8 months on and working well
Mataka Clinic was a new facility built during 2002 by AAF and was opened on 12th. October 2002. During July 2003, Denis Cannon and Tony Perry visited Mataka and found the clinic clean, and working well under the government nurse Victor, who has two local assistants. In April, the Kenya health authorities had installed a gas powered vaccine fridge which has enabled Victor to start a free child immunisation programme in the area. The clinic is managed by a committee of 12 local people, including two AAF representatives. We inspected the accounts and found everything was properly recorded and the available funds were being used wisely. An average of fifty patients per day are visiting the clinic and the cost to each is about 30p per visit, with AAF cardholders paying only half of this. On this visit we took another £500 worth of medicines and supplies to supplement the monthly delivery by the MOH. Consequently, at present Mataka is very well stocked with medicines. Due to the huge roof area, the water tank was full with 40,000 litres of water.

We help plough the fields and scatter...
Because of poverty, many families have to dig their fields by hand and this leads to reduced yields even in a good growing season. Ploughing the land gives the seed a much better start, but many families cannot afford to purchase or hire a pair of bulls. AAF has now this year started a loan scheme to help these families. We will loan a pair of our own bulls and a plough (operated by our own driver), which will plough a family’s own field. We will also give them 50kg. of seed to plant, which in a good season could return them 15-20 fold, then from their harvest they will give back 60kg., keeping the rest for themselves.

They can take up this loan for a maximum of three years, by which time they should be in a position to carry on themselves. In July we purchased the first two bulls and a plough, which were then identity marked with our AAF logo, and at present are being trained for ploughing by our staff. A local Somerset farmer has agreed to buy two cows so that we may also start breeding our own herd. Hopefully in a few years this scheme will be almost self funding, and helping many poor families in the area.