Valerie is a star!

"I have recently returned from visiting the Pokot tribe at Tikeet, in the bush of north west Kenya. I went with the Yellowmen of Kadongdong, better known as members of Senlac Rotary Club. I went to dedicate a Hospital Unit in Tikeet in memory of my late husband John.

I travelled with one of my daughters, Helen, and two of our oldest friends Lindsey and Peter Lawrence. After a 12 hour minibus ride in difficult conditions we reached Marich Study Centre, our home for a week. The clinic site was a further hour's drive through the bush over sometimes treacherous terrain and in temperatures reaching 104F.

We had not appreciated how difficult it was to get there, to work in the heat, and to carry everything we needed including drinking water. It was amazing to see the Yellowmen working alongside the Pokot tribespeople. They checked the progress of the clinic buildings, built with 7000 bricks the women of the tribe had previously made by hand with money raised through donations. The Yellowmen then started work on two blocks of latrines, a vital part of the site, which the local people have now completed.

The mortality rate of young children is high, as an incident during our visit showed. The life of a two year old boy was undoubtedly saved because we were on hand to transport him to a hospital some considerable distance away in time for him to receive the necessary medical attention. This highlighted to us just how urgent it is to get the Tikeet hospital up and running.

The clinic buildings are up to the roof level, but now we need to "raise the roof" on the John Cocker unit and the rest of the buildings.