Pediatrician Dr. Ulrich Seeman examines a young boy. Photo: humedica
Kenya: Report from humedica Medical Team
by Dr. Ulrich Seemann, 2008/02/12
Dear friends, sponsors, colleagues, and supporters,
With the relief organization humedica, I flew on Feb. 5, 2008 to a refugee camp in the Rift valley in Kenya on a catastrophe relief mission in order to help the people who had fled their villages because of the horrible ethnical conflicts. The German media has extensively reported on the conflict in Kenya following the last election between president Kabiki and the opposition leader Odinga.
On arrival at the airport in the capital Nairobi I first encounter a German tourist group, who with great anticipation, are preparing themselves for an expedition to climb Kilimanjaro. For them the current crisis is very distant.
Along the way to our interim quarters in Nairobi one was alarmed to see houses here and there which had been set afire in the preceding days. A tall wall was protecting the IAS (International Aid Services) guesthouse where I stayed, and as I listened to the intensive gunfire nearby, it became clear to me that a national disaster was taking place.
On the following day I went by bus to the Rift Valley Province capital Nakuru. The center of the unrest lies here, amidst an amazingly beautiful and fruitful valley with stunning landscape and numerous animals. From the road one could see gazelles, zebras, warthogs, buffalo, baboons, marabou storks and many other kinds of birds which were unknown to us.
We - doctor, EMT and coordinator - are staying in Nakuru with a Danish couple in a well-protected house. In comparison to our usual quarters, we have been made extremely comfortable, almost giving us a guilty conscious about having such good care in the midst of all the suffering.
We begin our work about 30 kilometers away at a refugee camp in the village of Molo. The church there is the center of the camp, and it is here where we have set up our clinic. Because of the extremely dangerous situation we were not allowed to set up our usual mobile clinic; we are located directly on the border between two warring tribes, and heavy fighting has been predicted in the area.
Our small team is not able to handle all of the patients, even though we don’t have any severe injuries or illnesses caused by the refugees’ flight. As expected, we treat mostly for dysentery, parasitic diseases, joint problems and respiratory diseases.
Even though it’s the warmest time of the year here, because of the high altitude (almost 2000 meters above sea level) it can get very cold at night, and the people have to sleep without any shelter on the bare ground. Added to that are hunger, exhaustion and the unimaginable traumatic experiences from their flight. I notice however, that even though we cannot absorb or take away their mental trauma, we have given them hope just by being here. The photographs we have been shown in Nakuru of the fatally wounded victims are of an indescribable cruelty. Brutal injuries on the arms and torsos from machetes, slit throats and bodies gored out by spears show the intensity of the conflict.
The humedica team is in Nakuru on assignment. Photo: David Darg
Our new operation site is an arena in Nakuru, which up until now was used as a large market for selling animals, and thus carries the name Showground. The adversity of the refugees here is even larger than in Molo. They have all been jammed together in a relatively small space, the sanitary conditions are horrendous, the provisions insufficient and up till now no one has received any medical care.
We want to try to prevent, or rather alleviate, severe illnesses, and fight the outbreak of epidemics.
I will report from our operation site once more in the hopes that the situation here will have improved, so that we, with the help of God, are able to assist these wonderful people which we continue to meet.
Dr. Ulrich Seemann
Nakuru, the 10th of February 2008
In order to prevent further victims, tt is especially important to take care of the children. Photo: David Darg
