeping Kenya Polio Free and 1500 children under the age of 5 benefited from vaccinations given by our doctors. We were able to offer eye exams to 523 people. Most recently, this month we were able to add a dentist to our medical team and so far 50 people have benefited from his care.
Critical improvements have also been made to our hospital. Most importantly, due in large part to our accreditation status improving our financial situation, we have been able to maintain required medications in our pharmacy. Thanks to a generous grant from Kitchen Table Charities Trust, we were able to purchase equipment for our medical laboratory. We hired a carpenter who helped build shelving to hold the new equipment. He also built a beautiful reception desk to welcome patients to our facility. Through the support of the Safaricom Foundation, we were able to purchase some of the equipment required to begin limited dental services at the hospital as well.
In 2009, we have learned that incredible things can happen through networking. When people around the world join hands fantastic things happen. This was truly what brought us 11 boxes of donated medical supplies from Motorsport Medical Services in the UK. Without the assistance of AVIF Volunteers, Kenya Airways and much persistence these supplies may have never gotten to us. The Tour d’Afrique Foundation donated bicycles to our community outreach team which has helped tremendously with transportation out into the local community, and Baby DM made a generous donation which has benefited many new mothers and helped us welcome the newly born members of our community in style.
This year, our hospital has made many new friends and welcomed multiple visitors to our facility. We had the pleasure of providing a tour for an official from the Embassy of Japan in Kenya. Monica, from Friends of Kenya, paid us a visit as well. Two years ago, our hospital dreamed of one day being able to welcome international medical volunteers to work alongside our doctors. In 2009, this became a reality. Dr. John Gilbert from the UK was our very first international medical volunteer. We then welcomed Amanda Brookes from the UK, Tom Liber from Sweden and Dr. Sharmini Ragunathan also from the UK. Wes Downer, a documentary filmmaker from the United States also traveled to Kenya and spent a few weeks with us learning about the work we do in order to help us bring our hospital to the next stage of its development.
We expect many more great things to come in 2010. We are expecting another visit from the Embassy of Japan in Kenya and are hopeful they will work with us to build our own facility so that we can stop paying rent and use that money instead to help our patients. We are also expecting a group of Japanese medical students early next year. We look forward to forging relationships with partners around the world to keep the residents of Kayole-Soweto healthy. We are keenly aware that as a result of good health they will lead happy and more productive lives.
We cannot do any of these things without the ongoing support and encouragement and our volunteers. The hospital still has many needs. Medical equipment, donations to help support the cost of transporting refurbished equipment to the hospital, and monetary donations to help support the day to day expenses are all very welcome. We are looking forward to 2010 with great anticipation and hope to continue building positive relationships with all of you. On behalf of the staff of Arrow Web Hospital, we wish you each a very Merry Christmas and all of the very best for the New Year ahead!
