Burning Bush Inc. has become convinced that the key to improving global health is providing additional training and other support for nurses who are on the front lines of delivering care in developing countries. Two years ago, after conducting a needs assessment among nurses who own their own clinics in central Kenya, BBI found that they had a pressing need for continuing education close to home, as well as supplies and equipment.
In the spring of 2009, BBI decided it could help address these needs by funding construction of the WAKA Continuing Education Center in Nyeri, adjacent to the WAKA Maternity Home and Health Services Clinic, run by Rosemary and Eustace Kamunya. Construction began in August 2009 and the Center was completed in May 2010. The facility is centrally located, easily accessible by private and public transportation, and supported by basic infrastructure. The two-story building has two classrooms accommodating at least 20 participants/students per class and a computer lab for 20 students, along with an office, board room, kitchen, WC, space for humanistic models, and a small library.
The Kamunyas are BBI’s partners in the endeavor and are managing the Center. The couple have actively trained nurses for a number of years, Rosemary as a training adviser for the Kenyan programs of JHPIEGO, an international health organization affiliated with Johns Hopkins University, and Eustace as the principal of the Mt. Kenya Medical Training College. In addition to offering advanced training programs for nurses in the Mt. Kenya cluster, the WAKA Continuing Education Center will provide a means for other organizations to channel equipment and supplies to the area.
The building was dedicated on April 6, with BBI board members Poppy Buchanan and her daughter Lizzie Krump in attendance. It was Lizzie’s first trip to Kenya, and she was accompanied by her husband Tom and their four children: Poppy, Duncan, Aidan, and Josephine.
On June 4, a team from the Kenyan Ministry of Health visited the center and were impressed with what they saw. In their view, the Center has the potential to become a center of excellence and a model for similar facilities throughout the country. They highly recommended it for accreditation and registration for short certificate courses, which will allow local nurses to work toward an RN degree.