PINCC Returns to Kenya November 2016

A New Volunteer's First Day

Day One:

Humbled, Inspired, & Grateful

Today was the first day of my first medical mission with PINCC (www.pincc.org). I had the honor of learning many different tasks, including intake. At intake you get a chance to meet with each woman and communicate beyond simply filling out forms. It was humbling to ask incredibly intimate questions with or without and an interpreter. "How old were you when you first had intercourse?" They say women can communicate without talking - its true. The bashful look, the subtle smile, the nervous giggle. Understanding, no judgment and shared laughter as you both think back to that first time. 

For many of these women, this was the first pelvic exam beyond childbirth. For some, they had just come from receiving news they were HIV positive. It was inspiring to see the bravery on their face, despite the intimidation. One lovely woman found out she had stage 1b cervical cancer. She was the picture of perfect grace while her husband and the rest of us exchanged looks of concern. 

I'm grateful that today, in real time due to Rotarians in the ground, her lab work was paid for and the clinic doctor was able to make inquiries and order services while my fellow Rotarian, Judy Wolf, and I held her hands while a PINCC board member explained what was going to happen. The prevention measures by PINCC and the financial support of Rotary is making a difference. Day one a life was saved. That's what it's all about. 

Rochelle H Swanson

10.31.2016

Homa Bay, Kenya

PINCC Teen Volunteer, Sujata

Sujata wrote an essay in response to the following question,

Discuss your involvement in and contributions to a community near your home, school or elsewhere. Please select an experience different from the one you discussed in the previous question, even if this experience also involved leadership. What did you accomplish? How did this experience influence your goals?  1000 words or less.

Sujata Mapchan's response,

Preventing Cervical Cancer (PINCC) is a non-profit organization, which helps women around the world to prevent and cervical cancer.  They provide medication, educate the communities and train healthcare workers to save women’s lives.  Some of the countries PINCC has been involved in are:  Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Cameroon, Nicaragua, India, Peru and many more.


More than 800 women die EACH DAY from a preventable disease.  Nonetheless, PINCC is fighting to change this.  With PINCC’s support, many women have been cured, almost 10,000 have been treated and won’t get cervical cancer and die!.  Hearing about PINCC and all the stories about women’s lives being saved, I HAD to be part of this amazing organization!  With the help of a family friend, I started volunteering with PINCC.


One of the things that is unique about PINCC, in my experience, is that they are primarily a training organization.  Volunteer doctors and nurses go to other countries and provide service, but mostly what they are doing is training local nurses and midwives to do this work.  Then PINCC returns to each clinic every 6 months, checks their record keeping, reviews patients and increases the level of training.  After about a year and a half, the medical practitioners are almost self-sufficient in doing this work!


PINCC has different events, time to time, each year, to fundraise to buy medical equipment in order to keep women from dying every day.  I have been volunteering at different events over many years to help PINCC’s staff get ready for their trips.  Each year we have collected money which is very useful when it comes to saving someone’s life.  PINCC has not saved every woman who is diagnosed with cervical cancer, but they are hoping to save many of the women, by training healthcare workers in each country they have been to.  By providing education, less women will die because of this cancer.

Sujata's response,

I have been a volunteer at PINCC from middle school, up until now.  Every year, hearing that PINCC is going to different countries, has given me more reason to continue volunteering.  I have always wanted to help different types of people in some way, and by being involved with PINCC I have accomplished this because we have fundraised a lot of money, and more people are getting involved with the organization.


When I first went to help PINCC, I was somewhat shy.  I didn’t feel very confident in my skills to contribute and wasn’t used to talking to adults whom I didn’t know.  The more I volunteered here, I felt more comfortable, and became more out-going.  I have received a lot of support from the people at PINCC.  I feel like they like me, and appreciate my help, that they don’t want to judge me and so I am more out-going.  Working with PINCC has exposed me to lots of new people, all of whom are helping improve the world.


I want to be able to keep on volunteering with PINCC because it is saving so many lives.  So far, I have worked at their Annual Walk-a-Thon for 4 years.  This raises money for their work in Africa.  I go to their Packing Parties, where we count and pack medical supplies that will go on their work trips.  I have worked at the High-Tea fundraiser for 3 years, which provides money for their South and Central America clinics.


