2009 in Review

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!

Dentist Hired - Dental Services Begin

After an extensive search, Arrow Web Hospital has added a dentist to our medical team.

We are very excited to have the ability to offer limited dental services to our community.  We had some difficulty securing a dental chair, but we improvised and so far things are moving forward nicely.  We are so very grateful to the Safaricom Foundation for their generous grant which enabled us to provide this service to those in need.  So far, 50 people have benefited from the care provided by our dentist.

We are still missing many of the other critical items needed by our dentist.  If you are interested in making a donation to help us - either making a monetary or equipment donation, please contact Bramuel directly for information on how to help.

Looking for a solution...looking for closure

It's been awhile since my last post. I would like to apologize to the readers for the long delay. I have been torn about the content of this post. Since my arrival back to the United States I have experienced a wide range of emotions due to my trip to Kayole, Africa and Majesterio, Mexico. I have dealt with denial, anger, sadness and probably the most intense feeling of all...guilt.

I have always been a believer in change, a believer of hope and opportunity. I wanted to use my filmmaking gift to "change" and "educate" the rest of the world. I wanted to bring it to your living rooms, local theaters and be a part of the solution, not the problem. For the past month or so, I have sat "idle" on my feelings and movement to find what is truth. What can we really accomplish in places like Majesterio, South America, Asia and Africa?What can we really accomplish here in the United States and Europe? I have allowed the ugly and traumatic events to cloud the direction I wanted to go in with this film. I have sat and reflected so much on my past personal experiences and my filming experiences. I carry the guilt of not being able to put in motion a solution, to help the people that I have committed to helping. I think about my friend Kris and how he was gunned down in the street for no reason at all, I think about the kids of Kayole, I worry for there future, their health and their safety. I think about Francisco, a young boy from Majesterio who lost his life to the very thing that is suppose to aide him in sustaining life...water. Francisco died by drowning. I play these events over and over in my head and I ask myself the same question everytime....WHY?

I share this with all of you for one reason....I still believe in a solution. If enough people put their heads together, I believe a solution can and will be found. The people that depend on Arrow Web Hospital, should and could have the proper health care they and all of us deserve. In order to reach that goal, the hospital and it's staff need the necessary equipment, facilities and training to accomplish this reachable goal. The staff at Arrow Web works with what they have to work with, which is not much. Babies are being born and the hospital has no incubators. However, they do the best to assist and help the patients that walk through the door everyday and night. I don't think that it is a far fetched idea that a new facility can and should be built. A facility with running water and guaranteed electricity, a facility with life saving equipment and a staff that is trained to use , help and save lives.

Perhaps society has cashed their ticket on the older generation, but my friends, this trend of poverty, sickness, no education and corruption CAN end if we reach out to the younger generation. It's not to late. Give them a ray of hope, give them a reason to change. We need to show them that we care, not just tell them. My mistake was thinking that a small crew and myself could march in and change the situation. When I realized we couldn't, the guilt set in. Friends, I refuse to give up hope that the world can and will be a better place. I believe that the people that society tends to forget or look past are a huge answer to creating a better place. Call me crazy, however I know this to be true. How you might ask?....I was once their myself.

To my friend Uzziel in Kayole, keep your head up my friend, straighten your back and proudly carry the load.

Contact Jennifer wells on more information regarding needed medical equipment for Arrow Web Hospital.

Dental Services Set to Begin

Earlier this week, a portion of the equipment needed to begin providing dental services arrived at the hospital.  Thanks to a grant from the Safaricom Foundation, Arrow Web Hospital is now able to begin limited dental services.  This equipment provides a great start for us, and for this we are very grateful.

Additional equipment is still required for the hospital to have a complete dental kit and be able to offer a full range of dental services to our community.  If you or someone you know is able to help us secure the remaining equipment, we would love to talk with you.  While there are many organizations offering to donate refurbished equipment, the transportation costs for getting this equipment to the hospital are oftentimes much more than the hospital is able to manage financially.  

Arrow Web Hospital says Goodbye to Dr. Sharmini Ragunathan

Today the staff at Arrow Web Hospital said goodbye to Dr. Sharmini Ragunathan from Manchester Medical Center in the UK.  Right before her departure, an expectant mother, 6 months pregnant was admitted into the hospital in active labor.  Dr. Ragunathan was able to help her safely deliver a tiny baby boy.  Our staff was able to get the mother and child safely transferred to Pumwani Maternity Home, about 28 kms from the hospital.  He was placed into an incubator and the great news is that he is alive.  

