- Life expectancy in Kibera is 30 years of age, compared to 50 years of age in the rest of Kenya.
- It is estimated that anywhere from 25-40% of Kibera's population is HIV positive, making Kibera one of the places in the world with the highest HIV prevalence rate.
- Young women in Kibera contract HIV at a rate 5 times that of their male counterparts.
The Clinic
The J.J.J. Community Clinic of Kibera will be one of the first community-run health centers in Kibera that is accessible to all residents. In fall of 2009, we commissioned an extensive survey of over 100 existing health facilities in Kibera. Based on the findings, we determined that our clinic will be a community-driven initiative staffed by two expert Kenyan nurses five days a week in tandem with community health workers and a full-time administrator. One day per week a Kenyan doctor will be in attendance to see more serious cases, triaged throughout the week. The clinic will see a maximum of 25 patients a day to ensure quality, meaning our clinic will have an initial yearly volume of around 6,000 – 8,000 patients. The clinic will focus on delivering effective primary care: keeping up-to-date medical records, seeing patients regularly and managing chronic problems effectively. The clinic will target the most common causes of illness and death in Kibera, including maternal mortality, HIV/AIDS, pneumonia, diarrhea, and tuberculosis—all of which are easily treated and/or prevented.
Ultimate Impact
The Shining Hope Kibera Clinic will become an integral piece of our innovative model changing the realities of women in Kibera through the integrated links between girls education and services unavailable elsewhere. The association of the clinic with the established Kibera School for Girls reinforces one another, as this combination will increase value placed on women; already after the opening of the school and bio-latrine center an internal survey of 50 women in the community found that 3 months later nearly all reported less instances of physical abuse and rape due to increased value placed on women by the community. Investing in parent and communal health and economic success through a school for girls will demonstrate that benefiting women benefits the whole community. The future of women in Kibera and similarly impoverished and patriarchal environments depends on integrated links between education, health, and community elevation. Simply put: our clinic will save lives, while changing the daily realities of women in the community.
Johanna Justin-Jinich
On May 6th, 2009 tragedy struck the Wesleyan University community: our friend and fellow student Johanna Justin-Jinich was shot and killed just off Wesleyan’s campus. This was not only a devastating loss for those of us who know and love Johanna – this was a loss for the world, as Johanna planned to dedicate her life to helping people in need. She had hoped to go to graduate school in international public health, focusing primarily on women’s access to healthcare and reproductive rights.
In the Fall of 2009, Johanna’s best friend, Leah Lucid, became the Development Director of Shining Hope for Communities. We have long dreamed of starting a health clinic adjacent to our school, and Leah immediately thought of Johanna and the life she had planned. It is our belief that the best way to honor Johanna’s memory is to support causes in which she believed.
The Johanna Justin-Jinich Memorial Clinic of Kibera will Johanna’s incredible spirit to live on, continuing to touch the lives of people in need. As her mother, Ingrid Justin, who is also a physician said: “To see a health clinic in Kibera which devotes itself to healing the bodies and souls of women and girls, so that they, in turn, can more fully care for their own families and contribute to their own communities…what a wonderful expression of Johanna’s aspirations. How I look forward to working there.” This clinic will not become a reality without your support.
The Chase Parr Memorial Wellness Reading Room
On December 22, 2007, Chase Parr, of Denver, CO, was killed in an automobile accident while traveling with her family through Wyoming. Chase was a well-loved Wesleyan student who hoped to study abroad in Africa her junior year in college. Chase intensely loved literature and learning, an attitude we hope to keep alive with the Chase Parr Memorial Wellness Reading Room.
