Health Program Update - April Efforts

We apologize, as it has been a while since we have updated on the MWCT Health Program! We can assure you that the team is still working incredibly hard to improve and increase the access to adequate health services across the Group Ranch!

For the month of April, the outreaches continued into the community of Kuku. Two outreaches were held, assisting a total of 82 patients over the two days!

CHV assisting in distributing medication at the Kuku Outreach

On April 27, Sam (an MWCT nurse stationed at the Iltilal Health Centre), organized a supplementary immunization outreach targeting all children less than five years that have not completed their immunization schedule as per the Kenya Expanded Program on Immunization (KEPI). A total of 46 children were immunized on this outreach!

Community Health Volunteers (CHV) have been busy at the Iltilal Health Centre. During the month of April they gathered at the facility to receive new household registers to be orientated on log booking and the procedures of recording household health data in the community.

Iltilal Community Health Volunteers

The Community Health Volunteers in Olorika attended their quarterly forum in April. MWCT organized this forum and lunch for the CHVs, a total of 20 attended the event. Dr. Gabriel addressed the CHVs present on MWCT's aims and goals in environment, conservation, and health promotion.

And finally, in line with the MWCT health goal of supporting the delivery of quality healthcare to the community; 50 doses of intravenous ceftriaxone (broad spectrum antibiotic) and 50 tubes of eye ointment for the treatment of conjunctivities were purchased for the Iltilal Health Centre.

The efforts of the MWCT Health Team are spreading farther and wider everyday! Visit www.maasaiwilderness.org for more information!

Health Program Update - Outreaches, Dental Improvements & Project Osiligi

The Health Program has continually been extremely busy expanding its tremendous efforts across Kuku Group Ranch, especially during this past month of February!

On February 7, a Medical Outreach and Cervical Cancer Screening took place at Olorika. 26 patients attended the medical outreach for curative care, 7 received family planning, 13 children were immunized, 4 children were immunized, 4 women received antenatal care, and 56 children were dewormed! Further, 11 women attended the talk on women's cancer and family planning!

Sam and community health worker demonstrating self breast exams at Olorika Dispensary

On February 10, another Medical Outreach and Cervical Cancer Screening occurred at Kuku village. A total of 50 patients attended the outreach. Caroline, a Maasai nurse, facilitated a talk about women's cancer to an audience of 21 women. Also on this day, we donated a OneWorld Football to the children at Kuku Primary School!

Football donated to the children of Kuku Primary School

The start of 2014 commenced with a donation of a dental chair to the Iltilal Health Centre. The work to operationalize this chair started the first week of February with a visit by the District dentist Dr. Thuo, accompanied by the Loitokitok District Hospital Biomedical engineer Mr. Herman. They approved of the room where the chair would be stationed and gave a list of requirements including drainage, water supply, and electrical fittings that need to be installed. Currently, the water supply and drainage system work has been completed and we await the electrical components. We are very excited for this addition!

Gabriel with district dentist and biomedical engineer

The ongoing Project Osiligi, an income-generating project for the women of Kuku Group Ranch, has generated approximately $1350 in revenue for the women! The women from Kuku, Iltilal, Olorika, and Langata villages have collectively made 433 bracelets and 138 pairs of earrings for Campi ya Kanzi! This project is truly making a tremendous impact on these women! 

Beadwork artisans from Langata village

Maasai in 2013 New York Marathon

In December 2012, MWCT held the inaugural Maasai Olympics where our friends at AECOM provided the winner of the 5000 meter race with an all-expenses paid trip to New York City to run the New York Marathon. The winer was Jacob Lamaron, from a small village in Rombo, near Kuku Group Ranch. Having never been out of Kenya before, Jacob was demonstrated excitement to run for MWCT in this special way.

Competitors in last years' Maasai Olympics

In 2009, the New York Marathon was a monumental occasion for the Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust, and three other Maasai warriors. Edward Norton, President of the US Board for MWCT, hosted three local Maasai, along with Luca Belpietro, in New York. The purpose of this adventure was to raise funds for the Trust through Edward Norton’s established website CrowdRise. The fundraising efforts were extraordinarily successful, raising over $1 million for MWCT. You can read more about the marathon of 2009 right here.

Due to it’s success in 2009, MWCT wanted to keep it’s presence in the marathon by continuing to send local Maasai to have the chance to run in the marathon that contributed to so much success for this community. Although Jacob was chosen to run in the marathon many months ago, it was by no means an easy journey to get him to New York for November 3.

