A good sign

During my time in Kenya thus far, I have had many experiences showcasing the lack of good systems, processes, organizations, and governmental activities that define much of this country. All of this makes it easy to become pessimistic about the capacity of Kenya to move forward in the world or even help its own people. Thankfully, every once in a while I get a reminder that there are all kinds of people really working hard to improve this country and help the people who need it - both locals and foreigners. Today I had a meeting with several directors from the Nazareth Mission Hospital near Limuru, where many of our clients go to get their ARV medication, which served as a good reminder that there is indeed hope for Kenya!

One of the big challenges of the HIV/AIDS crisis is that the medication required to live with the disease is extremely picky. Someone taking ARV's must take their medicine at the same time every day, with the right nutrition in their diets. If they miss a few days, the medicine will stop working and they will have to switch to a different drug - a process that is very involved and can only happen a few times because of the limited number of different ARV's. Because of these factors, hospitals struggle greatly in having effective HIV/AIDS treatment and are often faced with patients who "default" on their treatment schedules by missing an appointment or taking their medication improperly.

The existence of these difficulties for hospitals is one reason that CARE for AIDS is so effective and so needed. Because our community health workers are meeting with clients every week at the center and visiting their homes, they stay closely connected to the patients and can personally monitor their drug intake and their adherence to the necessary regime. In our meeting this morning with the hospital, we set up a system for the hospital to refer to CFA any HIV/AIDS patients who are having difficulties adhering to the treatment plan or who are coming from especially desperate or poverty-stricken situations. They were thrilled at this idea - essentially we can offer to take their most problematic cases and walk closely with them for an extended period of time, a necessary step that the hospital has neither the resources or the manpower to undertake. At the same time, the hospital will work with us to waive the fees associated with hospital tests and treatment of opportunistic infections for patients who are going through our program - a major gift to the clients.

Furthermore, the hospital offered to send its community nurses to meet with the physical and spiritual counselors from all of our centers any time that we would like. This was a huge answer to prayer - just before our meeting this morning, Duncan and I were discussing the need for continual training and education for our community health workers, and we were somewhat at a loss as to how to accomplish this. Only a few hours later God had given us the perfect answer! We are hoping that every few months our workers can meet with the hospital staff, or other professionals, to stay updated on the latest treatment and counseling techniques, and the hospital directors were more than willing to help with this.

It's such a beautiful thing when pieces seem to simply fall into place! I would appreciate your continual prayers as we try to build more relationships with hospitals, government organizations, financial institutions, and all the other entities that can help CARE for AIDS take the next steps towards truly changing this country!