History was made earlier this month when over 30 volunteers from 4 countries descended on Rusinga Island to carry out Kageno's mission of transforming this community suffering from inhumane poverty into a place of opportunity and hope.
A team of 9 medical students from Operation Crossroads completed health assessments for the children attending the Kageno Nursery School as well as set up a de-worming and vaccination program. Becca Peglow, Lauren Allmayer, Bianca Stifani, Audrey Livesey, Stephanie Barden, Beth Brennan and Anne Obwora joined John Kurap and Kevin Messacar.

The Dreyfus Health Foundation sponsored a 3-day workshop that taught community members how to solve local health problems using already available resources.
Ellen Schoninger and Andrea Joyce from New York joined Pamela Hoyt, a Registered Nurse and International Nursing Coordinator for the Dreyfus Health Foundation. Mary Muyoka - DHF National Coordinator for Kenya, joined us from Kitale, Kenya and Ruth Chikasa - Regional Coordinator for Africa came from Zambia. Facilitators from the Nekeki, Kenya team included: Judith Mandilah, Samuel Kimani, Moses Wefila, Isaac Wangila, Florence Wafula, Everlyn Simiyu, Mr. Nakitare, Mary Rono, David Sitati.
Team Texas was last to arrive, but quickly got to work installing and painting playground equipment for the new Kageno Nursery School. The group also worked with children in 4 primary schools to complete a Kageno Kids Art & Cultural Exchange that included writing and illustrating a story titled "About Myself". Donell Wiggins and her son Davis, Debbie Gray and her sons Ross and Roy, Royal Carson and William Wilcox made up team Texas. (These 4 families raised the funds to build the playground equipment.)

This is the second team from Texas.... The first group, having visited in March, was so moved to help, raised over $30,000 to construct the new nursery school. The March team also endowed a fund to feed all 186 children attending the school 1 meal / day.

Justin Noto, a filmmaker from New York, Jayne Hinds Bidaut - Director of the Kageno Kids Art & Cultural Exchange program, and Chad Wolf made up Team New York.

Reports from each team will be posted in the coming weeks.....
Operation Crossroads Heads to Rusinga
During the first week of July, our group of nine volunteers with Operation Crossroads Africa (www.operationcrossroadsafrica.org) was given the opportunity to head to Rusinga island from Mfangano and take a short break from the mobile medical clinic work that we had been doing between islands in Lake Victoria. Operation Crossroads sends out volunteers annually for two months to countries throughout Africa to work on various programs from constructing orphanages or schools to teaching projects to working in medical clinics. Our project was based on Mfangano, one of the largest islands in Lake Victoria, with the aim being daily mobile medical clinics on the various islands in the lake. We welcomed the opportunity to come to Rusinga for the week to meet the children and do what we could to help out medically in the area.
The unsanitary living conditions near the lake promote the rapid spread of worms and schistosomiasis. This adversely affects children who are already malnourished, and are trying to focus in school, leading to poor performance. Following WHO guidelines for a deworming project, we decided that the efforts for the week should be tailored towards improving the health of the children in the Kageno area in this manner. Every child over 2 years old was given a dose of Mebendazole to clear any worms in their system before any other necessary checkup.
Many of the children in the area still required immunizations and vaccinations, so after contacting the Minister of Health in the area, the site was supplied with oral polio vaccines, measles vaccines, and pentavalent vaccines, in order to officially start a health record on the children in the area. Difficulties arose as most children in the area are orphans, so if any prior health record existed, they were often unable to locate it.
The team from Crossroads saw about 40 children per day for vaccinations and checkups, and saw many from the community with other health problems as well. We were all really impressed with the Kageno site and the efforts of those involved with the project. It is a difficult task to take care of the 186 orphans and provide daily education, but with the construction of two new classrooms, a library, latrine and playground all under way, the development on site shows great growth.
We greatly appreciate the offer from Frank to spend some time at the site and thank Alphonce, Zack, Rachel and the rest for their hospitality as well!
We wish you all continued success on the project,
John Kurap
Operation Crossroads Africa--Kenya I Group Leader, Summer 2006
www.operationalmaata.blogspot.com
............THANKS FRANK!!!
we'll be in touch
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Working in Kolunga Beach was an amazing experience. Witnessing the progress that Kageno has made over the past few years in this community gives me great pride to be involved with such a wonderful group of people. Through documenting the July visit and the impressive development of this project I look forward to sharing with everyone what Kageno has become and what is in store for the future.
Justin Noto
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