The Kibera Project
why kibera?
Kibera, Kenya is the second largest slum in the world. There are over 1.5 million souls, with over 150,000 orphaned children living in an area the size of Central Park. This community is desperate for food, water, healthcare, proper housing, sanitation, and security. There is extreme poverty, crime, domestic abuse, and unemployment.
Kibera has countless animals that are also suffering from hunger, thirst, and disease. There is rampant zoonotic disease from infected Rodentia, livestock and other animals. Our hospital is the first and only formal health facility that has a licensed Kenyan veterinarian on staff. He is responsible for various zoonotic diseases affecting humans and animals. There are hundreds of unvaccinated abandoned dogs, competing with people for food. Our clinic has diagnosed rabies, bacterial, and parasitic infections and wounds caused by bites from stray animals.
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Our first trip to Kibera was with a non-for-profit NGO who have dedicated their efforts for 10 years, helping the community of Kibera. Crossing Thresholds (CT) based in Darien, CT has built six schools within Kibera, with over 350 children attending each school. Without these schools, children would have no
opportunity for an education. The children get served one meal a day, which is usually their only meal. Children are competing with stray dogs searching for food in garbage piles. They need to pay for clean drinking water and pay to use a
public bathroom. There are no government public services for sanitation, police, or fire.
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The "homes" in Kibera are built from scrap wood, cardboard and corrugated sheet metal. An 8x10 one room structure usually houses six people. Cooking is done with a primitive stove and charcoal for fuel. Carcinogenic smoke fills their homes while cooking while toxic fumes from burning plastic fills the air throughout the day.
During this trip we treated over 250 patients in ten days. We saved the lives of several children, days away from sepsis and oral infections. We screened/diagnosed/treated multiple dog bites, third degree burns, fungal infections, parasitic GI infections, hypertension, diabetes, and many other non-communicable diseases.
Our second health clinic is a Level 3 medical clinic in Kibera, located in one of the schools we develop and has relationships within the local Kibera healthcare community.
This initiative that we have embarked upon is historical, being the first medical-dental-veterinary telemedicine hospital of its kind for 1.5 million people and countless animals in Kibera. We have already established a close working relationship with the President of Kenya Medical Training Center (KMTC), Dr. Oluoch, who oversees 80 healthcare campuses throughout Kenya. Their faculty and students will participate and rotate through our hospital.
The Kenyan Minister of Health has been informed of our project and our
collaboration with KMTC. A quote from Dr. Kelly Oluoch concerning our project “your clinic will be a godsend to Kenya, KMTC, the Kenyetta Hospital, (the largest hospital in central Africa), KMTC, and all the people of Kenya." We have already submitted a Telemedicine Assistant Program curriculum to KMTC that we successfully developed and utilized with the indigenous populations in Haiti.
We have identified an excellent location in the center of Kibera for our primary healthcare center, which will include: 4-chair dental unit, Women's Health and Maternity Clinic, pharmacy, lab, pediatric clinic, basic radiology, emergency medicine, and minor surgical care.
We are slowly finding our place and purpose in the universe... stepping back to understand why we are here... honoring human dignity.
Our challenge now is being active, not passive with our collective ethical
responsibility.
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Construction has been completed of our hospital. Water and sewer plans have been approved and are satisfactory. Our NGO invested funds to buy the property (50’x50’), bring supplies, and equipment during six trips to Kibera. Our construction crew, project manager, architect, and engineers are all local and Kenyan.​
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This project is sustainable. The National Health Insurance capitation program will help maintain the operational costs with five schools we will be serving have over five thousand children and parents using our clinics. Our Medical Board of over fifteen specialists are available to volunteer and consult via telemedicine, in real time with our healthcare workers.
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