23 OCTOBER 2008

CELESTINE IS A NEW WOMAN!

(the following storied copied from a newspaper article I just wrote)

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It is hard to believe, but it’s real. As I write this update on Celestine I’m sitting in a youth hostel in Kampala, Uganda. I left Kenya yesterday for a short break after ten very long days of community work in the rural areas. Those long days were fulfilling in ways that I can not describe, but a break was much needed.

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When I arrived in Nairobi on the 9th of October all I could think about was seeing Celestine. She’d just returned to her home village after a week and a half of recovery in hospital and I could not wait to make the ten hour bus trip to find her in the rural area. There were a few changes since I wrote the original article stating that she would be operated on by a medical team on-board Mercy Ships Africa, docked in Monrovia, Liberia. I sent Celestine to Nairobi’s Aga Khan University Hospital in Nairobi with my Emergency Care Programs Manager on the 24th of September to undergo a mandatory biopsy at the request of Mercy Ships. However, once she got there the medical team realized that a biopsy would not be possible due to the type of tumor she had. A maxillofacial surgery professor from Nairobi University was called in to oversee the case as it needed professional attention.

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After examining Celestine, I spoke to Dr. Mark Chindia over the phone from my job in Saudi Arabia and he explained to me that he could do the operation himself; that it would not be necessary for her to travel to Liberia after all. I was hesitant as I explained that she really needed to travel due to the fact that Mercy Ships was offering the surgical procedure free of charge, so he gave me the contact for the Chief Medical Advisor of Aga Khan Hospital. After reviewing Celestine’s case, Aga Khan University Hospital agreed to cover the expenses under the Kenyan Government’s Welfare Assistance Program. The surgery was scheduled for the following day. I immediately contacted Dr. Chindia after the surgery and he explained that it had gone very well and even better – that the tumor had been benign. After eight long years of living alone with this physical disfigurement that had caused Celestine so much pain, she was free of it. I can’t imagine how she felt the moment that she saw herself in the mirror for the first time. Not only had the surgery been successful, but my project manager told me she was eating solid food only an hour after it had been completed. In fact she could have gone home the following day but she was kept while prosthetic teeth were fabricated as her front teeth had been removed with the tumor. Dr. Chindia explained that new teeth would help Celestine to heal quickly and give her the self confidence that she deserved. I am sure that she now has the best teeth in Kenya.

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On the 15th of October, I finally arrived in the village at Celestine’s home but could not show up empty handed. I arranged with my project manager to pick up two crates of sodas and some snacks so that we could celebrate properly. After all, this was an occasion to celebrate! I was greeted by about 40 men and women who expressed their sincere gratitude and amazement at what we had accomplished. After sharing some words with them, I told Celestine that I had yet another surprise for her. I explained that through some wonderful people in Canada who donated to her cause, we were going to be building her a house as well. Celestine’s reaction was that of extreme joy and bliss – she must have been the happiest person in the world that day. Construction started the following day after I ran around finding supplies and laborers. Donations that I received from all of you through the original story allowed me to build her a sizeable home of 20 iron sheets which included two bedrooms and a sitting room, furnished with 3 beds, blankets, cook-ware, four chairs and coffee table, a chicken house and ten chickens. She is now living comfortably with her elderly father and two young sons and with time she will have forgotten entirely about the life that she used to live. As the home was constructed the typical rural way with iron sheets for a roof and walls of packed mud, it will take about one week to dry after applying the first layer. That is what you see now, but eventually it will all be completed and smoothed over.

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(House before) (House after)

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I am still in awe of this entire story. The area assistant chief explained to me that throughout the years different people had come to take pictures of Celestine, but nobody had ever returned to actually help her. I was really touched by that and I want to sincerely thank every single person who donated to this cause. It is truly a story of SUCCESS. I learned a lot from Celestine’s story, and the most valuable part was that the resources that were needed existed right inside of Kenya. Although I was the voice of reason and coordinated everything, it was my Kenyan Tumaini Community Development Centre project managers, Habakkuk Chebulobe and Maurice Mwanza, who were working on the ground to complete every task that I asked of them. I’d also like to express my gratitude to the doctors and administrators at Aga Khan University Hospital for their dedication in assisting one of their own people with the highest level of professionalism, especially John from admissions and her surgeon, the very skilled and talented, Dr. Mark Chindia. Without all of you none of this could have ever happened.

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I’d also like to take this opportunity to introduce you to another individual who is a part of my Emergency Care Program within the Tumaini Community Development Centre. His name is Willie and I met him on the very same day that I met Celestine. Looking back on that day in May of this very year, I felt so overwhelmed wondering how I could help these two people. But his is another story of success and once again I am amazed at what we have been able to accomplish together with your support. As my educational background is in Nutrition I recognized Willie as being Marasmic (a form of severe protein energy malnutrition) right away. After posting his picture on my website, a long time friend of mine agreed to sponsor him and I would like to show you what he looks like now. After only 5 months of special care and proper feeding, Willie is not the same child – and the smile on his grandmother’s face is worth a million words alone.

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To read more about my small Community Based Organization (CBO) which is located in the Western Province of Kenya, please visit the Web Site at: http://www.tumainicentre.blogspot.com/. We have so many programs which are actively operating on a daily basis that need your attention. Donations of any kind are always welcome and I will be personally happy to keep you updated.