INFOSPOT 2nd OCTOBER 2015 Issue No. 27

THE BRITISH ARMY MEDICAL CAMP IN SOLIO

After weeks of enduring the harsh weather conditions of a section of Kenya’s semi-arid regions, the British Army Training Unit in Kenya (BATUK) concluded their Medi-cal camp exercise on Tuesday, 29th September 2015 at the Solio Medical centre in Laikipia County.

The event was meant to be a culmination of the previous activities that BATUK had taken part in the recent weeks.In attendance were the main partners who participat-ed in the medical expedition in the counties of Meru, Laikipia, Samburu and Nanyuki and therefore included representatives from PS Kenya, Red Cross Society of Kenya and the Laikipia County Government.

The dusty and stony terrain combined with the sweltering sun seemed to be Mother Nature’s way of receiving us at the Solio settlement scheme which is just off the Ny-eri-NaroMoru highway. We found a section British Army officials awaiting our arrival

Dawn Beadle, British Army Medical Coordinator and Captain Miles Crawshaw warmly welcomed us and later escorted us to the assembly point. The ceremony began with Captain Miles welcoming all those present and he thereafter gave us the day’s itiner-ary.The Commanding Officer of the Free Medical Regiment Colonel Eddy Merideth gave a background on the medical camp.

He stated that, “Our key objective of setting up medical camps in the areas surround-ing the Nanyuki Training area is focused on creating a long-term effect in the counties that neighbour us. We want to convince the Kenya government of the difference we make when we car-ry out these activities and secure an even better partnership with those communities, which is by far the most important thing,” he said.

personel.At the end of the tour, the partners in attendance were called upon to give their remarks.

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From Right, British Army Medical Co-ordinator Dawn Beadle,PS

Kenya P&O Director Sylvia Wamuhu and Central P&O coordina-

tor James Kamande engage in a discussion

Lieutenant Emily Stone then proceeded to give the invited guests tour around the medical camp. Typically, a patient will start at the registration desk and then head to the waiting room. If the patient is a mother who needed vaccination and treatment for her child she would be led to the Beyond Zero mobile van that contained the nec-essary facilities for paediatric care.

Sections of those in the waiting bay would also be split to join the health education exercises that had different target audiences. This opportunity was left to the Tunza mobilizers, as they understood who specifically met their target audience.

It is at these health education sessions that they are enlightened on an array of is-sues such as family planning methods, vaccination, cervical cancer screening and vaccination as they wait for their names to be called to see the British Army medical

Image 1: From Left: Dawn Beadle, Lieutenant Emily Stone and Upper Central P&O Coordinator Paul Sitati converseImage 2: A Tunza mobilizer engages a section of female residents of Solio in a Health Education Session on family planning.Image 3: Lieutenant Emily Stone describes to the guests the process of obtaining service at the medical camp.

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INFOSPOT11th September 2015

PS Kenya, Partnerships and Outreach Director Sylvia Wamuhu began by saying,“I would like to express my sincere gratitude towards the hardwork put in by the PS Kenya staff, Red Cross volunteers and the British Army volunteers that ensured the medical camps success in the regions. I know it required a lot of perseverance and bravery to withstand these conditions and I heartily congratulate them.”

She also urged for a sustainability process to be discussed and put in place to allow the communities to benefit from a continuous process. She assured the British Army of PS Kenya’s continued support of the exercise and articulated the hope of a brighter partnership between the two.With nothing else on the program, the event concluded with more pleasantries being exchanged between the guests and the sol-diers as they sipped on the surprisingly cool beverages provided by the ever-efficient Staff Sergeant.

“I would like to express my sincere gratitude towards the hardwork put in by the PS Kenya staff, Red Cross volunteers and the British Army vol-unteers that ensured the medical camps success in the regions. I know it required a lot of perseverance and bravery to withstand these conditions and I heartily congratulate them.”

At this time, the sun was right above our heads and huge whirlwinds of sand whisked by us every once in a while. On the other side of the military tents, the residents of Solio unceasingly arrived at the gate as others left with medical envelopes in their hands and smiles on their faces. It was ob-vious that they had indeed found respite when they needed it most.

Image 1: PS Kenya P&O Director Sylvia Wamuhu making her presenta-tion during the media day at Solio Medical campImage 2: Process maps that showed the areas that were visited, the number of people treated and the georgraphical area covered.Image 3: Lt. Emily Stone answers a qustion posed by one of the guests during their tour around the facilityImage 4: From Left, Sylvia Wamuhu, PS Kenya SFSBCC Irene Muinde and Ps Kenya, Central Region P&O Coordinator James Kamande en-gaged in a discussion

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