Rain & Life in the Great Rift Valley

The Great Rift Valley has been in a drought for four years. While COVID-19 can be avoided with the right public health measures, the lack of rain isn’t as easily cured with a shot in the arm. 

But on the third day of our mission in Kurungu, Kenya, clouds settled above the dust and the skies opened up.

And it rained.

We don’t believe in signs or mythic legends, but the people in the Great Rift Valley certainly do. Because as it turns out, the last time it rained in this part of Kenya was when Mission to Heal was traveling through the area in 2019. 

As Dr. Glenn wrote in his journals, “The four year drought is now a historic, unprecedented disaster for the people and their livestock, and they are in a long period when it has not rained. The water tables, once very limited, have now vanished, with the big eroded canyons in the ground showing the ferocity of the runoff of the heavy rains from 2019. And here we are again, with clouds in the sky above us. “ This looming downpour “confirms all their speculations about the life-bringing mythic power of the M2H MSUs.” 

It was a joyful occasion, a highlight of a week full of operations, education, and reconnecting with local medical staff and previous patients. With the participation of 2 local nurses, this week in Kurungu we were able to complete 30 dental extractions and 15 lumps & bumps removals. 

We are proud of these nurses who learned how to do these two procedures and by the end of the week, were scheduling their own patients and performing by themselves, with oversight from Dr. Glenn. Before leaving on Friday, we provided dental extraction kits to the clinic so they are able to continue to offer this procedure to the community for the other 51 weeks of the year.

After a rewarding week, for the people and for the land, we are reminded why we do the work we do. It’s not just to perform surgeries for one week out of the year, but to teach skills that local professionals can build on month after month. Just as you need rain to bring life back to the ground, education is the backbone of sustainability, and will always guide the work we do in Kenya, Uganda, and beyond.

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