It’s day two of the three day Kimbo medical camp outreach. Kimbo is a poor village some ten miles outside of Nairobi, Kenya. The people here are in such desperate need of medical treatment. WorldComp has been conducting medical camps throughout Kenya for the past eight years and we are estimating this will be the largest camp we have ever put together. The first day alone close to 900 patients were diagnosed, treated and given medications. Today, it is only early afternoon and we have already registered over 1,000 patients.
The needs here are wide-ranging. There are many who are seeking prescriptions for eyeglasses, some have broken, or corroded teeth that need to be pulled, others are fighting infections, pneumonia, typhoid, or some other illness that has befallen them. It’s heartbreaking to hear many of their stories.
I talked to a single mother of four who miraculously survived a bout with meningitis, however, her nerves were so badly damaged she can hardly see. Imagine raising four children as a single mother with poor eyesight. Her husband left her recently, but there is little to nothing she can do in order to get support from him for her children. He is gone and she is the only one left for her children. It’s a terrible feeling when you realize her story is a common one and there is little to nothing to do for her in the long term. I prayed over her and her children, blessed them with a little money and now I am hoping God will do something to provide her an income.
Another young man came into the camp after a recent fall from a two story building that had fractured his collar bone. The bone was so badly broken it could be seen bulging out from under his throat area. He was clearly in tremendous pain and I asked Dr. George to expedite him through the line in order to get treatment. Unfortunately, we have limitations on what kinds of procedures we can perform at the camp. This young man was given some pain medication and WorldComp is looking into getting him an appointment to get the bone reset and a sling to make sure it heals properly.
By far and away, the hardest thing about being here is having to say no to so many needs. I am relying on these words of wisdom, “do for one what you can’t do for all.” Sometimes the need is so big, and the cause so great, we just throw our hands up in the air and give up. I’m trying to be sensitive to hear God’s voice and act when the opportunity arrives. I may not be able to solve the problems of poverty and sickness that abound in the nation of Kenya, but I can pay for that single mother’s new eyeglasses and I can provide enough money to help that refugee family pay next months’ rent and put some food on the table. My goal for this trip is to make a difference in one person’s life each day. If I can do that, to God be the glory!
We have an exciting story that is unfolding just now with our resident evangelist Scott Andrina. Stay tuned for an amazing post later this evening!
