Urgent Needs at Tenwek: C-ARM and Intern Housing Updates

The core of what we do at Tenwek is educating national doctors-in-training. Left to right, Dr. Jeff (general surgery resident), Dr. Shadrack (intern) and Dr. Kilonzo (orthopedic resident from Moi), all of which were on the orthopedic service when I left Kenya.

The progress of the first intern/resident building, with completion set for August.

Three days after returning to the US, I was (again) on a plane, this time to Chicago, wedged in a window seat on a crowded flight (yet thankful for the free ticket, compliments of my in-law’s frequent flier miles), on a mission to troubleshoot the two boards that I brought with me from our C-ARM at Tenwek. In Chicago, I met with the “guru” of OEC technology, who was able to test both boards on another machine, and unbelievably, both motherboards, in addition to the hard drive…ALL THREE were blown (as someone said, “when it rains, it pours!). But, thanks to God, they had replacement boards in stock, and after testing to make sure they were working properly, I promptly shipped them to the next visitor who will be leaving for Kenya next week. So God willing, by the end of next week, with these two new boards, and with the hard drive that was previously brought to Tenwek, our current C-ARM will be up and running. Thank you for your prayers for Tenwek, and for our current orthopedic visitors throughout this ordeal. Dr. Tim and Jennifer Oswald just left Tenwek, and here is an excerpt from their latest newsletter: “Tim had a great last week of surgery at Tenwek, doing a huge volume of cases. Despite adjustments due to the broken c-arm, his surgeries were successful and he was able to do a lot of teaching.” God is always faithful!

Now that goal #1 is on the way to being accomplished (fixing our current C-ARM), I have been concentrating on goal #2: obtaining a second C-ARM for Tenwek so that this problem does not happen again. After much thought and consultation with others involved in this project, we decided that it would be most advantageous and cost effective to obtain a unit identical to our current model OEC 9000 (making maintenance, parts, etc. streamlined). The estimated cost will be about $25,000 with shipping and I am currently obtaining quotes from different companies (less than the original estimated amount of $40,000). Please continue to pray that God would direct us to the right unit for our needs at Tenwek.

Another urgent need at Tenwek is the “Intern/Resident Housing Project” that I mentioned in previous updates. Tenwek, as an educational institution, is committed to teaching national doctors-in-training, many of which rotate on orthopedics. However, there is sub-adequate housing for many of these trainees. The first of two buildings is already paid for and construction well underway, and should be finished by August. However, as our medical superintendent wrote in his recent update, “we desperately need to begin the second building (which will house 12 additional doctors in training) before final completion of the first. This will save us a great deal of effort and money in reducing replication of services by the same building company, which needs to know by the end of June whether or not we will be able to start further construction.” As such, there is an urgent need to raise $250,000 by the end of June to start construction on this second building. Since orthopedic surgery is heavily involved in training these physicians, I have been asked to raise $25,000 toward this intern/resident housing project (and which I feel is very justified, and so important for what we do at Tenwek).

God is easily able to provide $50,000 for these two very important and urgent projects, through His people. Many of you have faithfully given toward the work at Tenwek over the past two years. But, if God has lain on your heart to give towards these special projects, please step out in faith and do so. The easiest way to donate would be to give directly into our project account at Samaritan’s Purse (account #003333), which you can do by calling Mary Elizabeth Jameson directly at 828-278-1508 or 828-278-1355, or by mailing a check to: Samaritan’s Purse PO Box 3000 Boone, NC 28607 (for account #003333). Please note that no administrative fees are taken out of this account…100% goes towards the ministry.

I look forward to seeing how God provides! If you decide to donate, please send me a quick email so that I can keep track of your donation and of the total amounts. Thanks again for your prayers and support. May God richly bless you!