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1st Merton Park Scouts and Kenya (Updated!)
The Merton Park Unit has established for itself an enviable record of working on welfare projetcs with, rather than for, rural communities in Kenya. Together with Kenyan scouts based in Mombasa members of the unit have visited rural Kenya on seven occasions since 1990. The visits have occurred at three yearly intervals to ensure that appropriate preparation, training and fundraising all took place to support each project which has been undertaken. The first two visits, in 1990 and 1993, took place in Maparasha. There the Unit worked with members of the Maasai tribe on a rainwater harvesting system to provide water for a remote rural community.
In 1996 the Unit was introduced to the rural community of Mbaraka Chembe, two hours drive to the north of Mombasa, Kenya's second largest city, one mile inland from the coast. At that time the community had the poorest health record and the highest infant mortality rates in the coastal region. Together with local community leaders the Unit identified a suitable plot of land and constructed a building consisting of four basic rooms for the visiting medical practitioner to use. The community was dependent upon brackish water drawn from a communal well, and there was no electricity.
During the second visit to Mbarake Chembe the Unit constructed a two room house to esnable a doctor to take up residence within the community rather than only visit on a monthly basis.
The third visit saw the foundations for a third building being constrcuted; this was to be a maternity unit with two delivery rooms, recovery room, consultation room and a dispensary.
In 2005 developments of the maternity Unit continued and the recently installed piped water supply to the village was extended to serve a new water tank which was installed on the top of a water tower which was constructed during this visit.
The Explorer Scouts' visit in 2009 extended the original four room building to provide six rooms contrcuted to the new specification for Rural Health Clinics published by the Kenyan Department of Health. The walls and floors of the two delivery rooms in the maternity unit were tiled and a shower fitted in one of them. To provide sufficient water pressure for the shower the height of the original water tower was increased.
Although electricity poles and wires have been provided to the community, with a supply to the clinic, the system is not yet complete. At the time of the visit rationing of electrivity was in force due to shortages in the production of hydro electric power following a shortage of rainfall in the preceding raining seasons.
Following the development of the clinic and the installation of the piped water supply the standard of genral health has greatly increased and infant mortality rates have fallen significantly. The Unit has provided direct support to the community in both the provison of health care facilities and through employment for local trades people.
Click here to read more about the work in 2009 and view photos
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