Community Outreach Blog
Wednesday 06 January, 2010
Sieslucho town was all cheers yesterday as the furniture for Telesgaye Primary School was delivered and the school's new teachers quarters officially opened. The furniture includes student desks, teachers office furniture, and beds. In it's second year running, the school can now open up two of it's classrooms that were previously used as teacher's quarters to add on class two students. The anticipated enrollment is almost 200 students from kindergarten to grade 2.
The event also inlcuded the first prize giving event held at the school where the best three scoring students for each class were awarded with prizes. The stationery donations from Edie Brickell through TBI were handed out as prizes.
Top students from kindergarten to grade 1
Community members offloading the student desks and other furniture
Friday 18 December, 2009
The Australian High Commission just committed to a grant of almost $7,000 to finance a water pump rehabilitation project in Illeret through its Direct Aid Program (DAP). The DAP gives financial assistance to groups or organisations undertaking small scale developmental projects that seek to alleviate basic humanitarian hardships.
A few months ago, the water pump (kijito) at Illeret stopped wroking as a result of corrosion from the highly saline water. As the only source of water in the middle of the town for hygiene and sanitation, the community returned back to walking several kilometres to fetch water. With the recent cholera outbreak, a reliable access to cleaning water in the town is a high priority. TBI and the local community will therefore jointly raise funds to meet the needed amount to rehabilitate the pump and return it to normal functioning.
If not completed by next June, the policy for DAP is for the return of the funds to the Australian High Commission so the community is working hard to realize the project goals as soon as possible. The local youth have already volunteered by dismateling the old kijito and are now facilitating meetings for fundraising to match the grant given by DAP.
Tuesday 01 December, 2009
Less than two months into the project, the teachers quarters at Telesgaye Primary School are practically complete, minus electrical wiring for the solar panels. The quarters will accomodate four single teachers to teach kindergarten and grades 1-2. With the gutter system also fitten, the masons are now working on the latrines.
Monday 23 November, 2009
After a week of being away, 26 of the patients that were transported to North Horr for eye treatment returned safe and sound. Remaining is one young patient who was referred to Niarobi for more complicated surgery. She has since completed her surgery and is waiting for transportation to return back to Illeret.
Saturday 14 November, 2009
Now into their fourth day of the eye clinic, the patients are now starting the second phase of treatment where surgeries for the left eye have began. Unfortunately with no internet on the ground, the volunteers cannot send us images of what is going on until the eye camp is complete. Stay tuned for more.
Meanwhile, the cholera cases have increased up to 35 in Illeret, especially Sieslucho and Chiererich villages. The deaths increased up to 8 but have fortunately remain constant since the arrival of Red Cross on Wednesday morning. Other than setting up tents to assit the humanitarian team, the mobile clinic is assiting the team in mornitoring the crisis.
Wednesday 11 November, 2009
News from the ground in North Horr is that the patients in North Horr have now commenced their surgeries. The specialists arrived in the morning to start treatment on the left eyes, they will carry out procedures with the right eyes after all left eye surgeries are complete. Unfortunately, four of the patients from Illeret have much more complex conditions that need to be refered to larger hospitals.
Monday 09 November, 2009
We were excited today to have been able to see off 27 eye patients off to North Horr. Traveling with assistants and translators, the team will be stay for a week in North Horr until all receive appropriate care. We give great thanks to the Constituency Development Funds (CDF) who have also assisted in partially funding the transport of the patients. We wait anxiously for the results.
One of the eye patients who went to North Horr
Unfortunately, we are simultanously trying to tackle an emergency situation in Sieslucho and now Chiererich village where a total of 7 people have been confirmed dead from suspected cholera cases. We anticipate assistance from the Red Cross and Ministry of Health shortly. But so far our hands remain tied as we have run out of drugs to cater for the increasing cases.
Sunday 08 November, 2009
Despite the good news on the arrival of the lorry to transport the eye patients to North Horr a few hours ago, Sieslucho has been faced with the challenge of dealing with four deaths from suspected cholera. In addition, 20 patients are suffering from diarrhea, vomiting and other related symptoms. The Ministry of Health (MOH) nurse is camping on the ground treating patients, while our CHW, Lochidang is carrying out awareness and education on hygiene and proper prevention, and providing needed gloves, masks and water purification tablets. We try and meet the challenge ahead as we grieve with one of our staff who has lost a mother from the disease. Although we have ran out of the necessary drugs, we have sent radio calls to the MOH and Red Cross in the hope that they can assist as soon as possible.
Sunday 08 November, 2009
Below are some of the pictures of the construction of Telesgaye school. In other news, TBI has successfully managed to raise funds to be used to transport the blind and visually impaired patients to
Teachers quarters wall nearing completion
Water tank for rain water collection and gutter system complete
