Local medical care makes a huge difference

Kevin (3 1/2 years old), his sister Everline (8 years old) and their mother Susan wait to see the clinical officer at our Rota dispensary in Rota, Kenya. They are 3 of the over 1500 patients seen every month in this remote site. Having a clinical officer in the village is a huge change for them. Just a year and a half ago they could not get the care they needed in town and needed to walk the 15 kilometers into Kisumu to be seen at the local hospital. Even then they often could not afford to pay for the medications.

In Kenya, as in much of the rest of the developing world, when a family is seen at a hospital they simply get a prescription. Is is then up to them to find a pharmacy that has the medication and pay for it. We see how hard this is in a country as affluent as the US, imagine being a patient in Rota who earns less than $1.00 a day! At the Rota dispensary the consultation by the medical officer and the medications are given out at the time of the visit making a great difference in these patients lives. Thank you for your continued help!