FreMo Medical Centre
22 Jul 2011 5 Comments
in FreMO, Fundraising, Midwife mission trip, Nairobi
I first heard about FreMo from an email forward relating to an internet competition entry by Vicki Chan, a midwife from Australia. The Sunsuper Dream competition prize was $5,000 which Vicki proposed would pay for one annual salary of two Kenyan midwives needed for the new birth center renovations at FreMo. The dream won and from the moment I read of Vicki’s dream and FreMo, I knew I would have to visit them while in Nairobi.
FreMo Medical Centre was started one and a half years ago by two brothers, Fred and Moffat. It sits on the edge of a ‘slum’ called Kawangware, it’s mission to serve the underserved with care and respect. Vicki learned of FreMo from an article in her home country written by another volunteer, Natarsha Jazepczyk, both felt the same pull to FreMo. I believe there is just something about the heart of these brothers that creates a luminescence that draws you in.
Vicki met up with Natarsha and came to her first sight of FreMo on a mission to help renovate both the building and even ideas for woman who would come there to birth. I was lucky enough to arrive the day before Vicki left, and within minutes of meeting, I felt I had known her forever. This happens sometimes among midwives, probably because we share a place of such intense joy and sometimes sorrow in the circle of human existence.
Vicki and her supporters have left an amazing imprint on birth in Kawangware. A beautiful birth suite, flush toilets, shower, water tank, and more building improvements were just part of the changes. What she was more excited about was witnessing a new attitude to birthing women; where birth attendants encourage the woman to sway her hips to move the baby down while rubbing her back, and fathers excitedly participate in the birth. This is not usually how birth is done here in Kenya, but as you can imagine, once you experience birth with this type of love and reverence, you cannot tolerate it any other way. We all believe the FreMo will become an example for birth throughout all of Kenya!
So, I am just honored to hop on a train with a mission that is reigniting my passion and the beliefs that first drew me to midwifery. Grace and I will stay here in Nairobi for about a month and help at the center. Fred an
d Moffat have created a space for us to stay in a room they purchased for expanding the clinic. Natarsha will be here during our stay and she is the most perfect birth assistant, most helpful guide and most vibrant force of energy that keeps things moving.
We are using part of the donations and part of our own money to help finance the changes needed to have a second birth room. Don’t know that it will match the beauty of the room Vicki helped create, but we will do our best 
And of course, I am still desperate to return to GIWA. I will be making some trips out there to make arrangements for us to stay there the rest of our time here.
Thank you all for your support. You will not believe the difference your donations are making!
Here we go!
16 Jul 2011 2 Comments
in Fundraising, Midwife mission trip, Uncategorized
Finishing up the last details. We leave tomorrow, on my 37th birthday. We arrive in Nairobi at 1:30am on July 18th, Kenya time, which is 8 hours ahead of Texas. My friend, Albert, has agreed to pick us up which is a great relief. We will stay for the first couple nights at the Shalom House, where I stayed in Nairobi before. I hope to meet Vicki and Moffat and see the FreMo clinic the day I arrive before Vicki leaves. Then we will go from there. I will have internet access at the Shalom House, so I will post an update once in Nairobi.
Our only personal possessions fit in one backpack each.
Here is a glimpse at our luggage full of donations which includes… 
pregnancy tests, IV equipment, portable Hgb machine, blood typing tests, urinalysis, first aid supplies, herbs, supplements, gloves, suture materials, manual suction device, glucometer, anti-hemorrhagic meds, bulb syringes, cord clamps, syringes/needles, baby blankets, cloth diapers, knitted baby hats from Jenn Winter and more! Too much to list it all
A huge thank you to all the in-kind and cash donations. Now it’s time to put it to work. I will keep you all posted as I can. Keep us in your prayers. All my love!
Preparing to leave
13 Jul 2011 6 Comments
My daughter and I are asked often these days..
”So, Are you ready?” and “Are you excited?”
Neither of us knows quite how to answer. The list in my head of things that I need to do to prepare to leave my work and my life for six months keeps growing, no matter how many times I write things down. I am organizing and re-organizing the cargo bins full of donations in order to fit as much as I can. I don’t know if I will ever be “ready”. Thank goodness the ticket is bought and in just a few days it won’t matter, I will be on the plane whether I am ready or not.
As for how I am feeling, that too is difficult to relate. I am mostly anxious, occasionally excited and sometimes terrified. Today I heard a story of a man from Austin who was convicted of a crime for dispersing nutritional supplements in South Africa, even after a lengthy legal battle.
At this point, I do not know where I will stay or how I will be received. All I know is that I have been called to go. I have heard that voice inside tell me that this was part of my destiny since I was a small child. There are days I drive and see a house for sale and think about how I could make a down payment on a home or send my son back to college with the money I am spending to volunteer. But I know that is not my calling.
I also know that there are so many woman and babies there with no one to turn to, no one to assist them in one of the most important times in their lives.
I do not know what is waiting for me and Grace in Africa. But I know that I must go with an open heart and walking in Faith.
