“At the age of 60, I have never owned a toothbrush. I am so excited to have one for the first time in my life!” Jane, a beneficiary, said excitedly.
Entepesi Kenya and Brazilian Group Collaboration Unveiled!
From October 25 to November 1st, a total of 7 Staff and Students from the University of Sao Paulo in Brazil traveled to Kenya to work with Entepesi Kenya (EK). This team consisted of speech pathologists, ears, nose, and throat (ENT) doctors, dentists, and a medical surgeon. EK was very excited to collaborate with this group and the local ministry of health to serve the communities of Loitokitok, Nkama, Kilkelewa, and Enterara.
Through a series of 5 work days, the two dentists, Letycia & Nailson, were able to clean, examine, and treat dental cavities for 92 patients. Each patient received a personal toothbrush to take home and some floss to take good care of their teeth. With the value of prevention education, each patient was directed on how to have good oral hygiene for the prevention of other dental illnesses.
The two doctors were also quite busy with this trip. Dr. Sergio and Dr. Marcos evaluated and served 151 ENT patients, 29 medical patients, and 2 surgeries were assisted at Loitokitok Hospital. Every patient was given time and care people desire when seeing a doctor for illness. These patients received treatments when able and were given directions on where they could seek further assistance within Kenya.
Good news! A woman shared with a nurse at Loitokitok Hospital her story of impacted change because of the work this group had come to do. Her mother had been having trouble hearing for many years. So long that she never owned a phone due to the inability of being able to hear well. After visiting Dr. Sergio and receiving treatment, she was now able to hear again. The daughter was so excited she bought a phone immediately to be able to call her mom whenever she wanted!
The three speech pathologists, Magali, Leticia, and Giovanni, did an amazing job screening 103 men, women, and children for hearing loss. They were able to give referrals for people with profound hearing loss to get further testing and treatments. Many of these people did not know how to get the assistance they needed until they attended EK outreaches.
Entepesi Kenya values health education, and we were blown away at the amount of knowledge this group brought to the communities. A total of 233 community members received information about hearing loss and stroke prevention, and an additional 25 people were trained on how to perform CPR. Both the local health staff and communities were grateful for this opportunity to learn and help them identify serious health issues for loved ones or neighbors.
We at Entepesi Kenya are grateful to work with this amazing team of seven medical professionals from Brazil. We look forward to more opportunities to serve together!