Week Four

On Monday we went with the four of us to Dreamland to get further with our handbike project and to help Alex. Alex is making some orthesis for some patients. Marleen and Eelke were assisting Alex en Merel and Caspar were thinking about the design of the handbike. When we were lunching, we were thinking about our internship, about the supervision from IcFEM and our projects. After a discussion with the four of us, we concluded that the supervision was not what we have thought before. We have decided to make an appointment with the director Mister Solomon on Tuesday.

In the morning when we arrived at the Office, there were a couple of patients waiting for us. The patients that we met before at the Fieldresearch. They came this day to Kimilili so we can do the measurements for their orthesis, calipers or corsets. But before we started with the measurements, we had a talk with Solomon, Leonard, Tatwa, Patrick and Matthew about our internship. Solomon told us that we have to make a new program for the remaining weeks of our internship and to set up our goals that we want to reach this internship. He told us also he wanted us visit Nairobi and that we can see the wheelchair factory from APDK. It was a very useful talk.

After the measurements, Caspar and Eelke went to Dreamland with Alex and some patients. In Dreamland they plastered some patients, so we can start with making the orthesis and corsets. Merel and Marleen stayed at the Guesthouse and made the new program and the goals.

On Wednesday we went with Loenard to Kitale Hospital. Once in two months, people who need surgery or treatment went to Kitale Hospital, so they could be booked for surgery or treatment. That was also this day. Leonard was supporting his friend from Kijabe to book all the people for surgery or treatment. Some of the nurses from the Hospital showed us the hospital. We thought it was a very beautiful Hospital, but it was a little bit old and dirty.

On Thursday Caspar and Merel went to Dreamland and Marleen and Eelke stayed at the Office to get further with the handbike report. There was nobody in the workshop of Dreamland, so Caspar and Merel couldn’t do much. After making drawings of the bicycle parts which we can use for the handbike, they went back to the Office to support Marleen and Eelke. At the Office was a guy with a handbike who was training for the Paralympics. We made pictures of his handbike, so we get a clear view of the existing handbikes.

We also give our new program to Patrick and Tatwa.

On Friday we stayed with the four of us at the Office. We have finished a very important part of the analysis of our handbike report.
In the afternoon we had a talk with Patrick and Tatwa about our new program. They were very positive about it. We were going over the whole program, so we could make appointments with the people we need and we know how much money we need for the activities.

It was a nice week, because we have made a new program for our internship. Now we have got a clear view of our remaining weeks and everybody knows what we are gonna do.