Bellevue, WA teenagers count 50,000 pills for the Imani Project!

A church youth group in Bellevue, Washington held a service project for the Imani Project to help prepare supplies for the Imani Project's upcoming trip to Kenya to conduct medical clinics in remote villages. 30 teens and 10 adults from the Cougar Mountain Ward of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints assembled in the church's gym. 

Some counted ibuprofen and acetaminophen tablets and put 30 tablets in a bag.  Others cut zinc tablets in half and put 10 halves in a bag.

The pills are included in Health Kits that are distributed to Kenyans in rural villages who attend classes taught by the Imani Project and who come to clinics for medical treatment.

All together, the group counted the following:

Ibuprofen            32,790
Acetaminophen 325mg   4,500
Acetaminophen 500mg  10,140
Zinc                  2,825
Total                50,255
Wow!  That was a good night's work!  Thank you!

Health Kits

 

 

One of our efforts in Kenya is to teach basic health principles around diarrheal disease, tuberculosis and first aid.  With the help of MANY volunteers and donations in the US, we brought materials to assemble 750 health kits. At each village where we have a clinic, we teach a class on the principles of basic first aid, how to prevent the transmission of tuberculosis, how to make drinking water safe, and how to treat diarrhea (usually caused by drinking contaminated water).  Diarrhea and dehydration due to diarrhea are the number 1 cause of death in children under the age of 5 in Africa. 1 in 3 people in Africa have TB, and TB is the leading cause of death of people with AIDS in Africa. 

Each kit contains:  30 assorted sizes of Band-Aids, antibiotic ointment, hydrocortisone cream, Ibuprofen, tweezers, cotton swabs, a syringe (without a needle, useful for measuring fluids and squirting water to wash wounds), alcohol swabs, a splinter remover, soap, a washcloth, condoms, and a first aid booklet (kindly translated into Swahili by a volunteer at Microsoft).  In addition, the kit contains an Oral Rehydration Spoon (used to measure sugar and salt to create a Gatorade-type of solution to prevent dehydration), two courses of zinc tablets, and a booklet in Swahili teaching how to treat diarrheal disease and instructions on how to use the spoon (also translated by a volunteer at Microsoft).  The entire kit then fits into a handmade drawstring bag, kindly sewn by volunteers.

 

Amy teaches a health kit class at Karimboni with Rodgers translating

Cindy teaching how to wash hands at Karimboni with Phenny translating

 

Women listening to the class at Kadzifitseni

Anya distributing bags at the end of her class

 

 

 

Villagers at Khadzifitseni show their health kit bags

 

But they don't make very good headbands

 
THANK YOU to everyone in the US who donated supplies, helped count pills, squeeze ointment tubes, and sew drawstring bags to make this project possible!

Preparing for Kenya

Hello from Kenya!  We'll be sharing our experiences here with you, but first here's a glimpse into what we had to do to prepare:

 

First, imagine a living room full of supplies for running seven days of medical clinics in African villages, and for 750 first aid kits, all of which weighs about 650 pounds.  Imagine packing all of that into 22-gallon plastic storage bins to ship to Africa, making sure that each bin is as close to the 50 pound limit as possible.  Now imagine the exhaustion as this task is completed at midnight, the night before the flight departs.  Welcome to our life for the few weeks leading up to our departure!

 

 

This picture is just at one location - Marlene was going through a similar process with her four bins and a suitcase.  When we met at the airport we had a total of 18 pieces of luggage, weighing just under 900 pounds!  Earline negotiated with Delta Airlines to ship our supplies for free as a humanitarian donation, but we had more items than they expected.  After waiting anxiously for them to get approval for the 18 items (for only three passengers), Delta came through and we paid ZERO to ship all of this to Nairobi.  Thank you Delta!

 

 

Next time we go to Kenya, I am definitely inventing a "Honey I Shrunk the Luggage" machine.

 

In addition to the first aid kits that we distribute to the three villages where we hold a medical clinic, and the clinic supplies and education materials, we also bring treats for the children who flock around us everywhere we go!  We give them candy and small toys, as well as cheap solar calculators and pens.

 

Of course Phil, the photographer, videographer, blogger, and general chronicler of the trip, had his own assortment of battery-operated electronics to take into electricity-less, rural Kenya.  His own 50-pound pack (felt like 50 pounds; actual weight may vary), was filled with a Canon 7D still camera + lenses, a Sony Handicam video camera, a Wolverine 250GB battery-powered photo storage, Samsung "Nike" tablet, Logitech Bluetooth keyboard, iPad and iPod!  Of course Phil's number one concern was how to charge these items and how to connect to the internet to upload anything, so he can keep everyone updated on the Imani Project's adventures!

 

Thanks for checking in with the Imani Project!  Next time we'll update you with our cast of characters!