TravelBlog » Naturopathic Volunteers

Naturopathic Volunteers - Irene Chan

Welcome! We are four students from the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine, Canada's premier institution for naturopathic medical training. In May of 2008, we will be traveling to Africa to volunteer with the Abha Light Foundation (ALF), a natural health organization that is dedicated to providing affordable health care to the people of Kenya, a country where over 60% of the population lives in poverty. Our aim is to help treat those in need and employ the skills we've learned by helping train our patients and fellow students. By swapping our knowledge, Canadians and Kenyans alike can benefit from shared medical wisdom.

This project is completely volunteer-run, so any financial support is deeply appreciated. Donations can still be made by clicking the link below.
http://www.givemeaning.com/project/abhavolunteers/

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Joined on: March 31st 2008
Last Login: January 9th 2009

Blog Entries: 15
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by Naturopathic Volunteers, order by Date newest first.

By Naturopathic Volunteers
June 28th 2008

More photos and stories Africa » Kenya

Abha Light Courtyard

There isn't an overlying theme to these photos. Plus I would like to share the following incident with you that has no corresponding photo: Mzito, Jayani and I were walking to dinner one evening when something flew into Jayani's eye. She gave a small yelp and stopped, and Mzito and I went to see what it was. In less than 10 seconds, out of seemingly nowhere, a crowd of people had surrounded us, someone was shining a flashlight into her eye so we could see better and someone else brought a tissue to clean her eye with. We quickly removed the [View Full Entry]

By Naturopathic Volunteers
June 28th 2008

Maasai Village Africa » Kenya

Woman and Children

On the way from Mombasa to Nairobi, we stopped by a Maasai Village for a brief visit. They are traditionally a nomadic tribe, but as their land has been progressively gazetted by colonialists, their traditional way of life is becoming harder to support themselves with. Tourism now provides them with a bit of income as many foreigners are curious about the "tribal culture" of Kenya. I think we all had mixed feelings about visiting the Maasai: while they openly invite tourists to see their villages and welcome the income they bring, we weren't sure if we were exploiting them a bit. [View Full Entry]

Jiselle with our guide Matthew and his sons

By Naturopathic Volunteers
June 27th 2008

Wildlife Safari!!! Africa » Kenya

Ostrich

I have never seen such an array of wildlife in my lifetime, all living together peacefully. That is, until the lions get hungry. Canadian wildlife seems so lame in comparison. We spent 2 nights and 3 days in Tsavo National Park, then another day and night at Lake Nakuru National Park in the Rift Valley. What surprised me the most was how close the animals got to our van. Most were not afraid of us at all. In fact, many would gaze back at us just as curiously as we were looking at them. [View Full Entry]

By Naturopathic Volunteers
June 26th 2008

Nature Africa » Kenya

Weaver bird nests

Kenya boasts some of the most beautiful scenery. Each region was distinct-- from Nairobi to Mombasa to the Rift Valley, each area had something different offer. [View Full Entry]

By Naturopathic Volunteers
June 26th 2008

Kids Africa » Kenya

Girl preparing vegetables at El Shaddai Orphanage

We met some of the cutest kids in Kenya. They were absolutely fascinated by our strange appearance and were not afraid to express their curiosity. Quite often upon seeing us, they would run up to us, wave, and call out a chorus of "How are you?". Many would also throw in a high-five, or two or three or four. [View Full Entry]

By Naturopathic Volunteers
June 18th 2008

Clinics Africa » Kenya

Kariobangi Clinic
This clinic was right in the middle of Nairobi's Kariobangi slum area. It is run by Rachel (in the white coat). Raowi, the gentlemen walking towards the right side of the picture, helps Didi with ad... [more]

Some images of the clinics and people we worked with. [View Full Entry]

By Naturopathic Volunteers
June 17th 2008

Funny Signs Africa » Kenya

Ummm...
One of the most common business establishments in Wote. I wonder what's getting butchered?

Thought I'd start out by posting some interesting signs we came across in Kenya... [View Full Entry]

By Naturopathic Volunteers
June 17th 2008

Back in Canada Africa » Kenya

So we're back in Canada now. It was inconvenient for me to use the internet during the last week or so in Kenya, and when we arrived back in Nairobi the internet wasn't working, so I was unable to update you all about the last leg of our trip. However, now that I'm back I will proceed to upload some pictures and tell the stories behind them. I think the photos will tell a better story than simply words in paragraphs. I hope you'll enjoy viewing them as much as I've enjoyed photographing them. [View Full Entry]

By Naturopathic Volunteers
June 2nd 2008

Stars Africa » Kenya

There's nothing quite like open sky at night, there really isn't. Living in the city. it's easy to dismiss the night sky, but here in the villages the sky is carpeted by stars. We've spent many an evening just standing and looking up in wonder. An average of 30 patients come by the clinics each day. We've learned to take a very fast case and how to focus on what's important, but sometimes I wish there was more time to really look more deeply into a patient's situation. For example, I've seen a couple of patients with very obvious tumours and [View Full Entry]

By Naturopathic Volunteers
May 26th 2008

Toru Clinics Africa » Kenya

Since I last updated, our group met up with our supervisor Ameet in Nairobi, where he took us for drinks and a night of dancing. The next day we split up into two groups: Sherri-Anne, Jiselle, and Lydia went with Ameet to Kibwezi to work at Toru 1, and Jayani and I were dropped off in Wote to work at Toru 2 under the care of Mzito and Julius, two of the homeopaths who work there. The villages are much safer than Nairobi and I must say that I really enjoyed my time at Wote. The two groups have just switched [View Full Entry]

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Naturopathic Volunteers - Irene Chan

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