by Samson Opiyo
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| Joash at his desk at Aga Khan |
We will always remember 2020 as an unforgettable season in the history of health and medicine. Ndoto also remembers having alumni playing vital roles in the fight against the pandemic. Our team paid a visit to Aga Khan Hospital in central Kisumu recently to visit an alumnus who is living his dream. In the office of one of the biggest private healthcare centers in the county, we met Joash, who is a nurse there.
Joash studied nursing at Kenya Medical Training College and for the last five years has worked in the neurology department at Aga Khan, a 116-bed hospital providing professional and specialist care. He recounted how memorable it had been to meet Ndoto’s Executive Director, Allison Schlack, when she arrived at the hospital one day in need of urgent care when Covid-19 visited her household. Years after graduating from Ndoto’s program, he had the opportunity to give back in a very tangible way to someone who had helped him realize his dreams.
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| Joash in 2014 at Ndoto |
Born in Kisumu, Joash graduated from Kisumu Day High School in 2007 but languished for five years, unable to pay for any further education. He wanted to become a nurse, so in 2011 he applied for sponsorship at Ndoto. He was supported for three years by one of our sponsors, she herself a medical doctor, and graduated in 2014.
Today Joash has a family with three kids and is able to care for them and give back to society through his career. He loves his work, and is now considering going back to school to further his studies and add “professor” to his resume.
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“I pray that the program will continue so that more lives will be impacted,” Joash said of Ndoto. He says the existence of Ndoto in Obunga, a place that knew no hope, has positively transformed the community and he is a testament to that fact. “We should bring all the alumni together in the spirit of assisting more people, as a way of giving back to Ndoto and the community.” Graduates giving back, and multiplying the impact of our sponsorship, was exactly our vision when we started Ndoto fifteen years ago!
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| Joash (right) with Samson and Joshua from our team |
