St. Clement in Kenya
“When labour costs less than £2 per day the only limit to what we can achieve is the number of people we can co-ordinate” Easy to say in 2007 with a team of 26 and 100 local people. In 2008 we had our work cut out with just four full time adults and 70 workers and contractors. This style of working is at the root of the St Clement method of overseas aid. It is based on enthusiasm rather than skills as there are many underemployed skilled tradesmen in the local area and labourers queuing up at the gate to work. What the team brings is co-ordination, funds – over £100,000 raised so far - and a sense of speed and urgency in order that we have photographs to take back for donors.
100 shilling bonus
As team leader I would often be found at the end of the working day handing out 100 shilling notes as a bonus for working a few more hours or even through the night. It cost us less than a Starbucks coffee but in the local economy it was a substantial bonus . In this way we constantly surprised ourselves with how many extra projects could be picked up and finished in just a few days – whether it was a private ward in need of refurbishment or roofing and rendering a building . The team also makes friends and develops individual projects – so in addition to the hospital we funded a 60 place nursery, a youth band keyboard, a motorbike for the vicar and helped people with school or college fees.
Return visit in 2008
In 2007 the team painted and cleaned the hospital inside and out. Oxygen debts were paid and a new laundry built. “Would it recover” we wondered as we left – “and will it stay clean? “ people asked in Jersey. Very fair questions , so we were delighted to learn of its rapid return to being a hospital of choice rather than desperation where you were operated on only if you were virtually sure to die before you reached Mombasa.
The Children’s and Maternity ward became so full they needed a 20 bed children’s ward in 2008. Last year we started to work on a large abandoned operating theatre block – this year we finished the work – leaving it with new equipment and an anaesthetist. The X Ray machine and room were refurbished and paths and driveways throughout the large site restored. A private ward was re opened and 28 new beds were welded from scrap.
Plans for 2009
2009 will see a complete re roofing of the staff housing thanks to a grant from Rotary and a school and church building project at Malindi. £4,000 is needed to provide water for a school of 400 children, there are two churches in need of roofs and maybe even a £15,000 water catchment project in Tsavo. Do contact me if you can help.
Back in 2006 I only asked if a few people would like to do a bit of cleaning and painting - you never know what God has in store for you !
Report on Kenya 2009
Following the successful re-launch of St Luke’s Hospital Kenya in 2007 and 2008, a team of 7 led by St Clement’s Church headed back in June to work with 40+ local people on the building of ten new staff housing units and the re-roofing and refurbishing of ten more. The £30,000 project was funded by Jersey Rotary, Rotary de La Manche, J.O.A.C and donations. At the nearby Chilulu Primary School they opened the new £4,800, 100,000 litre water catchment facility funded by St Clement Sunday School Christmas Project and J.O.A.C. Then the team travelled to Malindi to the new St Clement Educational Centre, initially consisting of three classrooms plus a multi- purpose building to be used as a three class nursery on weekdays and church and community use on Sundays. £10,000 has been raised by St Clement and J.O.A.C. has granted £5,000 They visited an Aids orphans project in Mombasa en route to the airport where a member of the team was working before the rest arrived. A hectic but rewarding two weeks !
David Shaw
Tel. 851992
shawhome@JerseyMail.zzn.com
Info first published in the 'Jersey Link'
A further trip will take place in summer 2010