Martin, Amariah, Ezriel and Jannekah Guya

This month I had my first official prenatal exam!  Because we live in a new area we’ve never lived in when I was pregnant before, it was kind of an intimidating task trying to figure out how I would go about finding good prenatal care in Kenya (a problem I hope to be a big part of the solution to one day).  A Kenyan friend recommended a little clinic that was just built nearby and is a branch of a very large private hospital that I’ve had a good experience at – namely they were the only hospital I could find that did a coombs test when I desperately needed it with my second pregnancy.  It is a Muslim hospital, founded and administrated by Muslims, namely His Highness Aga Khan, but because it is private it serves anyone who can afford their services.

I must say, I had a surprisingly pleasant experience, and that’s saying a lot since I was there for 3 hours!  The clinic was neat and clean – probably the nicest I’ve ever seen actually.  Every staff member I encountered was very kind and helpful and the nurse even apologized to me for having to wait an hour and a half to be seen!  That was definitely a first!  What really put me over the moon was when they handed me a little booklet by Johnson and Johnson’s that had information on signs of labor, stages of labor, and best of all, coping techniques in labor.  All 15 suggestions are right on the dot and are things we learn and teach in Charis every day!  In fact #12 recommends hiring a doula!  I couldn’t believe it, and immediately looked to see if this is printed in Kenya!  It’s not.  It’s from South Africa, but we’ll take what we can get.  Now, I realize probably 5 women in the whole country would even know what a doula is (another problem I hope to be a solution to), but it’s a start.  Overall, I felt like the clinic did a fairly thorough exam and was so pleased that a few Kenyan women are getting good care and are being treated with kindness and dignity by such caregivers.

But I guess that’s where the bad news comes in.  It really is only a few Kenyan women who receive such care.  Why?  Well, I paid over $100 for that one visit, which did include all my initial blood work and the consultation.  But when you consider that’s one month’s salary for many Kenyans, it simply takes good health care completely out of their reach.  When I went to that horrid government hospital a month ago, I paid exactly 10% of what I paid at the private hospital, and that included an ultrasound!  And that $10 is still a huge sacrifice to many Kenyans, especially the women I work with.

I walked out of the clinic feeling thankful and encouraged, but also sad.  Because just there, literally right across the street, is the slum I work in where women could never dream of affording the kind of care I had just received.  In fact, Mama Christine’s new house is just a stone’s throw away from that lovely clinic (if you have a strong throwing arm that is=).  I’m so thankful and blessed to be on the receiving end of this journey once again, because of all the wonderful reminders and things I am learning about the need and how it feels to be the one who has the need.  And yes, you guessed it, it is my most fervent prayer that I will be a part of the solution, and in so doing, making sure that Jesus gets all the glory as women, babies, and families experience all His love.