Operation Smile: Medical Mission, Kisumu, Kenya

On the 4^th of October, I flew to Kisumu for the Operation Smile Medical Mission. Before departing, I was so excited about participating in this mission, and I had been waiting in anticipation for weeks. This would be an amazing opportunity for me to see firsthand how Operation Smile works, and the impact that it can have on a community. When I arrived, I met some of the most interesting people that I have ever met in my life, including other students, doctors, nurses, child-life specialists, etc. Despite the fact that some doctors had volunteered in over 70 missions, and others were volunteering for the first time, it seemed as if everyone had something to share to the Kisumu Team.

The first two days of the mission were screening days. As part of the Student Team, my main responsibility was to keep the children, who were waiting in line for hours to get screened, entertained. We spent 10 hours at the hospital handing out toys, helping out with medical records, and giving presentations on burn care and prevention, oral hygiene, nutrition, hand washing, and oral rehydration therapy. Although it was exhausting, it was amazing to see how friendly these children were and how much they would open up to you if you showed them that you cared. Although not many patients showed up with cleft lips and palates, there were a lot of patients with keloids and severe burns. With the conclusion of the second day, 237 patients had been screened.

On team bonding day, the main activity was a boat ride on Lake Victoria. Although none of the team members initially felt that this would be a good activity to bond over, we soon discovered that it was the perfect one. After getting stuck on Lake Victoria, as a result of the Water hyacinth trapping the boats, we all had to work together to make a path for the boats to travel through. After 4 hours or so, the boats managed to reach the dock. By the time the boat ride was over, everyone knew each other’s names, and we were all ready for the week ahead of us!

Monday was the first day of surgery. The Student Team and Child-Life Specialist were given their own room, and we got to work setting up toys and activities that the kids could do while they were anxiously waiting for their surgery times to arrive. Since most of the kids could not speak English, we had help from students from a local school in Kisumu with translating. What impressed me the most was that the kids themselves were so excited to play with each other, and included as many people as they could in their games. We spent around 7 hours at the hospital per day from Monday through Friday, and although there were many enjoyable moments, there were also many challenging times. Trying to calm down patients who were in extreme pain after their surgeries was one of the hardest things to do, but the concern that all of the volunteers displayed made this much easier.

Throughout the week, the Student Team had the opportunity to observe surgeries as well, and I was very interested in this. I observed around 10 surgeries, including cleft lip and palate repair, keloid removal, and skin grafting. All of the surgeons found time out of their busy schedules to talk to us about their profession, and I was amazed by their extreme compassion and dedication to helping the less fortunate.

The Student Team visited several schools and orphanages as well, including a school for the blind, the mentally handicapped, and the physically handicapped. At the schools and orphanages, we gave our presentations and handed out donations such as toothbrushes, soap, and school supplies. The children showed genuine interest in the information that we had to give to them, and the amount of questions that they would ask us regarding our presentations made this very clear to me.

By the end of the mission, all of the volunteers were exhausted and ready to go home, although it was hard to say goodbye to so many unforgettable people. 129 surgeries had been completed, and this surpassed everyone’s expectations. Some volunteers even described it as one of the most successful missions that they had ever been on. I am thrilled to have had this experience, and I hope to be able to go on another Medical Mission with Operation Smile very soon!

Piano

I have continued to work with the piano book, "John Thompson's Modern Course For the Piano", and I am learning more and more pieces with every lesson. However, instead of rushing through the book, my piano teacher and I decided that it would be better if I slowed down a bit and we actually went backwards to practice all of the songs that I worked on last year. By doing this, I was able to hear tremendous improvement in the way I play now as compared to the beginning of last year.

I have also joined the Jazz Band, and therefore, we also have to find time to practice the songs that I am given from the band. I feel like I am actually managing my time better this year as compared to last year, and despite the heavy workload, I find the time to practice almost everyday. This has helped me improve my playing at a faster rate, and I feel more and more confident about my abilities. My performances with the Jazz Band have also reduced my fear of performing in front of crowds, and I am very happy about this.

Jazz Band

This year, after playing the piano for several years, I decided that I wanted the opportunity to be able to perform and to actually display the skills that I have accumulated. I believe that Jazz Band gives me some of the best opportunities to be able to do this, because not only can I perform, but I can also interact with other students who share my passion for music. The Jazz band at school meets twice a week, and we practice various pieces. Since there are three piano players in the band, I only get to perform 1/3 of the songs, but I still have the opportunity to practice as many of them as I would like. Of course, a lot of practice needs to be put in outside of the meeting dates, and I therefore practice the pieces by myself everyday.

Jazz Band's first performance was at the ISK PTO Picnic. At this venue, I played the songs, "Funkytown" and "Burritos to Go". This was the first time that I had ever performed in front of an audience, and I was therefore extremely nervous and excited at the same time. I had a lot of fun playing, and I got really good feedback after the performance. While playing, I noticed some things that I wanted to improve for the next performance, and I therefore spent the majority of my practice time fixing those issues.

The second performance was at the UN Track Gala. At this venue, I played the same two songs. This performance was much better for me, mostly because I was not as nervous as the first time and because I had had much more time to practice and perfect my playing. Since I was not as nervous, I also enjoyed the performance more, and I noticed that the audience was enjoying it as well.

Performing at the UN Gala

I have been practicing several new pieces with the band, and we will be performing at various venues in the upcoming months!

