Mobile Eye Clinic to Tendwet

Today we had another adventurous mobile eye clinic day. We traveled about 2 hours to the Mau Forest area in a village called Tendwet. The dispensary is perched on a hill overlooking a gorgeous valley that once was a forest. Like many other parts of the world, the forest here has been cut back so that people can have farmland. The soil is very fertile in this region and produces a variety of crops. The small patch of forest still remains close to this rich farmland.
At the clinic we saw probably about 50 patients, screening for low vision, cataracts, eye infections, and other conditions. It was a productive day, and we plan to see several of the patients back at Tenwek for surgery soon.
The roads were very muddy most of the way to the village, so it was very bumpy and at times treacherous. At one point on the way back, we got stuck in the mud. Despite many efforts to get out of the deep mud, our vehicle would not budge. So, we all climbed out into the mud. There were a bunch of men standing in the road looking for business--to assist vehicles escape the mud holes. There was already a taxi stuck in the mud, and the group of men actually lifted the taxi off the ground and placed it on a more solid part of the road. Our vehicle was too heavy to lift, but with the help of those men rocking it while the driver put it in reverse, we were able to get out of the sticky hole. So, we paid the men and continued on our way. During the rest of the way back to Tenwek, we had several more opportunities to get stuck, but our driver John mastered the roads and managed to continue moving through the sludge.
It was another great day seeing patients in nearby villages and screening for eye disease. I am continually amazed by how the Kenyan people are so welcoming and hospitable, as I see different parts of this region.


The long road ascending to the forest region


The muddy road


The Tendwet dispensary overlooking the valley