Derry nurse Jim Hill swaps Altnagelvin for Kenya

Well-known Derry nurse, Jim Hill has swapped Altnagelvin Hospital’s Accident and Emergency Department for Turkana, in the Northern Rift region of North West Kenya, where he is currently volunteering with the charity New Ways.

Since 1984, New Ways has supported development work in Africa, particularly basic nutrition, healthcare, agriculture, water infrastructure and education. It works in four African countries.

Originally from Scotland, Jim made his home in the Pennyburn area of Derry when he married Catherine (née Carson), a member of the city’s Rapid Response Team and daughter of iconic photojournalist and author, Willie Carson.

Partially retired and with 38 years valuable NHS experience, Jim travelled to Turkana to “support New Ways’ health programmes by providing education and training to local staff and community members, working directly in clinics and alongside the people living there”.

Speaking to The Derry News, Jim who said he always had an interest in aid work, revealed he got involved with New Ways through his brother-in-law William Carson who works with the charity.

“Turkana is a particularly remote and desolate area,” he said, “and is very hot even by African standards. Life is very hard for these traditional people who have been here forever.

“I am working with the healthcare team delivering medical care to the local community,” he added.

“They have a clinic here, a dispensary, which sees people experiencing medical emergencies. That could be anything from unwell children with diarrhea to tropical diseases such as malaria or trauma caused by falls. The dispensary is staffed by nurses. It doesn’t have any doctors.

“The key part of our healthcare plan is outreach into the community. We do health assessments on babies and provide vaccinations for the surrounding villages.

“The past four weeks have been challenging but rewarding at the same time. The healthcare team I am working with is very impressive. They face any challenges which arise without fuss. In spite of the lack of resources, they keep travelling and keep delivering care in very difficult circumstances.

“It has been the rainy season here, which began unusually early this year, so moving around has been difficult. There have been a few days when we haven’t been able to get to work but, in spite of everything, the team is very professional. They are an inspiration really,” said Jim, who clearly admired the “holistic attitude” of the team.

Health checks on children in Turkana.

“They are completely focussed on their patients and the needs of their patients,” he said. “They develop and adapt the care they are giving to meet the cultural requirements of the people they are treating.

“So, our work would include the height and weight of babies, which helps us to identify children who might be malnourished. We also provide additional education and nutrition and vaccinations against the 100 things that could kill you here.”

The team is doing a great job and achieving great results. Most of the children are thriving and the mums and families are committed to keeping the vaccinations up to date.

“As I said earlier, the rainy season started early this year as a result of climate change - about two weeks ago - and this has brought a lot of problems. There has been an increase in mosquitoes and an increase in malaria, which is a particularly high risk for babies and pregnant women. We have a special care package to treat pregnant women prophylactically against malaria, HIV and TB. It is healthy, safe and free,” said Jim.

Before he left for Kenya, Jim put out a call to his former colleagues and many friends in the city.

“They responded generously as Derry always does,” added Jim, “and I want to thank everyone who has donated supplies and to my online fundraiser.

“I left Derry with a suitcase full of Derry City football shirts, frisbees and footballs as gifts for the kids, and a plethora of medical supplies that can prove difficult to get in the remote Turkana region where New Ways has worked for three decades to enable the community here to become economically self sufficient.

The more traditional Menyatta (traditional hut) as a labour suite has helped increase the number of women coming into the clinic to give birth.

“I have also seen donations at work in the building of a new maternity unit for the community, incorporating traditional as well as more modernised treatment rooms. The inclusion of the more traditional Menyatta (traditional hut) as a labour suite has helped increase the number of women coming into the clinic to give birth, as many remain suspicious of the medical treatments we in Ireland and Britain take for granted.

“I set myself the goal of raising £5,000 so that the New Ways wouldn’t incur any expense covering the cost of my volunteering, in the hope that I could raise enough to meet the costs and if any was left over, I could donate to the ongoing work here.

“I am delighted to say so far I have raised £4,544. Hopefully I can reach the target before I leave in about a week’s time.”
Donations to Jim's fundraiser for New Ways can be made online at: www.justgiving.com/page/jim-hill-1.