Five go to Kenya

Sheri Start, Sally Sutcliffe, Linda Sutcliffe, Marie-Therese Tiernan and Lynn Walworth are heading out to rural Kenya in April, where they will be volunteering for 2 weeks at the Matumaini Rehabilitation Centre (MRC). The team have known each other for a long time - Sheri, Linda and Lynn worked together as district nurses. Marie-Therese has been a nurse for over 47 years - and worked as a matron at Milford House.  Sally worked at Exeter House for 10 years and has "incredible sewing skills" which will be put to good use.

As nurses and special needs providers with a combined working age of 193 years, they have an exciting opportunity to visit and work alongside both staff and children at MRC. The centre cares for children and young adults who are disabled and/or orphaned. Stigma surrounding disability is particularly prevalent in rural African communities and there is little education available to change this narrative. Alongside supporting the lives of these disadvantaged children, the team hopes to create a ‘centre of excellence’ where nursing skills can be passed on to combine knowledge and optimise care. With this in mind, they will offer refresher training to those from isolated communities who lack support and mentoring.

Funds are needed to provide training equipment, resources and transport for attendees from remote ares. If enough money is raised, they would love to help modernise parts of the centre and establish a sensory room to enhance the lives of the people they will be working with - and to make them know that they matter.

The team would be grateful if you could visit their Just Giving Page and sponsor them: justgiving.com/campaign/five-go-to-kenya

They set off on April 16 and are also collecting donations of crayons and pencils to take with them - contact Linda on 07712932513 for more information.