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Sisters of Mercy Mission and Ministry in Kenya 2016

Excursion Twelve boys from MIRC went for a trip at Alliance

Française from 9:30 am to 1 pm. Generally the trip

was awesome and educative. The boys got the

opportunity to see several pictures exhibited and

access the Alliance Française’s library.

The students have been learning about the craft of

cartoon-making and were eager to see how cartoon

artists presented their work. The visit was to see

an exhibition entitled “Hii Chapta”, which was set

up by a group of cartoonists who are trying to

educate people about Chapter 6 of the Kenyan

Constitution of 2010. This Chapter is primarily

about Integrity in the Parliamentary system.

Mukuru Children receive blankets

“I fell in love with the cartoon exhibition. The

cartoonists depicted the corrupt nature of our

political leaders in a funny and interesting

manner. They talked openly about the

individuals in the government who are

corrupt and leaders who are oppressive to the

citizens, making them their servants instead of

serving them. I really like the exaggerated

ideas brought out by the cartoonists”. Eliud

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Collaboration

Through the Government of German

Through this collaboration the entire slum is transformed. Children will be able to acquire

education in a better environment.

Collaboration with the Irish Government

St Catherine’s was built in stone in 2013 by Nille Melon Foundation, a volunteer group from

Ireland.

Through the friendship and shared values of the

international community Mukuru Kayaba

Primary School and St Elizabeth Primary and in

progress is St. Bhakita all re-built in stone by the

German Government in collaboration with the

Kenyan Government and the Sisters of Mercy.

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Sisters of Mercy Contribution to Adult Education in the Slums

Adult Education was started again in 2008 after a few years break due to the rebuilding of

Mukuru Primary school where it was located. Since 1980 it was housed in the village in

rooms used by the small Christian community of the South B Parish. A comprehensive

curriculum is being used with the goal of empowering adults to become self-reliant and well

informed in civic, environmental, business, health and other areas vital for their active

participation in civic life. They learn literacy and numeracy among other life skills.

Adult Education class in

Kayaba Village

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Health Care

1. Mukuru Promotion Centre

Sisters of Mercy have contributed in Health Care of the people of Mukuru Slums since 1985

in order to address the issue of health problems of the children and their families arose. A

clinic was set up to cater for these people and it charges 50/- for medical services. Between

70 and 110 people from the slum area attend the clinic daily. There are doctors from Slovakia

working as volunteers in the clinic, and two nurses; a registration clerk, a laboratory

technician and a cleaner assist these. Mission for Essential Drugs Supplies (MEDS) which is

a church-based organization supplies the drugs and this ensures quality low cost drugs to its

customers.

Patients at Mary Immaculate Clinic waiting bay

Many lactating mothers are malnourished, hence their babies suffer. An education and

nutrition program assists these mothers and babies. In 2008 MPC embarked upon a

With the escalation of HIV /AIDS among the

population, a Voluntary Counseling and Testing

Centre was established since January 2004. This

centre offers free HIV/AIDS counseling and

testing for the people in the surrounding slums.

Volunteer community health workers and one

clinical officer and 2 registered nurses visit the

slum villages on a rotational basis and attend to

those unable to visit the clinic or who may be

bed ridden.

MUKURU COMMUNITY CELEBRATE LITERACY DAY

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community development project whereby a Community Health Coordinator works with

community members and authorities to establish village health committees. The goal is to

empower the community to take responsibility for community sensitization on public health

issues, and to manage projects for the benefit of community members.

SISTERS OF MERCY MATER MISERICORDIAE HSOPTIAL

The Establishment The Hospital was established in 1962 by the Sisters of Mercy. The Hospital charges for its

services. However, all its revenues are applied towards the running of the Hospital including

payment of Staff salaries, training of staff members and funding of other charitable work as

determined by the Trustees. As the Hospital is a Catholic and Mercy Institution, all the

policies and ethics of the Catholic Church, with regard to medical service, are strictly

observed and adhered to. The Hospital in keeping with the Philosophy of the Sisters of

Mercy, is dedicated to compassionate care of the sick and the needy while cherishing the

dignity and value of each person. We seek to promote human wholeness and respond to the

needs of our time.

