HOSPITAL FUND REPORT AND THE DREADED PAINT CATASTROPHE!!

HOSPITAL FUND REPORT

We administer two hospital funds.  One of them is a partially self-sustained one which is made possible from money that the cash crops on the farm raise and an occasional subsidy from us. This fund is used for medical transportation and minor treatment for the destitute widows.

Another fund, made available through funds donated to the ministry,  provides general medical care and hospitalization; the recipients are decided upon by the leadership of Restoration Community Church (RCC).

Recently Violet gave us an update on the use of that fund; it follows.

    -  Medication for a school girl

    -  Admission and on-going inpatient care for an 18 month old baby with

       tuberculosis.    

    -  A twelve-year-old (one of Saturday's orphans) taken to hospital.

    -  Provision of a free cervical cancer testing in the village clinic. (Several 

       women from the church went for the testing.  One tested positive and is          

       being sent into the city for follow up.)

    The total expenditure for these services was: 24,200 KES ($285, £182). 

    Amazing isn't it?

PAINT CATASTROPHE

Traditional Ladder

A while back Marty said she would tell you of her dire experience while painting the rooms in the farmworker's house.  Here it is!

She had a BRAND NEW can of paint, John had bought her a real ladder; aluminum (aluminium) with steps and a shelf to hold the paint and brushes, and she was ready to go.(Sorry no photos of new ladder.)  It is unheard of for a woman to paint; they are impressed and amazed that Marty "knows how" to do it.  Folks are more or less accustomed to her coveralls and red bandana by now.  That day she had a shadow.  Johnfred's son, Shem, was following her around and sticking to her like glue. He is learning English, but is a bit shy and wouldn't speak - in English or Luo or Kiswahili.  Marty would talk to him, give him tasks to do or he would follow her around as she had to do various things in connection with the job. He understood, but he just wouldn't talk. It was good experience for him to listen to a mzungu (white person) speaking English.

After the Cleanup

Well, she got a bit lazy.  Therein lay the root of the problem!  She climbed down to move the ladder, but didn't take the paint off the top.  The vibration of the move caused the WHOLE CAN OF PAINT to move to the edge and tip over - all over Marty, her new sneakers (trainers), the ladder, floor and up the walls.  She let out a scream; all the men came running thinking she had fallen off the ladder; Shem jumped up and everyone tried to console her and begin the clean up. She chased the men out, took off her ruined shoes, and began to try to clean up and save as much paint as possible.  A can of spilled paint on a concrete floor is very, very slippery.  So as she was cleaning up she began to skate about a bit to entertain Shem.  By his expression it was clear that the lad was quite bemused over this woman and her antics.  He kept trying to help and she kept trying to stop him, for she knew he would get paint on his school clothes, etc.  He wouldn't listen, and of course got paint on himself.

Headed Out to Wash Feet

White Footprints All the Way to the Water Tank

A couple of days later she spoke with his father about the incident.  Apparently when he got home he wasn't so quiet about the whole thing.  He had the family in stitches and horror telling them of the incident and how he saw the can getting ready to fall.  They all jumped on him and asked him why on earth didn't he tell her, and the poor little guy said "I wanted to, but I couldn't remember the words in English".  

So goes life in Kadawa and some of the things that make it funny, fun and memorable.  Shem will remember it for the rest of his life, and Marty wasn't in trouble for letting him get paint on himself.

Love, John and Marty