Coats for Kambi Teso

I borrowed this photo from a friend's Facebook page: Sarah Patty came and volunteered at Open Arms this year and took some really amazing photos. This is a little boy in our feeding program. The last day of the Kambi Teso medical clinic, it was cold and raining when we were packing up to leave. This boy had no coat and was freezing cold, and we gave him a garbage bag to cover him. Little did he know that in just a few days, he would be given a real coat to wear - thanks to some generous donors from the US and the UK who bought brand new coats for all 150 children in our Kambi Teso feeding program! This is the coldest, rainiest time of the year in Kenya, so the timing was perfect! The kids are so happy!





Wearing a new raincoat - I love his smile!

 I can't describe the feeling of standing in a tin roofed shelter, seeing tiny, dirty children get fitted in shining new coats. This was such a great day!!

 

The sun was shining when the kids got their coats, so many of them were sweating in them, 

but they wouldn't take them off!

 

THANK YOU to everyone who donated toward this cause! You made a lot of kids smile!

Mandazis for Kambi Teso

It's hard to eat Mandazis without your front teeth!

If you come to Kenya, (or one of my fundraisers), you will probably be served mandazis - traditional African donuts. Seems like every country has discovered the greatness of fried bread. I learned how to make these and really love making them for guests, teams, staff meetings, or just anytime! If you go to a special function or ceremony in Kenya you might be served chai and mandazis. Or if someone invites you to breakfast or for a meet-and-greet or hosts you as their guest - chai and mandazis! They are also served for special occasions and holidays. Last month, I made mandazis for our staff and then was thinking of the kids in Kambi Teso, and wondered how often they get a mandazi. I thought it would be fun to make some for all our kids in the feeding program. Mety and Elliot came over and helped - we fried mandazis for about 3 hours! I lined a laundry basket with a double layer of blue plastic garbage bags lined with paper towels, and we filled the whole bag! (I didn't consider that throwing them in straight from hot oil would melt some of the bag. Don't eat the blue mandazis!) We surprised Kambi Teso with them the next day. We've had a surplus of eggs at the village lately, so it just happened that the same day the kids were also getting boiled eggs with their lunch. It was like Christmas in June!

There were more than enough for the kids to have two mandazis each!

Waiting in line - "say mandazis!"

A lot of the kids saved their mandazis and eggs for last - not this one! =)

 Yum!

For some reason this day reminded me of a long time ago when I was little and a friend from our church took my sisters and I for a day out. We had a lot of fun that day but the thing I remember best was going to the mall and eating huge ice cream cones for breakfast. It was such a surprising treat - I still remember that day! So many times, I feel like there’s never enough I can do for these kids. I forget that even small things can have a huge impact! It’s easy to see the big picture and feel like I don’t have enough resources to change it. It’s easy to use that as an excuse to do nothing - but God says we should give whatever we have. When you get the chance to do something small for someone, just do it! 

“Do your little bit of good. It’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.”

 - Desmond Tutu

"One person can make a difference and everyone should try." 

- John F. Kennedy

Medical Clinics

 We've completed two medical clinics so far this year - one at the Open Arms village where we served a record number of people from the community - over 1,000! We also had a great clinic two weeks later in Kambi Teso and saw over 1500 people there. Both teams were really fun. The village team included doctors and nurses from the US that all had a great time running the clinic - hope they all come back next year! I'll never get tired of doing these clinics. The next clinic starts in five days in Kipkaren slum! 

  

 The pharmacy. We were really blessed in pharmacy this year - GREAT volunteers, a big space, and somehow a perfect location - we had a nice breeze when it was hot and sunny and somehow still stayed dry when it was down pouring!

 Our awesome nurse's station - whatever you need - wound dressings, injections, blood glucose, ear syringing, pregnancy tests, etc, etc - We had it all! (ok, so it's not heart surgery, but pretty good for a tent in a field!) This year the station was staffed by Jane, a Kenyan nurse who is practicing in the UK and was excited to join Open Arms and give back to her community. 

 This year we had some of the kids from our village come volunteer at the medical clinic. I gave one of them my camera for a while and he came back with this photo! ha!

 Outside the medical tent, ready to see the doctors. 

Two mothers waiting in the triage tent.

 This baby is holding his medicine in one hand and his prescription slip in the other. LOVE his hair! =)

More from Kambi Teso coming soon!!