Jacob - 2013 Maasai marathon competitor

Jacob is from a very small village and grew up in the Maasai community his whole life. He would first need a birth certificate, a passport, and a visa, a treacherous journey of its own. After months of working, and thanks to the tireless work of MWCT's team, including our friend, former US Ambassador to Kenya, Mark Bellamy who was able to help by speeding up the Visa process, and on Thursday Oct 31st, Jacob had his visa and boarded his first-ever plane and landed in NYC at 5 pm on Friday November 1st!

By keeping many of the other details out, it was a very long process that involved contact with many connections, in Kenya and in the United States. However, it is evident in a situation like this, that true kindness and generosity can be seen through the works of many people to create an everlasting memory for one man.

Absorbing the sights of New York and riding the subway

In only two hours after landing, Jacob met US MWCT Board President, Edward Norton and the entire MWCT Marathon team at out pre-race event at Modo Yoga in Manhattan. The next day was full of new experiences: a bagel breakfast, Times Square, first subway ride, and at last, ending with a large spaghetti dinner.

The US MWCT team couldn't get enough of Jacob. The connection to all that MWCT does, thought Jacob, was tangible and incredibly motivating for all that met him.

Jacob on the ferry to the marathon starting line!

Bib numbers in hand! Ready to run...

The next morning was marathon day! Jacob is truly talented and had an amazing marathon time of 2 hours 20 minutes in the Chyulu Hills while practicing here in Kenya. But unfortunately because it was not an official race, Jacob was not qualified to start earlier than the other thousands of recreational runners. Jacob started with the "herd" of runners at 10:30 a.m..

Despite all these circumstances, he was running at an astounding pace, averaging six minute miles until the 10 kilometre mark, in which he unfortunately sustained an slight knee injury that caused his pace to slow down. His finishing time for the total marathon distance of 42 kilometres was 2 hours and 58 minutes. An unbelievable time! Although Jacob said he was not very happy with his time, it was truly remarkable to place under 3 hours for having travelled multiple hours, along with experiencing a different culture, eating different food, running with different shoes, and running on pavement!

Sampling Gatorade flavours post-marathon 

Fortunately Jacob is recovering well from his slight injury, and had the warmest support from many people in New York that were there to run alongside him, or to just cheer him along.

Relaxing in the morning the day after the marathon

MWCT and the entire Marathon team are forever inspired by Jacob's courage and determination. If you would be interested in running on the MWCT NYC Marathon team, please email mwct.team@gmail.com. We can't wait for 2014!

A big thank you must be extended to ALL of those in New York, the AECOM team, and the rest of those in the US who helped make Jacob's experience a successful and memorable one. All of us here at MWCT were very excited to welcome Jacob home! Please enjoy the video below of Jacob being welcomed home by the President of MWCT, Samson Parashina!

You can find the video on YouTube here: Welcome Home Jacob

Health Program Update - Medical and Education Outreaches

We have some great updates to share with you from our Health Program for the month of October. Medical outreaches continue throughout this month to various villages throughout Kuku Group Ranch.

On October 14, a medical outreach took place in Kuku - 64 patients were seen at this very busy community outreach. A Community Health Worker delivered a talk to those in attendance on family planning. This talk resulted in five clients requesting for contraceptives.

Kuku community health workers dispensing medications

Mothers and babies waiting for immunizations

Also on October 15, Lairumbe presented a talk on female genital cutting to 50 MWCT Rangers. The presentation was well received, with many inquisitive questions and comments from the Rangers.

A busy immunization clinic in Kuku

In light of the recent increase in teenage pregnancies which is a direct result of girls dropping out of school, MWCT has initiated a weekly school education program in Iltilal, as well as a monthly education program in Langata. On October 17, MWCT Health staff visited Iltilal Primary School and spoke to 70 girls in Class 6 and 7 about setting life goals. The next day, staff travelled to Langata Primary School to speak to 150 girls in Class 5, 6, 7, and 8.

School girls at Langata Primary write down their life goals

Health Update - Tetanus Campaign

We would love to share a brief, but exciting new update for the MWCT Health Program which occurred in September of 2013. On September 13-19, the Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust supported the Ministry of Health Tetanus Campaign by arranging a series of outreaches.

