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Lwala, Kenya Resources | VIGH Student Portal | Vanderbilt University
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Lwala, Kenya Resources

The following modules were created and compiled as part of a Vanderbilt University School of Medicine fourth-year immersion course called “Delivering Primary Care in Resource-Limited Settings” offered in fall 2012 and spring 2013. These modules cover logistics and considerations for travelers to Lwala, Kenya.

Important Pre-Departure Materials

  1. Lwala Pre-trip materials, Pocketguide (print and take with you to Lwala), and Visitor Agreement (link to PDFs in google folder)
  2. Lwala Supplemental Handbook of Logistics for medical students
  3. Health service provision in Kenya, from IHME
  4. OSAC Travel Safety Reference Guide – This guide offers international travelers information, tactics, techniques, and procedures to mitigate risks inherent to international travel.

About Lwala Community Alliance

The Lwala Community Alliance is a non-profit health and development agency founded by Drs. Milton and Fred Ochieng’, who are natives of Lwala, a rural village in the Nyanza Province of western Kenya. Milton and Fred lost their parents to HIV while in college in the U.S. and took this as a call to action to provide access to primary care in their community. During medical school at Vanderbilt, the brothers did all they could to raise the funds to start a clinic back at home. Their story is the subject of the documentary “Sons of Lwala” and has been featured on ABC World News and CNN.

In April 2007, after 3 years of fundraising, the Lwala Community Health Center finally opened. Over time the program has become more multi-dimensional to include small scale micro-enterprise, public health outreach, water and sanitation, and education programming. In April 2011, construction on new maternity and integrative care wings were completed, thereby tripling the space of the original clinic. As a result, the facility is now designated as the Lwala Community Hospital. The clinical staff at the hospital provide more than 15,000 patient visits each year, with over 1000 people enrolled in HIV care. LCA’s education program reaches out to 15 schools and employs dozens of Kenyans through our various programs.

Module 1: Honoring a Father’s Dream: The Story of the Sons of Lwala

Honoring a Father’s Dream: The Story of the Sons of Lwala

Milton Ochieng’, M.D., and Fred Ochieng’, M.D., founders of the Lwala Community Alliance, spoke at VIGH’s 2012 Tennessee Global Health Forum on February 23, 2012.

Module 2: Welcome to Lwala

Lwala Orientation

Cameron Plese, M.A.
Engagement Associate
Lwala Community Alliance
This presentation provides an introduction to the Lwala Community Alliance for student and other volunteers. It includes information on the region, the clinic, and the education system, as well as tips on what to pack and what volunteers can expect during their stay. This orientation is presented by Cameron Plese.

Additional Information on Lwala Community Alliance