Social Issues

*Please note that this blog posting contains adult content not suitable for children.

As I write today my heart and mind are both very full. It's been an extremely full day today. It seems that I've now been in Kenya long enough that I've really been accepted by the community. It is amazing to me the issues that I'm being made aware of by Kenyan friends. Issues that I didn't even know existed when I moved here! What is really exciting is that since I first started learning about these issues late last year I've had Kenyan ladies approaching me asking me to help them start tackling some of the challenges. Some of these things have been in my heart for a while. I've been waiting for the right timing and it seems that the time is now.

About five months ago a gogo (grandmother) brought her 15-year-old granddaughter into the Mama-Baby clinic we hold every Tues and Thurs. The girl was shy, embarrassed and quiet. The grandmother wanted her to get a pregnancy test. Sure enough it was positive. I've been having monthly check-ups with the young mom ever since.

Today during Mama-Baby clinic she showed up in labor. The exam showed that she was going to have a tough delivery. I won't go into all the details but sure enough, it was a really tough one. This was one that I'm guessing probably would have become a C-section in the states. We wound up doing an episiotomy and pushing/pulling the baby boy out.

The baby needed some resuscitation before he started breathing. The mom looked like she didn't want to have anything to do with the baby. It was a difficult situation. Thankfully there were some very supportive relatives who showed up after the delivery to help take care of both mom and baby.

During the delivery I was running back and forth between the clinic room and the delivery room. I finally had to ask the many moms who were waiting to be seen to wait until the new baby came. They waited patiently. I apologized for the long wait and one woman said "What can you do? A baby comes when he wants to come!"

These teenage pregnancies are always tough cases. When I first moved here I would hear people talking about how "our girls need to be educated" and I always wondered to myself "What about the boys?!". I've since learned that most of our teenage pregnancy comes not from teenage boys but from married men in their 20's and 30's. (Although I still think educating the boys is critical!)

It just so happened (maybe a God-incident?) that one of my friends who is a local school teacher stopped by the clinic to talk to me this afternoon. She wanted to talk about the issue of teenage pregnancy. I told her that one of her students had delivered earlier today. We talked about how many girls are offered clothing items, food or maybe a little less than a dollar in exchange for sex. Most of the men making these offers are older and typically married.

We also talked about how abortion is becoming more and more common in our village. I've seen several post-abortive women with severe physical complications. Abortion is illegal in Kenya but many women seek out medical professionals who are willing to do one off-the-record. Others try to drink soap or herbal concoctions to induce labor. I've heard some pretty terrible stories in the past few months.

My teacher friend pleaded with me to come and meet with the girls at her school. We have set up a date for me to go on September 15th for a health education class. We decided that I should try to start coming on a regular basis to work on building relationships and trust with these young ladies.

I've also got another project in the works related to women's health. Since I first started working with the Mama's and babies I've wanted to increase education in the community. At the beginning of this year I was approached by another Kenyan friend who happens to be a pastor. She asked me if we could partner together to start women's health classes. She will do a devotion and then translate my lesson for me. In the last few months as I would treat women and their children I would ask them if they would be interested in health education classes. The response has been overwhelmingly positive. In fact, last week two ladies asked me when the first class will be held. Helen and I will have our first class with the subject of family planning sometime in August.

I have to confess that there were times last year when I wondered if I was really doing anything worthwhile. I felt that I didn't quite know exactly where I fit in, in both the ministry and the community. But it is absolutely amazing just how much I feel a part of the community now. I have really found my niche and feel like God is using me to touch the people in our community. And to think the adventure has just begun! I look forward to seeing where God will take these new ventures during the rest of this year.