MAF International flew a CURE medical team to Lodwar, bringing specialist care within reach for Kenyan children with disabilities.
Story by Hillim Gitonga
“In two hours you’re in Lodwar—instead of using the road which would have taken us two days.”
Sharon Michuki is a physiotherapist with CURE, an organisation that seeks to provide life-changing surgery and Christ-centred care to children living with treatable disabilities.
“The convenience is amazing,” she says.
For Lodwar’s families of children with disabilities, the MAF flight is a gamechanger, releasing Sharon and her fellow specialists from time-consuming travel and allowing them to spend more time treating patients.
It’s only mid-morning when the team of six from CURE arrive at Missions of Hope Primary School, where staff have already set up the clinic under the scant shade of trees.
Northern Kenya is hot and dry, but the heat does not stop the team from working.
From a distance comes the sound of a few children crying while their families wait on benches in the shade. Some are visiting for the first time and others are returning for follow-up care.
“It’s good that we can come here regularly and that the children can get the care they need,” says Joost de Wit, the MAF pilot who has flown the team today.
It’s very hard for children with disabilities to get the right treatment in this area. It’s my pleasure to fly this team out here so that the children can be treated.
Among those waiting is ten-year-old Given Shikuku.
Given was born with a condition called spina bifida and has been unable to walk or stand by himself. His journey has not been easy. Though he’s now only a grade two student, he has been through six surgeries.
Given’s mother, Salome Ngode, has been there for him and never gave up.
“As much as he is physically disabled, Given still performs well in school and at home he plays like other children,” she says.
When Given was around six, people would say he would never stand or walk. Salome remembers it plainly.
If it was not for CURE, I don’t know how or where Given could be. Today he can move around on his own with the help of the walking frame and this makes me happy. In future we hope he is going to walk even without the frames.
Salome teaches grades four and five at Abur Primary School where she is also deputy head teacher.
Her devotion to her son is something that has stayed with Sharon.
“Salome never misses an appointment,” she says. “She will go miles to ensure Given is seen. The last time I saw her was in Kitale, and Kitale and Lodwar is also a distance. Her commitment to her son brings warmth to my heart.”
This is where the partnership between CURE and MAF makes a difference. Reaching children in Lodwar means bringing specialist care to the children. The flight lets the team and their equipment arrive in mere hours. It also lets them make return visits—key to enabling children like Given to keep making progress.
Esther Emanko has brought her five-year-old, Lindsey Ebei, after hearing that the doctors were coming back to help children with disabilities. This was her second visit.
I am grateful for this team. When I first brought Lindsey, she was not able to stand but now, I can see she has improved. She can now stand for a few minutes while holding onto something.
By the end of the day the team has seen 45 patients. Without the plane, they’d only be half way to Lodwar by now.
And for Salome as a mother, the impact goes well beyond just this one clinic. She wants CURE’s message to reach every family: “There is nothing like disability. Everybody has the ability to do something.”
She hopes these services will bless the many children still outside their reach.