The Hospital has two special programmes that

are supported by the Sisters of Mercy.

a. The Mater Cardiac Programme

b. The Mater Comprehensive Care Unit

The Mater Heart Run

This year’s Mater Heart Run 14th edition was held on the 21st of May at the Nyayo National

Stadium in Nairobi and simultaneously also in the Cities of Mombasa, Kisumu, Machakos,

Mumias and Nyeri. An overwhelming turn up of supporters came in thousands braving the

chilly Saturday morning at 7am to be participants of a noble cause to raise awareness and

funds to support children with heart conditions in one of the most recognized annual event in

the Kenyan Calendar. The participants

of this year’s run included school

children, teachers, employees and

representing different organizations

amongst others.

The entry to the run venue was by

Mater Heart Run 2016 T-shirt through the purchase of it or any of the Mater Heart Run

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merchandizes available in the designated Outlets. Participants could also make monetary

donations through Cheques payable to the Mater Hospital Heart Fund.

This event targeted to raise Kshs 100 million to facilitate surgeries of at least 260 children.

The run whose aim is “Touching a Child’s Heart” is flanked by The Mater Cardiac Program

which begun 20 years ago, when The Mater Hospital realized that very little cardiac work of

good quality was being carried out in the region. Patients who were financially endowed had

to go overseas for treatment. Large majority many of them children, had no recourse to

quality Medicare and were destined to a sickly life and premature death.

The Mater Hospital therefore, started a cardiac program in 1995 to cater for children

from economically disadvantaged background and the first open-heart surgery was

performed in 1996. This was in line with the Values of the Sisters of Mercy, which

emphasize on compassion for all and seek to uplift the lives of the underprivileged in

society.

To date over 3093 heart procedures have been performed courtesy of the support from

well-wishers. The beneficially of this program majority are Kenyan children but

children from Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Malawi and Zambia have also been

treated.

In 2008 Mater Hospital started free cardiac outreach screening camps all over the

country to screen for heart ailments and educate the community about the acquired

heart disease, which is preventable, but could lead to death if ignored.

The Mater Heart Run was started in 2002 as one of the main fundraising avenues for

the Cardiac program. Initially held only in Nairobi, the Heart Run has grown to other

Counties over the years.

SCENES FROM NAIROBI

BELOW ARE VARIOUS SCENE

CAPTIONS: KISUMU

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NYERI

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Mater Comprehensive Care Clinic (MCCC) Given the mission of the Sisters of Mercy, working with people who are most disadvantaged

in the community the plight of HIV-AIDS pandemic could not be ignored. As a result

following up with the Sisters of Mercy HIV-AIDS Forum in Dublin, Ireland 2005 a new

understanding of the care necessary for people living with HIV/AIDS, their families, those

affected and impacted by the phenomenon dawned in the Sisters of Mercy circles.

Mater Comprehensive Care Clinic a charitable work was born within the Mater Hospital

Nairobi, a hospital under the Sisters of Mercy, Kenyan Province. This was due to the

immense suffering of the HIV positive Slum dwellers in the surrounding area. It became a

necessity for the Mater Hospital to offer free HIV services to this population.

Initially the program was funded by AIDs Relief Program but has now been handed over to

Chak under a grant provided by CDC. This has grown over the years to include more donor

budgets which complement the clinics activities and allows MCCC to offer more activities

than a regular Comprehensive Care Centre (CCC) would.

MCCC serves Makadara division with a population of 300,000. The target population

includes South B, South C, Nairobi West, Wilson, Mitumba, Mukuru Slum and the Industrial

Area.

The Makadara Satellite Clinic serves Buruburu, Donholm, Umoja and Maringo. The project

offers an extensive range of services relating to HIV Management.

70% of the MCCC clients reside at the densely populated slums. Food shortage poor housing,

poor sanitation, unemployment and lack of education have all been major challenges. There

has been a rapid scale up of enrollment over the years. Currently the number of clients on Care

and Anti Retroviral Drugs = 3028 clients. 18% of the population is children. Of the adult

population 64% are women.

At Makadara Sisters of Mercy Dispensary Satellite Clinic there are 430 clients enrolled with

an average of 10 new clients enrolled per month. This clinic is served by the Mater CCC

staff every Monday and Friday.

