By Kinya Kaunjuga
“If they rob you, tell them you know me and they might return your phone.” This instruction was part of the preparation for a visit to one of the clinics that uses BandaGo. It wasn’t obvious that the entrance to the road leading to the clinic was manned in shifts by gangs. In fact, everyone was busy.
Children walking back from school dodged garbage to avoid smudging their uniforms, veggie bandas (kiosks) selling chopped kale were now crowded by customers who preferred to skip that step in their cooking prep, and the queue outside the communal bathing stall was growing. I learnt that you can wash your entire body with one 350ml cup of water, the size of a can of coke.
What we call a slum, those born there call a ghetto. This means it’s a place where every day is tough to live through and every night is rough. That it’s only different from other places because their homes have no windows and are made out of mud, cardboard and metal sheets pieced together with sticks and stuff. That all their water is fetched from an outside faucet shared by slightly more than 200,000 people, and that indoor plumbing doesn’t exist but one can pay to use a communal bathing stall and toilet that’s emptied now and then.
All this sharing of the most basic things seems to indicate that patience is a critical survival characteristic for a poor person, followed closely by settling on never having space, privacy, or ownership. Adults and children begin to line up for everything from as early as 4 am. As a result, some of the residents make some money by charging to hold a spot in queues to use a toilet, a bathing stall and a water faucet.
As darkness fell in Nairobi, the October night felt utterly still. There was no wind and the air was so hot, it made being indoors feel unbearable.
The cab guy was nervous. I assured him that we would be safe because I had some people waiting for us at a clinic that uses our software. This did not seem to reassure him at all, especially when he recognized the road we would be turning onto since it had featured on the news for months during recent political demonstrations in the country.
For countless days during the demonstrations, Uzima White and his staff had faced complete mayhem. Because his little clinic is in the middle of the slum, there was a non-stop flow of injured people and he had turned parts of it into a medical emergency refuge while continuing to care for regular patients in his small ward.
“At one point I realized we would have to lock the main door to prevent the crowd who were carrying the injured from pushing into the clinic. I was shouting at the top of my voice pleading with them to stop crushing each other but they couldn’t stop in the chaos. So my staff and I would shut the doors, treat those inside and re-open the doors to take the next ones.
“Ambulances were having a hard time reaching the clinic because of the exchange of stones and gunfire, and barricades like burning tires on the road. A 17-year-old’s last words to me when an ambulance finally arrived to pick him up were, “My mother told me not to join the demonstrations.” I had treated him for a gunshot wound that had severed his groin. He died before the ambulance reached the hospital.
“That memory stays with me because I have a freshman and a sophomore in college now. In fact, it affected me more than the gunshots being fired outside the clinic.
“When we would open the door to let the injured in and out, the soldiers would yell, “Doctor, shut your door!” I remember a patient I was examining who kept screaming each time a gunshot went off. She asked me, “Doctor, aren’t you afraid of the gunshots?” And I responded, “What shots?” She and the others around her looked at me incredulously. I didn’t realize that I had become so used to hearing the gunshots that I didn’t flinch when they went off anymore. It made me wonder if I would have been a better soldier than a medic.”
“Why do you keep doing this Uzima?” I asked. “It’s a call I answered. That the people who live here will at least have some medical care near them.”
Social determinants of health (SDOH) are non-medical factors that influence health outcomes. They are the conditions in the environments where people are born, live, learn, work, play, worship, and age that affect a wide range of health, functioning, and quality-of-life outcomes and risks.
Thanks to your giving, Banda Health continues to focus on building technology that improves the healthcare provided by small clinics in neighborhoods and environments like Mathare slum.
Kinya brings passion, an infectious laugh and 15 years of experience in the corporate and non-profit world to Banda Health. A Texas A&M alumni with a degree in Journalism and Economics, she says, "I love doing things that matter!"
Margaret Gibson is the Director of Development at BLESS.world. She has spent the past 12 years helping build strategic, innovative, mission-minded organizations that impact the most complex problems of our day. Previously, she was Director of Operations at CrowdHealth, a healthcare technology startup. Her prior professional fundraising experience includes Living Water International, The Gospel Coalition, and The Source for Women.
Julie does whatever Steve asks her to do! In the early years before joining Banda Health, Julie put her passion for helping people through technology to use as an education-focused, data systems engineer. After spending a few years volunteering as an NGO Treasurer in Kenya, she returned to the USA and fine-tuned her passion to simply focus on adult learning.
