Daylight “Ambulance” Saves Lives

In the last month many people have been asking us if the children at Daylight or the country of Kenya at large has been affected by the outbreak of Ebola in West Africa. So we wanted to take a moment to thank you for your concern and clarify the situation.

1. Kenya is in East Africa and the Ebola outbreak is in West Africa. Kenya has already stopped all flight travel to and from Ebola infected countries. The distance across the continent is very large (more than the distance between Alaska and Florida) and Africans do not travel like Americans so it is very unlikely that the disease would spread to Kenya.

2. While Ebola is not a factor, rural Kenyans still lack access to health care. Part of the reason why so many people have died in East Africa is because many rural African families lack access to quality healthcare.

Since Daylight started in 2008, Michael has received hundreds of late night calls to pick up sick or pregnant neighbors in the middle of the night and rush them to the hospital. Michael has already helped deliver two babies and has saved hundreds of lives!

This is because there are no ambulances in Kapenguria. Kapenguria (where Daylight is located) does have a hospital, but it is not furnished with the type of equipment you would expect to find at a hospital in the US (X-ray & MRI machines, surgery theater, blood processing equipment). It feels more like a minute-clinic you might find in a strip-mall storefront. The nearest American style hospital is a 40-minute drive.

Access to healthcare is a problem for many folks who don’t own cars in rural Kenya. It can be the difference between life and death for those who rely on public transportation and need medical care in the middle of the night. I have been with Michael on these emergency calls and can tell you: Daylight saves lives!

Thank you for supporting Daylight. About 12% of donations go toward community outreach, such as the cost for fuel to gas up Daylight’s SUV for emergency trips to the hospital.

Nathan Roberts and Michael Kimpur
Co-founders and Directors
Daylight Center and School

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