It’s no secret that the modern United States is lacking in its sense of community. Gone are the days of block parties, neighbors visiting on the front porch, and families helping to raise one another’s children. We’ve replaced this with the isolated new mother getting a handle on things alone in her home with only Google to help her and with neighbors hiding out, curtains drawn, preferring virtual community to flesh and blood.

We live in isolation. And we venerate the independent. It’s almost a cliché at this point.

Or so I thought.

I’m going to be honest here. I...

The Lwala Community Alliance is a non-profit health and development agency working in Nyanza Province, Kenya. Supported by Real Medicine Foundation Kenya and World Children’s Fund, the organization provides 33,000 patient visits each year through the Lwala Community Hospital. The mission of the organization is to meet the health needs of all people living in north Kamagambo, including its poorest. The hospital is part of a larger effort to achieve holistic development in Lwala, including educational and economic development.

One of the main project objectives is building the capacity of community members in income generating activities. Through a...

The Bogo City Health Office has limited funds for the purchase of Ferrous Sulfate tablets.  If there are supplies available, the pregnant women are the top priority, however, the availability of the iron vitamins is not sustained so there are times that those pregnant women have to buy the Ferrous Sulfate tablets on their own. Unfortunately, most of the pregnant women seeking prenatal care in our health centers are not financially capable and most of them stop taking iron vitamins during their pregnancy.

Upon the receipt of the donated bottles of Ferrous Sulfate tablets from RMF and International Relief and...

Pablo Ng’asike, a 13-month-old boy from Loareng Village in Turkana County, was admitted to Lodwar District Hospital with Kwashiorkor (a form of malnutrition that occurs when there is not enough protein in the diet), severe anemia, oedema+++ (also known as dropsy, is where there is an excessive build-up of fluid in the body’s tissues), dermatitis (inflammation of the skin) and very high fever. Pablo is the 2nd born in a family with six children. The mother and father are alive but very sickly. The mother is a housewife and the father is a herdsman. On admission Pablo had massive swelling of...

In the evening on February 23 RMF’s South Sudan and Uganda teams parted ways and Martina and crew drove to the Kiryandongo Refugee/ Resettlement Camp.
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RMF has been serving Ugandans, Ugandan IDPs and refugees from other African nations since April 2008, when the RMF team first arrived from the US to the Mulanda Refugee Transit Centre, giving emergency assistance to the large influx of Kenyan Refugees escaping political violence in Kenya.  This emergency help was initially in the form of psychological trauma and social support, school fee subsidies, clothing, care kits and seeds for the refugees to start their...

CEO Dr. Martina Fuchs traveled to Bantayan Island to assess the medical situation  following Typhoon Haiyan (the main hospital suffered serious damage) and learned that the typhoon practically decimated the fishing industry as well; 90% of households depend on fishing. Here are a few photographs from that trip.

To Bantayan Island

Children, Bantayan Island

Destruction, Bantayan Island

Food Distribution for Typhoon Victims

Little Boy, Bantayan Island

Destruction, Bantayan Island

Woman, Bantayan Island

Destroyed Poultry Farm, Bantayan Island

Bantayan Island People Cleaning Up Typhoon Debris

Destroyed Satellites

Mother and Child — Typhoon Survivors — Amazing Attitude

Children in Bantayan

Young Girl...

Martina returned from the Philippines with wonderful stories about the resilience of the people and an urgency to get the hospital and livelihood projects moving. Here are a few photos from the second half of her journey.

Damaged power lines

Children in Medellin. When it starts getting dark there is no light in the streets or in the houses. The fire in the background is where people are burning debris, broken trees, etc. from Typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda in an effort to clean up.

Little girl in Medellin.

Along the way.

Mother and little girl.

Children and tricycle (auto rickshaw).

Street scene...

Map showing Martina’s itinerary: Cebu City, north to Bogo City to Don Pedro Barangay to Nailon Barangay to San Remigio to Medellin, cross over to Bantayan island to visit Bantayan and Santa Fe, back to Cebu Island to visit Daanbantayan.

Town hall meeting with the Mayor of Bogo City and Dr. Minerva Millor.

Dr. Martina Fuchs is asked to speak at the Town Hall meeting.

Severo Verallo Memorial District Hospital in Bogo City.

Bogo City Hospital – 2 or 3 patients often share a bed.

New mothers at Bogo City Hospital.

The hospital is at 200% capacity so patients crowd...

En route to San Remigio and Medellin and a few small friends and patients along the way.

On the road to San Remigio and Medellin.

Destroyed banana trees. The locals kept saying “they go first, then the coconut trees.”

A few new small friends.

Villagers in front of their damaged homes.

Dr. Fuchs stops for a photo.

Photos from Nailon Barangay Health Station, Don Pedro Barangay Health Station and Daycare Center.

A small patient.

Dr. Minerva Millor in front of Barangay Health Station.

Nailon Barangay Health Station.

Severely damaged church opposite Nailon Barangay Health Station.

Children in front of Nailon Barangay Health Station.

Don Pedro Barangay Health Station and Day Care Center.

From left: Midwife Analiza Tumulak, Dr. Minerva Millor, Dr. Martina Fuchs, Midwife Lorina Pilapil (5th from left, the other 2 people are from the community).