2013 Kenya Medicine Tour: Modern and Indigenous Medicine
April 2 (Arrive Nairobi) — April 30 (Depart Nairobi)
It’s here again! After a successful trip in 2012, we will return to Kenya for learning and volunteering experiences for medical students and other health care workers. Experience a variety of clinical settings—“western” hospitals outside of Nairobi specializing in maternity, surgical, and pediatric orthopedic care; community clinics in the slums of Kibera; a Maasai bush clinic with an emphasis on traditional tribal healing, led by Maasai chief, shaman, and community leader Salaton Ole Ntutu; and a community clinic at the gates of Maasai Mara which includes an acupuncture practice. Engage in hands-on and first hand care within the full spectrum of the Kenya medical system, along with insights of local people working within the realities of delivering health care in a developing world environment. We’ll also see the sights of Nairobi, enjoy two days driving safari in Maasai Mara, and more days walking the Loita hills and plains.
What are the issues facing developing nations in delivering health care with limited resources? How is technology and modern medicine meeting traditional cultural values? How are ancient spiritual and natural healing practices kept alive? What place to integrative healing methods have in rural community health? If you are ready to ask these questions while serving those in need, and wish to soak in the beauty of the Kenya culture and environment, then you’ll want to join us on this journey.
See below for details on the program and links for staying connected as we plan this amazing opportunity to blend a volunteer experience with cultural immersion, clinical engagement and safari.
Stay connected…
- Read more about what we will do on the trip below, and see the photos from the 2012 Kenya Medicine Tour
- Follow the SOTC Facebook page to stay updated on trip details as they come together
- Sign up to receive information on how to join us for this cross-cultural global health experience
- Ask your medical school or residency program about international elective credits for this Medical Tour
- Forward trip details to your colleagues to spread the word and put together a group you’d like to travel with
In the words of a 2012 Kenya Medicine Tour Traveler…
"Having been through a different international program in India where I was only allowed to shadow, I was delighted by the amount we got to do in Kenya. Through our visits to clinics, homes, hospitals, scrubbing into surgeries, performing osteopathic medicine, we worked side-by-side with the volunteers who translated for the patients and us. Traveling to places and people in Kenya who would otherwise have NO doctor, we had the opportunities to really apply all that we've learned these past years and treat people. One member got to deliver a baby. These experiences and the lessons of traditional healing of the Maasai led to a deep personal growth that many don't receive from other international trips..."
- Victoria P Williams, OMS IV, Traveler with 2012 Kenya Medicine Tour
2013 Kenya Medicine Tour: Modern and Indigenous Medicine
(subject to change based on opportunities that are developing at each location)
A 4-Week Rotation for Medical Students and Clinical Workers
Featuring Integrative Medicine for the Underserved in Kenya
Tuesday, April 2 – Tuesday, April 30, 2013
(Online orientation and independent preparation will also be facilitated prior to travel)
Be a part of global health services!
Discover how health care is delivered and received in Kenya where there are more than 10,000 people per physician. (WHO 2011)
Experience hands-on engagement with medical care providers in a variety of clinical settings—“western” hospitals outside of Nairobi specializing in maternity, surgical, and pediatric orthopedic care; community clinics in the slums of Kibera; a Maasai bush clinic with an emphasis on traditional tribal healing, led by Maasai chief, shaman, and community leader Salaton Ole Ntutu; and a community clinic at the gates of Maasai Mara which includes an acupuncture practice.
Where We Will Go
Nairobi and Surrounding Areas
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The Kijabe Hospital and CURE International Clinic; Kibera Slums Clinics First hand and hands on experiences with physicians and clinicians at fully equipped hospitals providing all general hospital services, and a clinic that provides medical and surgical care to children with physical disabilities. Exceptional, comprehensive care is provided to local people at low or no cost. While these are Christian-based operations, our program is unaffiliated with religious organizations and encourages students of all creed and beliefs to join. We will also tour Kibera slums and spend time in community health clinics. - www.kijabehospital.org
AIC Kijabe Hospital |
On arrival in Nairobi, stay with other international explorers at a backpacker lodge, in dorm style rooms or budget hostel options. During rotation in Kijabe Hospital, on the outskirts of Nairobi, stay at a volunteers’ guest house in shared rooms.
