Oct 31, 2018 We taught them how to wash their hands

The place where we were working was very secluded. It was difficult to get there because the road was bumpy and dusty. It was used for animals and since they don’t get much rain there, it was very dusty. We couldn’t see the car in front of us except for the dust.

When we were there, it only rained once, which settled the dust a little. But most of the time, the air was not great. When you breathe there, your nose gets full of dirt.

There are always people walking and driving cows, sheep and goats along the roads. But the people there were not discouraged about their lives or the difficulty or poverty of it, they were very happy.

I really appreciated people during our clinic. I was at the screening station. Randy Bates took blood pressure and I did blood sugar. The people had not taken baths for a long time so they smelled like cows. When someone’s blood sugar was high, we sent them to the doctor’s station where they were advised.

We had a station for haircuts as well because so many people have lice. They got their hair shaved and received a toothbrush and some health education.

After the first day, I asked if we could add a hand washing station because I noticed that everyone had really dirty hands. Having that station helped me save a lot of effort in cleaning people’s hands before pricking them for their blood sugar test. I knew we only had a limited supply of alcohol swabs and I didn’t want to run out cleaning lots of dirt.

The people were also very happy when I gave health talks during the meetings. Because I noticed that the kids didn’t get baths, instead of the given topic, we educated them on how to take a bath and how to wash your hands properly.

I’ll remember my experience in Kenya forever!

Tessie Penuela
Kenya, team member