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Helping to make a difference in Kenya
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BY: Diana Greenberg Special to the CJN
Every day I tune to national news, hoping the violence in Kenya resulting from last month’s presidential election has dissipated.
Much of the rioting is taking place in Kisumu, Western Kenya, where I spent three weeks Nov. 26 to Dec. 14 at a small medical clinic.
I traveled to Kenya with my father, Dr. Barry J. Greenberg of Akron, and my sister Shelly to participate in a medical mission created by Dr. Bonyo Benson Bonyo, who is in family practice in Akron.
Dr. Bonyo made a promise to his family: to give back to his Kenya homeland. After watching his sister die of dehydration and his mother of malaria, he vowed to become a doctor. It meant walking barefoot over mountains to attend school and traveling to neighboring villages to seek funds to
come to America. He arrived here with some clothing, $11, and a blanket! But at university he studied hard, earned several degrees, and eventually persuaded his medical school colleagues to join him in his quest to give back to Kenya.
Thus began Dr. Bonyo’s dream of SHARE (Student Health Assistance Rural Experience) Kenya-Ohio. Sponsored by Ohio University, it is a three-week clinical program which has provided health care to rural Western Kenyans since 1995.
Every winter, O.U. and Texas A&M send a group of medical, pharmaceutical, and physician assistant students along with doctors and volunteers to treat hundreds of patients daily at the Mama pilista Bonyo Memorial Health Centre, named after Dr. Bonyo’s mother.
A few months ago, Shelly and I announced to our dad that we were joining him on this, his eighth trip with SHARE Kenya-Ohio. Since my father, a recently retired neck and spine surgeon, runs the center’s wound care clinic, my objective was to watch him both treat the Kenyans and mentor the O.U. and Texas A&M students. In addition to this, I became somewhat of a medical practitioner in my own right. Shelly served as photojournalist for the trip.
I have no medical training (I am a publicist by profession), but during clinic I ran “Di’s Eyes.” There we distributed 281 pairs of prescription glasses to Kenyans who needed but had never had access to glasses. They were donated by Co-Op Optical in Fairlawn, Ohio.
The majority of my patients were over age 60, and it was obvious that they desperately needed bifocals.
I worked with a translator as each Kenyan tried on several pairs of glasses to read medical cards (up close) and to peer into the distance where children were playing. The look of sheer delight on Kenyans’ faces when they found the perfect spectacles for them was beyond words.
A 72-year-old preacher whom I presented with his first pair of trifocals cried, “God bless you!” He told me that now he is better able to read Bible verses to his congregation. (Of course, this made me cry!) His was just one of many stories of Kenyans whose eyes we helped to see the light and a better tomorrow.
After “Di’s Eyes” had given out all the eye glasses we had, I assisted in the intake department, where I took each patient’s blood pressure, temperature and medical history and learned why they were visiting the clinic.
Patients needed treatment for, among other ailments, cerebral malaria, scabies, schistosomiasis (worms), tooth extractions, fibroid tumors, lacerations, cyst drainage and HIV testing.
Prior to leaving for Kenya, I knew I was about to embark on a life-changing experience. Now that I am back, I greater appreciate the importance of free medical care in underdeveloped countries such as Kenya and realize the difference we can make both at home and abroad.
The future of SHARE Kenya-Ohio lies within CARE KENYA, the nonprofit arm dedicated to the fundraising and educational purposes of improving the lives and health care of individuals in Kenya.
As violence continues to erupt throughout Kenya following the swearing in of President Mwai Kibaki, it is important to be mindful of what we have (freedom and reliable health care) and they do not.
Just a couple of weeks ago I was surrounded by peaceful, wonderful people, who were greatly looking forward to the election as a means of change. Now Kenyans cannot leave their homes for fear of being murdered, and their food supplies are so low that they are mixing flour and water to create “porridge” to feed their children. Kenya, which is forever in my heart, faces ruin.
