STEP Student Experiences

Masuma Bahora

M2 student – University of Tennessee Medical College

FACES Rongo

Summer 2009: For these two months, I spent my time in Rongo - a small roadside town enroute to Migori and beyond, Tanzania. Barely gracing even the most detailed of maps, life in Rongo is incredibly full and its inhabitants intensely kind. Beginning with the gregarious FACES staff to nearly every individual you meet in your daily interactions, the community is eager to know its few visitors and envelop you into the folds of their day. My project was to get an Early Infant HIV Diagnosis pilot project up and running in Rongo’s district hospital. Implementation was not obstacle free – but every negotiation gained was a lesson learned in collaboration and sustainability. Working with both patient populations and providers, we set into place a program that has the ability to capture HIV positive children in a non-PMTCT setting, while also disseminating education to a wider net of mothers bringing their children in for routine vaccinations. In addition to running the pilot, I was able to participate in male circumcisions, school-based outreach, and clinical care both on and off-site. My overall experience primarily speaks to the abounding generosity of the Rongo FACES staff to accommodate your every smidge of curiosity. I came away with a wealth of knowledge about HIV/AIDS care and treatment, but also a deeper instilment of Kenyans’ spirit to fight for the next day, no matter the barriers that have been erected along the way. I’m further solidified in my desire to pursue medicine in a global setting and to return to eastern Africa in the coming years. I could not have envisioned a more fulfilling and memorable adventure to partake in for the summer.

Anthony Fong

International Health Resident, University of British Columbia

Elective: FACES Suba, February - April 2009

It’s not often in medicine that one gets to see so many aspects of humanity in such a short time. As a family doctor finishing an international health residency in Kenya, I saw some of the sickest people in the world, in one of the least resourced settings in the world. While struggling with small tragedies that come hand-in-hand with any developing world setting, FACES Suba unabashedly struck me as a centre of excellence. Getting to know the systems of HIV spread among fisherfolk on Lake Victoria was an intellectually amazing public health opportunity, and I was awash with the irony of how the “First World” could learn so much from the Third.

This experience was uniquely rewarding to me in ways that some would see as mundane. I greeted and complimented each client and colleague by name in my poor Dholuo, and occasionally, worse Swahili. I listened more than I spoke and learned more than I taught; recognizing that when it comes to HIV, perhaps life experience sometimes trumps a university education. Lastly, as I would do in any town back home, I made a concerted effort to build bonds and nourish working relationships and lifelong friendships. This experience enriched my life, affected my practice back home, and I hope that many other students take the humbling opportunity to see it in a similar light.

Nicholas Kirui

5th year student - University of Nairobi, Kenya
FACES Suba: there I had an experience like no other

When I told my friends I was going to Suba for my elective term they looked at me with amazement and asked: where is Suba? Though most of my colleagues are Kenyans none had travelled to this lakeside town, some knew it was in Nyanza and had only heard of it but did not know of it. I think I chose Suba because I knew very little of it and I wanted to experience a totally different culture from the one I grew up in. I spent 4 weeks in Suba, November and December 2007.

My experience in this lakeside town on the shores of Lake Victoria was eye-opening, having to interact with persons of a different culture and belief system. It was a humbling experience to listen to the different perceptions of disease and their afflictions. Compared to the other parts of the country this was a really resource poor setting.

Of particular importance to me was the working of the Comprehensive Care Clinic at the District Hospital at Sindo with the counselors and community health assistants playing a pivotal role in the provision of health care. They provide an essential link between the clinicians and the patients especially in the areas of drug adherence, lifestyle change and the role of good nutrition in health. On the first of December I attended the celebrations of the World AIDS day and different HIV positive individuals came forward to talk about the different challenges they face daily, the stigma associated with HIV/AIDS is slowly being overcome in this region.

The decentralization of health care with daily visits by clinicians was commendable. I enjoyed the rides through the park with its beautiful scenery and its wild animals: giraffes, roan antelopes e.t.c in their natural habitat. The impassable roads during the rainy days were a real challenge.

Finally the coordination and cooperation among the staff at the clinic was commendable. Their support was sincere and they were always willing to explain the different activities they engaged in. Given a whole day I can in no way put down in writing my Suba experience, you have to experience it to feel the excitement that is within me. If you have thought of doing your elective in Suba, don’t hesitate you shall not be disappointed

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