By Merry Broughal | Project Leader
This spring we spent a month in Oyugis, Kenya working alongside our Olalo volunteers. Experiencing the everyday activities of our medical program and our other projects gave us a better understanding of how lives are being impacted through Olalo.
These lives are impacted and being changed because of YOU and your support for our programs. For that we Thank You! Thank You!
We originally planned to tour one of the hospitals we regularly use in Oyugis, but we came down with a severe respiratory illness which dragged on for a few weeks. Not wanting to spread our virus to others, or pick up anyone else’s in our vulnerable condition, we didn’t tour.
However, husband Peter did get to experience first hand the whole hospital experience as an outpatient. Doctor evaluation, bloodwork, lab and hospital fees, plus a bag full of antibiotics, cough syrups, cough drops and variety of other medicines ran us a total of about $36 US.
I can’t say we were excited to experience the whole hospital scenario in person, but that visit emphasized why our medical program gets us so excited… it only takes a little, that goes a long way, to help so many! That’s amazing!
Without our urgent medical program and your generous support, many people who need help would be left untreated leading to chronic illness or even death.
During our visit, malaria and typhoid cases were the most common. Several people heard we were in Oyugis and came to us seeking medical help for surgeries or medications. Others would see us through the open doors of the Olalo office and come in to see if we could help with their medical needs.
An elderly Luo woman came to where we were staying several times to ask for help with the pain medication she could no longer afford for a chronic illness she was suffering from. Each time she came, everyone in the household who could speak the language was out working. At the time we didn't know what her need was although we could see she was in distress. Finally, after a few days, she connected with one of our local volunteers and we were able to purchase the needed pain medications.
People previously helped by Olalo (and some we are still helping), came by to see us. One dear woman came to thank us again three years after Olalo paid for her treatment at the hospital. She brought us a live chicken as a thank you… an extremely valuable gift considering her life circumstances.
It is very humbling to meet the people who received help from Olalo, and to accept their heartfelt thanks and gratitude, knowing many of them might not be here today if they hadn’t received urgent medical care. I wish you could meet them all and hear their stories.
Just remember…. None of this is possible without you, our dear donors! We cannot thank you enough for being part of our Olalo family and graciously giving Olalo the financial means to impact and save so many lives.
Each and every one of you is changing a life 10,000 miles away…people you don’t even know!
That makes YOU INCREDIBLE and all of us at Olalo of Hope-Kenya Thank You!
Merry Broughal
Olalo of Hope-Kenyal
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