Dormitory Accommodations |
Begin the journey with an orientation to Kenyan culture, exploring the details to our experiences ahead, and spend time getting to know each other. Included are visits to wildlife rescue and ecology centers around Nairobi, such as the Sheldrick Trust Elephant Orphanage, Giraffe Center and other city sights.
Orphan Elephants in Nairobi |
Maji Moto Maasai Village, on the Loita Hills and Plains
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Maasai Families Gather for Mobile Clinic Maji Moto Village and Clinic are in a small community in the bush area of Maji Moto, at the base of the Loita Hills. Maasai families live here in traditional tribal ways, without running water, electricity, or easy contact with western health services. A nurse is present most days, with whatever medications are provided from government or charitable sources, doing her best to treat or refer the injured or sick to larger clinics, often after traditional tribal remedies have not been healed them. We will venture out to remote villages with a mobile clinic to connect with those unable to travel to health services.
Being of Service to Underserved Communities |
We will stay in the Maji Moto Maasai Cultural Camp, with a warm welcome from villagers and continuously guarded by Maasai warriors. Lodging is in small tents amidst aloe vera plants, acacia and euphorbia trees. Also available at added cost are cottages with Western comforts, constructed in traditional Maasai style of mud hut Manyatta homes.
Tents in the Bush
Maasai Style Cottages Visit the hot spring for a natural bath, or shower in the private outdoor shower with hot water from the spring (Maji Moto means hot water in the local language). Handwashing stations and toilet facilities are also available for your comfort.
Handwashing Station |
Feel the spirit of the Maasai, living with nature and listening to ancestors and traditions to sustain their rich culture. Enjoy the traditional dances in the Maasai Widows’ Village, just up the path from volunteer lodging, as well as trekking in the Loita hills and plains, and peaceful relaxation in the natural African bush. A driving safari in Maasai Mara is also included.
Salaton Shares Natural Healing Experience unique traditional healing practices of the Maasai with Salaton Ole Ntutu, who is a community chief, healer, social change champion and environmental leader. Among many community projects, he is establishing a sanctuary for wildlife, medicinal and holy plants and the Maasai lifestyle. With Salaton and other tribal healers, students may participate in hikes with medicinal plant identification and preparation, and community ceremonies.
Living Amongst Authentic Maasai Culture Learn about traditional beadwork, cooking, and other traditional ways of life in the widows’ village established by Salaton on his land. Experience warrior training with Maasai warriors, enjoy a soak in the natural hot springs, and songs and stories by the campfire. |
Talek Community, at the Gates of Maasai Mara
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The Koyiaki Community Clinic in Talek, located at the edge of the Maasai Mara National Reserve, provides health care services for the Maasai community in the vast plains. Many local people live in poverty and can’t afford the cost of travel to the nearest hospital, many miles away.
Talek Clinic at the Gates of Maasai Mara National Park 
Jackson Ole Njapit Delivers Care to the Community See how conditions endemic to Africa are treated, such as AIDs, malaria, typhoid, and wounds caused by wild animals or natural hazards. Koyiaki clinic was founded by Jackson Ole Njapit, a leader in raising funds, supplies, and support for the health of the Maasai people. Jackson provides an ideal bridge for educating his community about life-threatening tribal practices while maintaining the culture of his people. He is a valuable resource for many lessons on cultural sensitivity. See more details about Jackson Ole Njapit.
Koyiaki Community Clinic |
We will stay in a Talek guesthouse, with single beds in shared rooms or in a nearby tent camp. The town offers a few pubs, shops and restaurants, to enjoy a bit of social life.
Riverside Breakfast in Maasai Mara
Medicinal Herbs Sold at the Local Market
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Experience Maasai Mara National Park with wildlife safari game drives over two days. You’ll get a close up yet safe view of the natural wonders of Kenya, including lions, elephants, rhinos, zebras and more, here to be seen in their natural environment.
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Who We Will Meet
Salaton Ole Ntutu
Maasai Community Chief, Healer, Social Change Leader, Environmentalist, & Safari Camp Owner
Salaton is a traditionally trained Maasai warrior, surviving amongst wild animals in the African bush for more than seven years as a young man, honing his attunement with nature and connection to his ancestors. He is blessed with many spiritual and energetic gifts passed on from his family line, strengthening his connection and communication with people and wildlife, and healing abilities. He has faced wild animals in defense, at times forced to kill lions, leopards and buffalo with just knives and spears.