This campaign aimed to support women that are at a reproductive age - and are therefor more susceptible to the tetanus disease. Because this is a very fatal disease, the importance of immunization was emphasized through these outreaches as it is preventable with provided immunizations. MWCT Health Staff complied with the campaign by ensuring the message of the importance of this immunization was communicated.  

A local woman receives a tetanus immunization

This Maternal and Neonatal Tetanus Campaign was launched by the Kenya Ministry of Health to ensure a commitment to the global goal of controlling, eliminating, and eradicating vaccine-preventable diseases in Kenya.   

School girls queue to receive immunizations

MWCT organized three health outreaches to the villages of Kuku, Samai, and Enkusero to ensure that the communities living far away from the campaign would still receive the benefits that the campaign provided. As a result of this, Iltilal Health Centre exceeded it's target by 18%, which was 175 women above the targeted number.

Health Update - Outreaches and Education Day

We would like to sincerely apologize for our delay in sharing the efforts of the trust for the past few weeks on this blog! However, there has still be plenty of activity within our programs, and the MWCT Health Program has been very busy this past month. The MWCT Health Staff accomplished four village outreach programs in the month of September to different communities within Kuku Group Ranch. These community outreaches are accompanied by MWCT Heath Staff, government health staff, as well as the community health workers.

Village members wait patiently for services provided in our outreaches

These community health outreaches continually aim to mobilize information to Maasai community members to create an understanding of the programs of the Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust, and the services provided within.

As an added outreach, MWCT Health staff took the wonderful opportunity to deworm 333 school children as they were all gathered in Olorika for the Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust Education Day. The MWCT Education Day is a day celebration that is hosted for the primary school located within Kuku Group Ranch that receives the highest top marks on the KCPE exams (Kenya Certificate of Primary Education).

Deworming pills are handed out to school children in Olorika

In other very exciting news for the MWCT Health Program, the Iltilal Health Centre received the most amount of child deliveries under skilled care at the health facility in the month of September. This is very exciting for our program, as it is the highest monthly total for this year! Furthermore, the proposed renovations in the Langata dispensary have now been completed. As a result of these renovations, a new room has been constructed that will now act as a post-delivery room, as well as serving double-purpose as a room for Dr. Gabriel to stay on his 3-day outreaches to this village.

Continued efforts in health outreaches to villages of Kuku, Olorika, and Oltiasika

Furthermore, we would like to share the following link that has displayed the MWCT Health Program efforts to utilize Medical Aid Films in the communities with the Kuku Group Ranch. Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust is featured on their website here: http://medicalaidfilms.org/working-in-the-maasai/

Health Update - Community Outreaches and Health Workers

The past months have been exciting ones here at the MWCT Health Program, as we continue our outreaches to all the communities of Kuku Group Ranch.  Recently we've been able to visit Olorika, Kuku, Oltiasika, Dip, and Langata Villages.  Most villages we try to visit once per month, though in Kuku Village we aim for twice per month.

Lena meets with a group of CHWs in Langata Village.

During our outreaches we meet with community members and often provide limited medical services and examinations.  We set up an outpatient clinic and dispense deworming medicine to children, as well as offering antenatal care and immunization clinics.  In November we partnered with Kenya's Ministry of Public Health to immunize over 750 children against the measles, and our trachoma campaign in December reached more than 3,400 Maasai.

Oltiasika CHWs prepare for an outreach by organizing supplies.

Each region's Community Health Workers (CHWs) are an invaluable part of our outreaches, working with us before and during the day to ensure a successful event.  Before MWCT's staff arrives, they publicize the outreach throughout their communities, often going door-to-door to spread the news.  They also secure a meeting place, organize supplies, and alert us to any special needs.  At the event itself, they organize attendees, help with evaluations, and arrange for any necessary follow-up actions. 

Steve works with CHWs in Olorika to map bomas in their area using Google Earth.

We've also been using the outreaches to continue our mapping of bomas (household clusters) on Kuku, so that we have a better sense of where people live and how the CHWs can distribute their efforts to best reach  everyone.  The Community Health Workers really enjoy seeing their villages on Google Earth, and are able to quickly group and identify visible bomas.  By having one MWCT staff member work with the CHWs on this mapping while the others conduct the outreach, a single day's work can be extremely productive.  We plan to continue these successful community outreaches throughout the upcoming months, and continue to improve access to healthcare for all the Maasai of Kuku Group Ranch

Our nurse Sam administers immunizations to children in Dip Villlage.