For more information about CARE KENYA, visit www.care-kenya.org.
Diana Greenberg is a resident of Shaker Heights.
Much of the rioting is taking place in Kisumu, Western Kenya, where I spent three weeks Nov. 26 to Dec. 14 at a small medical clinic.
I traveled to Kenya with my father, Dr. Barry J. Greenberg of Akron, and my sister Shelly to participate in a medical mission created by Dr. Bonyo Benson Bonyo, who is in family practice in Akron.
Dr. Bonyo made a promise to his family: to give back to his Kenya homeland. After watching his sister die of dehydration and his mother of malaria, he vowed to become a doctor. It meant walking barefoot over mountains to attend school and traveling to neighboring villages to seek funds to
come to America. He arrived here with some clothing, $11, and a blanket! But at university he studied hard, earned several degrees, and eventually persuaded his medical school colleagues to join him in his quest to give back to Kenya.
Thus began Dr. Bonyo’s dream of SHARE (Student Health Assistance Rural Experience) Kenya-Ohio. Sponsored by Ohio University, it is a three-week clinical program which has provided health care to rural Western Kenyans since 1995.
Every winter, O.U. and Texas A&M send a group of medical, pharmaceutical, and physician assistant students along with doctors and volunteers to treat hundreds of patients daily at the Mama pilista Bonyo Memorial Health Centre, named after Dr. Bonyo’s mother.
A few months ago, Shelly and I announced to our dad that we were joining him on this, his eighth trip with SHARE Kenya-Ohio. Since my father, a recently retired neck and spine surgeon, runs the center’s wound care clinic, my objective was to watch him both treat the Kenyans and mentor the O.U. and Texas A&M students. In addition to this, I became somewhat of a medical practitioner in my own right. Shelly served as photojournalist for the trip.
I have no medical training (I am a publicist by profession), but during clinic I ran “Di’s Eyes.” There we distributed 281 pairs of prescription glasses to Kenyans who needed but had never had access to glasses. They were donated by Co-Op Optical in Fairlawn, Ohio.
The majority of my patients were over age 60, and it was obvious that they desperately needed bifocals.
I worked with a translator as each Kenyan tried on several pairs of glasses to read medical cards (up close) and to peer into the distance where children were playing. The look of sheer delight on Kenyans’ faces when they found the perfect spectacles for them was beyond words.
A 72-year-old preacher whom I presented with his first pair of trifocals cried, “God bless you!” He told me that now he is better able to read Bible verses to his congregation. (Of course, this made me cry!) His was just one of many stories of Kenyans whose eyes we helped to see the light and a better tomorrow.
After “Di’s Eyes” had given out all the eye glasses we had, I assisted in the intake department, where I took each patient’s blood pressure, temperature and medical history and learned why they were visiting the clinic.
Patients needed treatment for, among other ailments, cerebral malaria, scabies, schistosomiasis (worms), tooth extractions, fibroid tumors, lacerations, cyst drainage and HIV testing.
Prior to leaving for Kenya, I knew I was about to embark on a life-changing experience. Now that I am back, I greater appreciate the importance of free medical care in underdeveloped countries such as Kenya and realize the difference we can make both at home and abroad.
The future of SHARE Kenya-Ohio lies within CARE KENYA, the nonprofit arm dedicated to the fundraising and educational purposes of improving the lives and health care of individuals in Kenya.
As violence continues to erupt throughout Kenya following the swearing in of President Mwai Kibaki, it is important to be mindful of what we have (freedom and reliable health care) and they do not.
Just a couple of weeks ago I was surrounded by peaceful, wonderful people, who were greatly looking forward to the election as a means of change. Now Kenyans cannot leave their homes for fear of being murdered, and their food supplies are so low that they are mixing flour and water to create “porridge” to feed their children. Kenya, which is forever in my heart, faces ruin.
For more information about CARE KENYA, visit www.care-kenya.org.
Diana Greenberg is a resident of Shaker Heights.
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