Today, Salaton is recognized for his courage and wisdom in his village of Maji Moto. His mission in life is to preserve his culture and environment through his leadership for projects and initiatives, including water resources, land conservation to provide space for Maasai lifestyle and protection of holy and healing plants and trees, providing a home for girls rescued from circumcision and early marriage, widows, and women with AIDS, building a self-sustaining economy through tourism, and continued support of educational programs. >> Read more about Salaton
Dan Ogola
Executive Director, Matibabu Foundation, and Community Program Leader in Kibera Slums
Dan Ogola is the founder and director of the Matibabu Foundation, an organization in Eastern Africa creating jobs and opportunity through health care. Founded in 2006, Matibabu has offered health services to over 60,000 Kenyans. It recently opened the community’s first hospital, a state-of-the art facility drawing new businesses to one of the country’s poorest regions. In Dan’s words, "Matibabu Foundation provides affordable, quality health care to an underserved, but increasingly hopeful community." Dan will be our liaison and guide into the health care services being provided in the slums of Kibera, one of largest slums in the world. He will help us understand how health care is delivered to the underserved in Kenya, and connect us with clinics for volunteer experiences. You can learn more about Dan’s dedicated work in interviews with CNN in March and July 2012.
Jackson Rereu Njapit
Clinic Founder and Director, Nurse Practitioner
Koyiaki Community Clinic in Talek, Kenya
Ole Njapit is a Maasai warrior who grew up on the plains of Africa. His father died before he was born from malaria, something that could have been easily prevented if medicine had been available. Even today, it is extremely difficult to get simple life-saving treatments in rural areas of Africa. And so his dream was born – to get education that would allow him to help his fellow tribesmen.
He worked and studied hard, and achieved his goal to become a rural Health Practitioner, earning him a new name – Action Jackson. He went on to open a local health center, providing hope to his people for receiving medical assistance. He also traveled to the United States in 2010 to achieve his next dream – to become the first ever Maasai balloon pilot! He can now show people the beauty of the surrounding areas where the animals roam the plains in the early morning hours, while making more money to fund the clinic and leaving his days free to deliver care. Many people in the region live in poverty and can’t afford the cost of travel to the nearest hospital, which is many miles away. Jackson’s clinic is a critical point of support. >> Read more about Jackson.
Susan Olofson
Travel Consultant
Susan Olofson first visited Kenya in January, 2007 with Asante Africa Foundation, for which she subsequently served as vice president of the Board of Directors for three years to provide quality education to children in East Africa. She developed deep connections to the Maasai community in Maji Moto, and eventually strategized with Salaton Ole Ntutu on ways to bridge cultural divides, sharing the spirit and nature of Kenya and the Maasai to reignite the connection all people have to their ancestors and the earth. They partnered on a vision of tourism that provides a unique close-up experience of the region, while making a positive contribution to the environment and community programs, as well as offering respectful employment of local people.
Susan left her corporate job as an executive consultant and coach in a major US health care company to pursue her dream of contributing to the peace and health of the world through cultural exchanges among people of the world. >> Read more about Susan.
When We Will Go
April 2 (Arrive Nairobi) — April 30 (Depart Nairobi)
(Online orientation and independent preparation to be completed before travel)
2013 Price: $3,800 per person, shared occupancy
A minimum of four travelers is required
Includes:
- All ground transportation in Kenya for program locations outlined in the itinerary (personal excursions and add-on travel available at additional cost)
- All meals and lodging as presented in the itinerary
- Activities indicated in the itinerary, including conservation experiences, Maasai cultural activities, wildlife driving safari, nature walks
- Clinic supervision and opportunity for academic credit
- Pre-trip informational session
Does not include:
- Air fare, tips, immunizations, visas, alcohol, and personal purchases
- Personal-use medical equipment such as stethoscope, ophthalmoscope, otoscope, scrubs, or gloves. Please bring these items along with your white coat
- Mandatory Travel Insurance can be purchased from Allianz through this link, or provide proof of purchase from another provider.
50% deposit is due at the time of booking, with the balance due six weeks before departure
We welcome your thoughts and questions as we plan for our 2013 trip to make it an experience of a lifetime for you. Please send us a message to express your interest in joining us or in learning more, and we will provide additional information on the application and booking process.
Contact Susan Olofson, travel consultant, at KenyaMedicine@susanolofson.com to share comments or receive updates.