Habitat for Humanity: Building trip #1

The first building trip that I went on with Habitat for Humanity this school year was at Eldama Ravine on the 29th of September. We will no longer be going to Mai Mahiu as all of the houses there have been built. We left from Nairobi at 5am, and arrived at the site 4 hours later. Although we were exhausted, we were all determined to work as hard as we could so that we could finish the foundation of the house, which was our task. My main task was to shovel out the dirt from the foundation after the ground had been hoed. Working directly under the sun for hours on end was definitely exhausting, and after a couple of hours of work, I noticed that my hands were covered in blisters. Everyone was in the same situation as me however, and so we all motivated each other to keep on working. At around 3pm, it was time for us to head back to ISK. We were all so happy with the work that we had done and we were more than ready to head home! This build was different from the other ones that I have been on as it was in a completely new location that seemed to be much less populated. As a result, we did not get the opportunity to interact with the local people as much as usual, but we did end up doing more work. The next trip that I will be going on will be in the second semester.

The Habitat for Humanity team!

Tennis: Gold Team

In August of this school year, I became a member of the school's Gold Team for tennis. This team meets for practice four times a week. I have chosen to focus on my doubles tennis playing skills as opposed to singles tennis. This is because I enjoy playing with a partner as it tests my communication skills. Max Alverson, another 12th grade student, and I became doubles partners, and we work towards strengthening our skills as partners during every practice session.

I was also elected Team Captain this year, which I was very excited about as I have never held a leadership position in a sports team. As the Captain of the team, I am responsible for making sure any information from the Coach reaches all of the players. I also encourage all the players to support each other during practices and during the actual matches, and I try to keep team spirit high even when we are losing a match. Being Captain was and continues to be very interesting for me as it does not always require the same skills as other leadership positions, such as Club President. Despite this, I believe that it is a great opportunity for me to hone skills that I will require for the rest of my life so as to be able to work efficiently with other people.

On the 18th of September, the school's Gold Team had its first match against Rosslyn Academy. We were all very excited about this match as it was our first opportunity in the school year to display our tennis skills and see how much we had improved since practice started. We were also very nervous, as this was an away match, and we were therefore not as comfortable as we would had been had we played at ISK. It was clear to me that the players were nervous from the very start, as none of them were cheering for their fellow players. As Team Captain, I had to try and increase spirits. Although this was difficult at first, I found that as time passed, the players cheered more and more and became more comfortable. I played a doubles match with Max. Both of us were also extremely nervous, and as a result, we made a lot of unforced errors. We ended up losing the match 3-6, but this was a very good experience since it encouraged both of us to work harder in practice and to fix unforced errors. I also continue to work on my service game in practice and my forehand strokes.

On the 20th of September, the Gold Team played a match against the ISK Blue team! This was a very fun match as we were playing against our friends who are on the more advanced team. Max and I were doubles partners again. This game was a much more difficult one for us as compared to the one against Rosslyn Academy. Despite this, both of us still found it much more engaging and interesting because we were pushed to our limits. We also lost 3-6, but we felt much more confident about our playing as compared to the previous match.

On the 25th of September, we played a match against West Nairobi School. Max and I won our doubles match 6-1, but we did not enjoy playing this match at all! Our opponents were at a much lower level of tennis as compared to us, and we were therefore not challenged. It was very difficult to get the players interested in this match as none of them felt that they were being challenged. However, I did manage to get them to cheer, and this encouraged everyone.

The next match that I will be playing is on the 2nd of November against Hillcrest.

A Great Start to the Operation Smile Student Club

In the past half a year, several students have become involved with the newly formed Operation Smile club at ISK. The aim of this club is to raise awareness and hold fundraisers to support Operation Smile. This international organization currently works in more than 60 countries to provide surgeries to children with cleft lips and cleft palates. Each surgery costs around $240, or KSH 20,000, and takes as little as 45 minutes.

The Operation Smile Club at ISK held its first major fundraiser on the 14^th of April. This was a concert that featured the Composers’ Club, and was a huge success. $1,800 was raised that night, which went towards paying for the surgeries of 7 children. Due to the success of this event, two ISK students were invited to participate in a Saturday Clinic at the Kenyatta Hospital in May. Aashmali Patel and I decided to participate, and we got the chance to meet several Operation Smile doctor volunteers, as well as the three children who received their surgeries that day.

One of the three patients was an infant called Osman Abdille. The surgeons on the team described Osman’s case as one of the worst they had ever seen, as he had a bilateral cleft lip and palate. This gave him difficulties in breathing and feeding. What really stood out to Aashmali and me was that, despite the fact that he was suffering, Osman could not stop laughing. He didn’t seem at all frightened by all the strangers that were surrounding him, and he had an instant connection with all of us the second that he was brought into the OR. After the surgery was over, more than three hours later, Osman looked completely different!

I had the chance to participate in the week-long International Student Leadership Conference organized by Operation Smile in Washington D.C this summer. Over 500 students from 23 countries attended this conference, whose purpose was to allow us to create a network with each other, share ideas, learn how to share Operation Smile’s mission, and become inspired to help change the lives of others. We had the amazing opportunity to listen to some inspirational speakers, including the founders of Operation Smile, William and Kathleen Magee, a U.S Olympian, Buddy Lee, the founder of the Blink Now Foundation, Maggie Doyne, and many more. Most importantly, we obtained some ideas of how to run a student club effectively, and I look forward to sharing these with my fellow Operation Smile club members, with the hopes of making this club one that will truly make a mark in our community.

At the beginning of October, a two-week Operation Smile mission will take place in Kisumu, in which several children will receive their life-changing surgeries. I, along with two other students from the US and Kenya, were invited to take part in this mission as student volunteers, and I am sure that it will be an unforgettable experience! I am confident and hopeful that the hard-working and dedicated Operation Smile club members will have multiple opportunities to make a difference in the lives of others during this academic year.

We encourage you to join the Operation Smile club this year, and help us make an impact on the lives of many!

Osman before his surgery

Participants of the International Student Leadership Conference 2012 at Georgetown University