Given the very close ties between Mater CCC and Mater Hospital of which Mercy sisters are

Trustees it is envisaged that there will be a Mercy presence for the fore see able future. The

congregation is aware of the impact which the CCC programme is having on the lives of

PLWAs and with its commitment to working within the Mukuru slums. The Mater CCC

programme needs to be prioritized in terms of personnel and professional experience needs.

That said, the Board of Mater Hospital is very supportive of the CCC programme and it is

incorporated within the Hospital’s own strategic plan.

Project Monitoring Activities.

Continuous Quality Improvement is applied throughout the programme with a focus on the

quality of documentation. Data is collected during client HIV testing, enrolment, defaulters

tracing and house visits. All this data is reviewed on a monthly basis by the clinic team.

Monthly meetings are conducted to review on our performance indicators.

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Income Generating Activities (IGA) follow ups are conducted by program social workers and

progress reports developed on monthly basis.

The beneficiaries are involved in monitoring of the project. Communication channels within

the programme are many and varied. The regular forums organized for clients as part of a

support group or for training provide ample opportunities for feedback which is always

encouraged. The community link people have in fact become community activists as they

gain experience and increase their exposure to other groups. Within the Continuous Quality

improvement Committee clients are invited as members. Before we introduced service fee

clients were involved.

Services offered at Mater Comprehensive Care Unit coordinated by the Sisters of

Mercy

Holistic HIV Management. Clients seen in the MCCC Clinic on a Daily Basis Monday to

Friday.

1. Paediatric and Youth Programs.

a. Pediatric Care.

b. Children’s Kingdom-10-13 yr. olds. Children’s Kingdom Outings.

c. Adolesance. Education for Life Training –Behaviour Change.

d. Youth. Tears Drama training for youth

e. Exchange programme visit to Uganda for youth November 2013.

f. Parent-Caregiver Support Group.

g. Kid’s club play therapy

2. Nutritional Assessment and Support children, adults, pregnant mothers and babies

3. Income Generating Activities.

4. Home Visits.

5. Support Groups. All clients must be a member of a Support Group

6. HIV Testing and Counseling of individuals and families.

7. Servicing the Satellite Clinic Makadara.

8. Counseling.

9. School Visits.

10. Strong Community Health Volunteer Program.

11. TB Care.

12. PMTCT training, ante natal care and safe delivery for pregnant mothers who are HIV

13. Positive. Introduced 2013 0NE –STOP-SHOP.

14. Cervical cancer screening twice per week for all HIV Positive Women.

15. Hospital Referrals as necessary

16. Emergency transfer to other facilities of very ill patients.

Achievements.

1. High quality health care by trained clinical and nursing staff.

2. The community component being developed. Thus empowering the clients to manage

their HIV status and leading independent lives.

3. Income generating activities giving them financial security a sense of pride and

dignity.

4. Membership of the National Health Insurance Fund(compulsory) This is a great

benefit if they require hospital Admission

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5. Functioning support groups. Every client must be a member of a support group.

Therefore clients are more knowledgeable and positive about their illness.

6. Youth lead empowerment programs educating youth towards behavior change and

positive living.

7. Development of Child, Adolescent, Caregiver Support Services at every stage of

development. Therefore helping the child, adolescent and caregiver navigate any

complications that may arise.

8. PMTCT training for expectant mothers, antenatal care and delivery of HIV positive

mothers on the Mater Hospital Compound. This lead to the babies being born free of

the HIV virus. 115 mothers were delivered between March 2013 and February 2014

which was a great achievement.

9. Cervical cancer screening leading to early detection and treatment for cervical cancer

follow up screening and sponsored referral for surgery.

10. Nutritional support contributing to improved health status of the clients and increased

drug adherence. See below food distribution in December, 2013

Food distribution to clients by program manager and nutritionist.

One of the Sisters is the MCCC Coordinator (holding the jug of floor with the child) is a

Sister of Mercy who came to Kenya to support health care programs in Mutomo. Having

been the matron of the hospital since 1998 to 2013, her experiences of working in South of

Kitui and knows what it is to serve people who are hungry and sick. She came to the Mater

CCC in April, 2013 replacing another Irish born Sister of Mercy who returned back home to

Ireland.

The program manager contributed 60,200 ksh.

for needy and sick client to be supported with

food basket: sugar, beans, rice, ugali flour and

amaranth was bought, this enabled the program

to support 20 clients’ family for one month.