Community Corner
Roswell Group on Medical Mission to Kenya
A group of 19 adults, under the banner of First Baptist Church Roswell, expects to help the medical and dental needs of about 3,500 during their stay.
A group of 19 adults, under the banner of , left Saturday on a humanitarian medical mission to Kenya.
The group will do six days of dawn-to-dusk medical work at the Nakuru West site of the Presbyterian Church of East Africa. Nakuru is about a two-and-a-half hour drive west of Nairobi.
The group expects to help the medical and dental needs of about 3,500 during their stay, explained Larry Feldman, the trip director.
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“Each person is taking two bags,” said Feldman, a retiree who is a longtime Roswell resident. “One bag will be full of personal belongings and one bag full of medical supplies.”
The group had to raise $60,000 for the trip, and some will forego the money they would have made while they are gone.
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Four medical doctors and two dentists are among the 19. One nurse practitioner, one audiologist and two dental hygienists are also in the group. Other members process patients and entertain the many children who accompany their parents to the clinic. Of those on the trip, 14 are members of the church.
This is the fourth annual Kenya medical mission by First Baptist Church Roswell. The church has done overseas medical missions for more than a decade. In earlier years, trips were to Mexico and the Amazon.
Feldman explained that Kenya is a great place for the mission because of the poverty and great need of locals. It also works well because Presbyterian Church of East Africa has a facility that can serve as a temporary clinic and dental office.
The site has a year-around clinic, but it is much too small for this mission’s needs. So, Nakuru church members convert an existing building into a clinic, with eight treatment rooms. Another building serves as the dental facility. Nakuru church members also serve as interpreters. Swahili is the local language.
While the missionaries would like to convert those they serve to Christianity, “we welcome everyone,” Feldman said, “Christians, Jews, Muslims, whoever wants to come through the door.”
The Roswell group will be joined by five members of the Conyers-based Jeff Beech Foundation. Those five will be working on construction projects. Eight people from Wisconsin will also join. They will be assisting special-needs children.
The group will return to Roswell on Jan. 21.
