“There is no free health service in Kenya. If you are involved in an accident or are struck down with a disabling illness or affliction, you are on your own. You will be obliged to carry that problem for the rest of your life  if you do not have the means to pay for treatment. Having witnessed the desperation of these people at first hand is the main reason why I am so passionate about trying to help this very worthy cause to the extent of my ability.” Mike Belliere, founder of MEAK

I am a big fan of  MEAK  and Mike and Dee’s dedication to this small charity is awesome. By the way they do all the coordinating, organizing  and fundraising plus Mike has a full time job! This is another very productive year for them . I was particularly struck by the emphasis on education and training. MEAK teams  don’t just come in,  operate and leave. They educate and train the local medical personnel.

SUMMARY OF MEAK ACTIVITIES JANUARY–JUNE 2012 by Mike Belliere

Another productive period for MEAK started in February 2012 when we completed a heart mission at The Mombasa Hospital, Mombasa. This was our second mission at this fine hospital which sets an impressive standard with its medical care. 24 children underwent open and closed heart procedures with all the children leaving hospital after successful surgery.

Once again our cardiologists found themselves in the unenviable position of selecting the children who they felt most needed urgent surgery and excluding those that they felt could wait for the next MEAK mission planned for June. This is not a precise science and we were all extremely distressed to hear from our Kenya co-ordinator Tanuja Walli that no less than five of the excluded children had died before we had returned four months later. This appalling waste of young lives is a tragic and continuing disaster, not only in Kenya but throughout the third world, where heart surgery is an affordable luxury only to the very rich.

In June our second heart trip of the year took place at The Kenyatta National Hospital in Nairobi. This was the sixteenth mission to Kenyatta and, once again, the local medics displayed the impressive advances they have made in the pre and post operative care of paediatric cardiac patients; this has been one of the main features and success stories of the MEAK heart programme. Another 24 children received surgery, with only one very regrettably, lost to an unexpected and irreversible cardiac arrest.

It remains a long term aim for MEAK that the Kenyatta National Hospital be recognized as a centre of excellence for cardiac surgery in Africa with an ensuing dramatic increase in their case load. The installation of the new cardiac- catheter laboratory, due this year, will certainly help this aspiration.

We had a slow start to 2012 as far as eye trips were concerned as we had to cancel the proposed mission to Turkana when local problems suggested that a postponement was advisable. I am happy to report that it has been agreed that this area badly needs further eye camps and we have now re-programmed the trip for November. In April The Lions and MEAK completed a very successful mission to Dadaab on the Somalia border, which, you may remember, is the site of the vast camp housing tens of thousands of Somali refugees fleeing from the violence in their country. We completed 211 cataract operations and 21 eyelid corrections for trachoma sufferers.

In June another productive mission with our partners from the Lions Sight First Hospital was carried out in the areas around Baringo. In total 178 patients received surgery at the camp and a further 5 were brought back to Nairobi for more serious surgery at the eye hospital.

ORTHOPAEDICS

June saw MEAK back in Nanyuki with the KOP team from North Devon, 24 patients received procedures with many others receiving physiotherapy and advice.

The highly successful GRASP-IT teaching programme (Global Recognition of Acutely Sick Patients – Initial Treatment) has made a tremendous difference to patient care in Nanyuki and the team were very keen to press ahead with more teaching. An extensive schedule of assessment, teaching courses and seminars was carried forward for new attendees with more advance courses for those who had been taught in previous visits.

It is generally acknowledged that tens of thousands of people attending hospitals throughout the world die as a result of poor initial assessments and poor attention to patients vital signs. Improving Nanyuki’s record in these and other matters has been instrumental in making Nanyuki District Hospital the recognized primary trauma centre for this area.

Our orthopaedic team decided to raise sufficient funds to invite four clinicians from Nanyuki to visit them in Devon for a constructive and rewarding trip which took place in March. This has cemented the already strong relationship between our two organizations. Our input during this trip included:-

•   A 24 hour assessment of emergency care available at the front door of the hospital (both observation and hands on)
•   A programme devised to deliver that assessed care requirement
•   4 No interactive 3-hour sessions for a total of 40 clinical officers and interns on the basis of triage,emergency care and ABCDE (Airway, Breathing, Circulation, Disability, Exposure) training. All designed to link with the MEAK GRASP-IT training programme and test
•   1 hour sessions for approx 50 attendees of all levels on acute back pain during the hospital’s CME(Continuing Medical Education) morning
•   Same course delivered to the Kenyan Medical Society local division evening meeting, for 25 attendees.

•   Bespoke triage and recognition of sick patient training given to the hospital security staff who are often the first people to meet sick patients, especially during the night
•   Morning session delivered to 20 clinical officers and interns on acute drug delivery systems and prescribing patterns
•   Extensive physiotherapy advice and training given to local medics to assist patients recovery after injury and especially after surgery. All the above was in addition to the one-to-one exchange of information and techniques which was on-going throughout the trip. I am very pleased that the education element of Medical and Educational Aid to Kenya is being implemented so enthusiastically and effectively by our orthopaedic team. I am also very pleased to advise our readers that the GRASP-IT course and the work we are doing in Nanyuki has been recognized by THET (Tropical Health Education Trust) with a substantial grant towards future educational projects there.I have often been quoted as saying that running a charity such as MEAK is a task that is full of satisfying and rewarding times, as well as quite a few distressing and frustrating moments, however the most tedious and time consuming element is always the very necessary task of fund raising, I was therefore more than delighted to have discussions recently with two exceptionally generous donors who, recognizing MEAK’s value to the poorer elements in Kenya, are keen to join with us on future projects. If we are successful here it will make life considerably easier for your Trustees who bear the responsibility for obtaining the finance required to satisfy MEAK’s aspirations.I can only send the thanks of all the people who have been helped by MEAK during this period.                             Mike Belliere Founder / Director M.E.A.K.