Charmaine White Rotary Club of Parkwood, Gold Coast, Queensland is on her way to Kenya.
Charmaine White (above) with Allen Richards President of Parkwood Rotary
Charmaine has left for Kenya for a two week stint to the Mathare Slums of Nairobi, Kenya as part of an Rotary International Medical mission. There are doctors, optometrists, nurses and dentists in the team which includes 8 Australian Rotarians and 70 volunteers from other parts of the World.
Over 400,000 people live in Mathare, with only 10 toilet blocks for the entire population. There is no electricity and no sewerage. Poor hygiene, nutrition and the cramped conditions are major causes of the spread of diseases such as AIDS. In fact, Africa will have 25 million orphans by 2010.
Mathare has 70% unemployment and the area is rife with violence and gangs.
36% of children die of malaria in their first year.
1.5 million orphans in Kenya at present., Every 10 minutes three people die of AIDS in Kenya.
There are schools, some of them have standing room only. School children receive one meal each day (at the end of the school day in an effort to keep them there for the whole day). For most children this will be their only meal. Many children do not attend school as they have to look after their younger siblings. Many of the orphans in the area do not eat every day.
International aid teams, such as the one Charmaine is joining, alleviate immediate health issues and try to educate for the future. Charmaine told us that these people have simple needs – food, shelter and life!