Since I have learned more about the work PINCC does, I have encouraged my friends to volunteer also.  My friends have enjoyed it, and we have all been glad to be contributing our time to this worthy organization.  By seeing what important work this non-profit can do, it reinforces my commitment to getting a college education and being of service to my community and the world.

Volunteer Story, by Gretchen Woelfle

Fun and Games in Kenya

People have adopted a solemn tone when asking me about my Kenya PINCC adventure.  They tend to be surprised when I say, “It was really fun!”  I think they expected “difficult” or “eye-opening” or “inspiring.” But my first reaction has been “fun”  -- and I’m quick to elaborate.

It was a new experience for non-medical me to work with a great team of American doctors and nurses, hearing their stories and watching them teach their African colleagues to screen for cervical cancer and treat abnormal results. Never before had I supplied and check all the curious bits and pieces they needed each day in the examination rooms. I even enjoyed the five-step process of washing speculums.

But best of all were my interactions with patients: interviewing the English-speaking patients who came for screening – nearly all for the first time ever – and comforting them during their exams and treatments.  I viewed a few cervixes, even a frozen one during cryotherapy. I used illustrated charts to explain to patients about HPV, testing, etc., and I learned the results of the exams when I entered the data into our computer.

Getting a glimpse of Kenyan village life, walking down roads and lanes past small homesteads in the early evenings while attracting a Pied Piper-esque entourage of children, seeing the local medical staff beam as they received their PINCC certifications to continue our work – it was all part of the fun.

I spent two evenings speaking to several groups of schoolchildren in Nyabondo.  Two overflowing classrooms of girls listened enthusiastically as I talked about my work as a children’s author.  After I read my latest book, Mumbet’s Declaration of Independence, about an 18^th century Massachusetts slave who won her freedom, they had good comments and questions.  And I was mobbed in a most friendly way when I stood among them for a photo op.  The next evening I gave a similar presentation to a group of ten boys in the Rehabilitation Centre, a home for disabled young people. These were thrilling experiences that added to my sense of fun during the two weeks.

And the games: Carol Cruikshank, our program director, led those most days, culminating in a wild balloon popping session on our final day. Yes, Kenya with PINCC was eye-opening and inspiring, and occasionally a bit difficult, but the pure pleasure of the work surprised and delighted me.

 by Gretchen Woelfle

#GivingTuesday Thanks for your support

Spread the word about PINCC and #GivingTuesday on December 1st.  Thanks for the support!

#GivingTuesday starts after the shopping frenzy of Cyber Monday and Black Friday with a simple message: Ordinary people can come together and do extraordinary things. It is a global day of giving that harnesses the collective power of individuals, communities and organizations to encourage philanthropy and to celebrate generosity worldwide.  

Cervical Cancer is a highly preventable disease and Preventing Cervical Cancer, PINCC, has been at the forefront of prevention efforts through the education of healthcare workers on the ground in under-resourced regions.  We are creating a world that cares for women and their families.  

Awesome Trainees in Ethiopia

I am in Addis for a couple days after a week without internet. Or running water. The trainees at the Begi clinic were extraordinary. I am amazed at what they can accomplish with such limited resources. The trainees at Gimbi have already organized their own clinic. I am inspired by the men and women at both sites, their brilliance and their commitment to the health care of the women in their communities is awesome-that is the only word which even comes close.
By Jan Lecklickner
 

What did you learn this week? From Ethiopia

13 year old volunteer Keiran interviewed several people about what was the most important thing each learned this week:

Roza, Equaan, Keiran

Dr. Victor, medical director of Gimbi Adventist Hospital:  the great job PINCC did, how it impacted the poor rural community of Gimbi.

PINCC MP Michele:  learning about people's role here at the hospital and Gimbi.

PINCC Dr. Vamini:  I enjoyed meeting the people and learning about the culture.

PINCC support volunteer Equaan:  the beauty of the people and history of the country.

Local volunteer, HIV tester Roza: Many things like SCJ and biopsy, HIV test.

by Keiran Albert

A Trainee Story from Gimbi, Ethiopia

Egidaye and Mary in Gimbi, Ethiopia

Engidaye is a nurse in the PINCC training program at the Adventist Hospital in Gimbi Ethiopia.  She also has a beautiful singing voice.At morning devotionals that begin every day at Gimbi , she sings wonderful hymns.  She also does "Happy Birthday"  in three languages.  Engidaye is one of several excellent students in the program.   

by Eric Jacobsen