Back in Business...First Day at Wema Centre Trust

Hello friends & family!  We have experienced some major technical delays, hence the reason we haven't had much content to follow on our blog.  Nevertheless, we are back on track.  Today we are working at Wema Centre Trust.  As I write this post, I am sitting inside of our clinic, and right outside the door there are many women and children lined up awaiting treatment.  The sounds are varied...children talking, babies crying, mothers speaking with our interpreters, and the physical examinations going on in the clinic.  I can even hear some of the respiratory ailments in the chests of some of the crying babies.  www.wemacentre.org

Wema is a non governmental organization (NGO) that was established in 1993 in response to the plight of "street" girls.  Wema is an orphanage that houses young girls, and now young boys.  The compound is incredible.  Behind its gates is an elaborate facility that is light years ahead of the local living in Mombasa...just a stone's throw away.

Many of the orphans housed at Wema Centre have escaped abusive homes and were found living on the streets of Mombasa.  A good number of the young women here have experienced sexual abuse at the hands of their parents or guardians.  One of the adolescent girls whose story was featured in Wema's orientation video was a victim of physical and sexual abuse.  Her mother was an alcoholic and would offer her to men in exchange for money.  Frequently, her mother would come home intoxicated and beat her badly.  Although the streets weren't much safer, she was forced to run away.  While on the streets, she would have sex with men to get money to buy just enough food to calm her stomach. Wema provided this young lady with a safe environment, daily meals, an education, not to mention vocational skills to prepare her for independent living.

Wema has a halfway house reserved for adolescent girls whose purpose is to simulate independent living.  The inhabitants of the halfway house have responsibilities within the orphanage and help to care for the younger children.  Additionally, these young adults have more autonomy in the halfway houses, which allows them to further mature and develop their independence, while learning time management skills and how to function in the real world.  We were pleasantly surprised to discover that some of the staff we are working with are beneficiaries of Wema.  Several of the teachers and support staff are alumni of the program, and have returned to Wema to help children who are presently where they once were.

We have been thoroughly impressed with the infrastructure at Wema.  They have provided the orphans with an extraordinary amount of resources to ensure their success beyond the confines of the orphanage; so much so, that they actually have luxuries that other Mombasa children their age who aren't orphaned may never experience in their youth.  For example, the orphanage has a computer laboratory, and the entire facility is equipped with wireless internet.  Most of the villagers don't even have electricity.

There is a school on site, and the classrooms resemble typical classrooms you'd find in the U.S.  It was funny to see that the various classrooms have Disney inspired themes.  You'll see Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and Cinderella, along with her evil step sisters painted on the classroom walls [I wouldn't say they are exact replicas of Disney characters, but you get the picture...lol!!].

Wema has been fortunate to develop a dynamic and self-sustaining ecosystem.  There are several viable micro-businesses within Wema's organization whose proceeds help to sustain Wema's mission.  There is a hostel on-site where they allow people to rent out rooms for a nominal daily rate.  There is livestock grazing freely around the campus.  They use the milk produced from the cattle to feed the children, so they don't have to buy milk.  The cattle manure is recycled to nourish the soil in their garden.  So much of what they do here reminds me of the sustainable efforts sponsored by Heifer International in developing countries www.heifer.org.  Wema has started a pilot program to farm tilapia.  If this first experiment proves to be a success, they will establish four to five more pools of fish.  Ronald, the Director of Agriculture, breeds rabbits on site, that will subsequently be sold as meat.   Apparently, rabbit meat is sought after in Kenya for its sweet taste.  As you can see, Wema is a well-oiled machine.

Today we will be treating seventy-five people in our clinic.  We will see the first half before lunch, and the second half after lunch.  Drs. Jennifer Noble (psychologist) and Marissa Cummings (psychiatrist) are conducting a mental health training course for the staff.  The staff at Wema is compromised of teachers (including vocational instructors who teach the children to cook, sew, etc), social workers, a musician/choreographer who teaches the children ethnic music and dance, support staff and several volunteers.  Btw, I can't wait to take my sewing lessons!  The sewing instructor is from Japan and speaks Swahili...such rich culture exudes from this one facility.

The flow our our clinic has been exceptional.  We have a number system which promotes order amongst the patients and fluidity within the clinic.  Once inside the clinic, the patients are triaged and educated by one of our nurses, who then directs them to either Dana Brathwaite (physical therapist) or Dr. Ron Brathwaite for treatment.  Lastly, we have another nurse at the end of our service line who dispenses medication and gives discharge instructions.  We will be at Wema for the entire week.  Aside from the medical care and education that we are providing, we are prepared to have a rich cultural exchange with the staff and residents.  We have been promised a dance performance from the children, where we will also get a personal dance lesson.  We will also be taught a song or two in Swahili.  This is truly exciting...what an opportunity!