Julie’s healthcare hero is the on-call ortho surgeon whose name she can’t remember, but whose skills saved her foot after a car accident.
Clinton is a software developer with in-depth experience in software design, development, implementation, and testing. In a nutshell, solving clients’ needs is his specialty. He graduated from Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology with a bachelors in computer technology.
Clinton’s personal healthcare hero is all the doctors and nurses willing to work in low resource areas.
Lawrence markets BandaGo in new areas and onboards clinics who are ready to get started. He joined Banda Health first as an Ambassador, gaining experience in surveying, IT and sales.
His personal healthcare hero is Dr. Steve Letchford at Kijabe Hospital.
Michael helps clinics get started with BandaGo. He joined Banda Health after gaining initial work experience in IT support and data management. He graduated from Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology with a bachelors in mathematics and computer science.
Michael’s personal healthcare hero is Dominic Ngalo, a data analyst at Kenyatta National Hospital in Nairobi.
Jeremy is our on-the-ground man, making sure the pilot sites have what they need to use our software. He previously worked as a systems analyst and team lead after getting his bachelors degree in computer science at Africa Nazarene University.
Jeremy’s personal healthcare hero is Isabella Muturi, a nurse at AIC Marira Clinic in Kenya.
David’s personal healthcare heroes are the doctors, nurses and physical therapists in his own family.
Steve is the visionary behind Banda Health. After two decades working as a doctor and hospital administrator in Africa, he has stories that will convince even the biggest skeptic of the impact that IT can have on African healthcare.
Steve’s personal healthcare hero is Irene Mundia, a licensed practical nurse at Mushima Rural Health Centre in Zambia.
Kevin is a passionate data enthusiast. He ensures that Banda Health can tell a story through their data. His vision is to serve as a gatekeeper for Banda’s data so that stakeholders can understand data and use it to make strategic business decisions. He has a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from Strathmore University.
Kevin’s personal healthcare hero is all the doctors and nurses giving it their all during the pandemic.
Kinya keeps all of the logistics working at Banda Health with 15 years of experience in the corporate and non-profit world and a lot of energy! A Texas A&M alum (Journalism and Economics), her laugh is infectious. She is passionate about expanding the global digital agenda to include social innovation in healthcare initiatives.
Kinya’s personal healthcare hero is Dr. Shelley Machuta, a Radiation Oncologist in Covington, GA.
Amy is a strategist in the life sciences industry. She currently works for the Life Science business of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany as the Head of Segments Excellence. She previously held positions as the Head of the CEO office and Associate Director of Global Strategy. Amy also worked for McKinsey & Company and Booz & Company as a management consultant and had served a wide range of clients in the biopharmaceutical industry.
Nelly is our “concepts expert.” She ensures that all the necessary terms for our clinical modules are mapped and submitted to CIEL (concept dictionary). She’s a clinical epidemiologist with a master’s degree in epidemiology and disease control.
Nelly’s personal healthcare hero is Dr. Steve Letchford at Kijabe Hospital.
Kevin is undoubtedly our most outgoing developer! Before joining Banda Health, he spent 5 years in software consulting, working as a developer and manager at Pariveda Solutions. He completed his bachelor’s in aerospace enginnering at the University of Texas.
Kevin’s personal healthcare hero is Kate B., a physical therapist at Evangel VVF Center in Jos, Nigeria.
Jessica keeps the team organized. Whether it’s filing tax forms or preparing board reports, she makes sure it gets done on time! Before joining Banda Health, Jessica used her organization skills at a soccer start-up in Germany. She graduated from Yale University with a bachelor’s in Ethics, Politics and Economics and completed her master’s in International Relations at the Free University of Berlin.
Jessica’s personal healthcare hero is Jairos Fumpa, a cataract surgeon at Mukinge Mission Hospital in Zambia.
Andrew makes sure the Nairobi team stays on track. He may seem quiet, but don’t underestimate his passion and expertise when it comes to health technology. He’s worked with leading businesses both in Kenya and internationally.
Andrew’s personal healthcare hero is Benedetta, a cashier at AIC Marira Clinic in Kenya.
Wes oversees all things technical. If you want a sneak peek at the roadmap, he’s your man! With 15 years of programming experience in the US private sector plus 5 years of technical consulting and team leadership, he definitely knows what he’s doing.
Wes’ personal healthcare heroes are the Christian medical missionaries working around the world.