Arrow Web Hospital is very much in need of a baby incubator so that we are able to manage situations such as this one effectively at our facility.  We are very grateful to Dr. Ragunathan for her work at the hospital during the past month and for your support in helping us handle this high risk birth today.  We hope to share more from Dr. Ragunathan about her experience once she is settled back at home.

To the readers

As a Documentary Filmmaker/Journalist, one of the pieces of advise we are given is to never get directly involved with the subject or subjects that we are filming or interviewing. I never understood this logic, until I arrived in Kenya to shoot the Arrow Web project. I have committed to write a couple more blog entries with the emphasis on needed hospital equipment and volunteers, my intentions are to still fulfill my commitment. However, this particular blog is written for myself and the thousands upon thousands of children that live in the Kayole-Soweto and even Kibera area. It is written for the millions of kids worldwide that continue to live and survive in harsh, politically corrupt and socially insensitive environments.

Since my return to the States I have not been able to find comfort in my own familiar surroundings. My mind is constantly replaying the images, the voices and the pleas from the people that I met while in Kenya. As a Filmmaker/Journalist I did exactly what I was advised not to do...I got close and personal with the people that I was there to film and interview. The project quickly became less about the film and became more about what I needed to do to find a way to help and protect. There is an old saying, "bite off more than you can chew...then chew it"! Have I bit of more than I can chew? As a society we have failed. We have, and I say WE, as in all of us..have failed. My opinions do not reflect the opinions of the hospital or those that host this site, these are my opinions based on my own personal experiences. I have made a decision to take a few more days and sit in limbo trying to make sense of the message I am trying to relay to the readers. I ask for your patience during this time. One thing is certain, serious attention needs to be given to Arrow Web and the surrounding area. I have said before, I chose not to live my life out of sight, out of mind. I never have nor will I ever.

Kwere

I met a man today at a site known as Kwere, a canyon that in many ways reflects the Grand Canyon located in Arizona. The difference between the two is the canyon in Kwere is not being shaped and sculpted by mother nature, it is in fact being shaped by the hand made hammers and hours upon hours of physical labor done by the men and woman that work here. From the top it is a very inspiring and magnificent site, but as you make the rocky, jagged decent down into the canyon, you begin to realize the painstaking work that has taken place in order to form this place. There are no machines, no trucks to haul the broken rocks up to the rim of the canyon, there is however, the sacks, buckets and the backs of the people.

Jackson, the young man I met and interviewed at Kwere is 23 years old, he had to give up his dream of becoming a boxer so that he may provide for his young family. During our conversation, Jackson was very open and held nothing back. He told me that he and the many other people that work here are in need of serious assistance. When we touched on the topic of living cost, I asked him how much does he spend a month on food to make sure he and his family eats well, his reply..."I can't answer that, I don't know what it is like to eat well". I then asked him if 100 usd dollars would be enough to feed his family for one month, his response..."nobody here spends that much money to buy food". You see, Jackson makes 5 usd every two weeks, those that are older and not as fit, make less.

This is one of many stories that I have encountered during my stay in Kayole. Times are severely tough here, but if you arrived here blindfolded with no knowledge of the area and it's poverty, you would never guess the horrible situation that is taking place here. The people are willing to share any and all of their possessions (including their food), with any outsider....even an American. The more and more time I spend here, the more I realize my purpose for being in Kayole. The people see me as an opportunity to be their voice and reach the outside world. Have I stepped in over my head? I don't think so, I don't pretend to think I can change the world, however I will do everything and anything to educate it on areas like Kayole, Soweto and Majesertio, MX.

You might be wondering what this story has to do with my film and Arrow Web Hospital. It's quite simple, without Arrow Web, people like Jackson can't get the basic medical attention that is needed. If he and the others are unable to get the aide, they can't work, if they do not work, they are not paid and they do not eat, not to mention their kids will never see the inside of a classroom. I should mention that Jackson has a wife and a 2 year old daughter. They become one of the many million who's story may make our media in the states right before the news breaks to cover a story about another overpaid actor or athlete that ordered steak and was delivered chicken, or how making 20 million dollars a year isn't enough to feed their families...we all know what a tragedy that is!