After nearly one year of preparations, the day finally arrived on April 20th, 2014. In Nairobi, Kenya, CureCervicalCancer’s team members from around the United States joined to help stop the epidemic of cervical cancer in developing countries. Our mission is a big one! On this two-week journey, we intend to establish five sustainable CureCervicalCancer clinics throughout Kenya. The first photo depicts the CCC Kenya Project team: Patricia Gordon, MD, Founding Director & Board Chair; Caroline Nitschmann MD, Board Member; Judy Laner, Director of Volunteers and Board Member; Jade Singer, PA, MPH, and Board Member; Volunteer Joel Cornfield, MD; Kimberly Borden, Kenya project Team Leader and CCC Coordinator; Jacquelyn Dang, CCC Coordinator; Volunteer Cullen Hallinan; and new member to team, photojournalist and surgical technician Robert Oppel.
The CCC Kenya 2014 Project has three parts. The first part is the establishment of four clinics in Kisumu, Kenya. Sustainable clinics will be established at Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital (JOORTH), Migosi Health Center, Gita Health Center, and Kodiaga Health Center. The second part will be an advanced refresher course in the “See and Treat” method in the Transmara region of Kenya at Engos Clinic, where we have an established clinic (The Mela Kent Clinic). The final segment of the Kenya project will take place in Nairobi at the Langata Women’s Clinic, which borders the Kibera slum.
On our first day, the CCC Team adventured to JOOTRH to begin the process of setting up the first of CCC’s clinics on this project, The Jill Rotman Clinic. With the help of Columbia University’s Millennium Cities Initiative representatives Beldina Opyio and Zacheus Okoth Okech, who generously spent time away from their families on Easter Sunday, we were able to complete our initial set up to allow a smooth transition into the practical training of 14 healthcare professionals (including representatives from Kisumu’s Ministry of Health!) in Visual Inspection with Acetic Acid (VIA or “The Vinegar Test”) and cryotherapy. After three days of training (including an in-depth lecture on the theoretical aspects of the Single Visit Approach), these healthcare professionals will be accompanied back to their respective clinics by members of the CCC Team to help them set up their very own cervical cancer screening and treatment clinics. This way, CureCervicalCancer can help as many underserved women of this region as possible!