"When we thought about building a clinic in our area, we always thought about this lady," Milton Ochieng said. "We want to show how, through loss, we can gain life."
Committees in Lwala, Kenya and in the United States have since formed the Lwala Community Alliance, a U.S.-based non-profit organization that oversees the center's efforts. The U.S. committee is based in Hanover and composed of administrators and students Dartmouth College and Dartmouth Medical School, as well as other members of the community.
Fred and Milton Ochieng, both currently students at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, said that while the clinic was formed specifically for maternal and early child care, its physicians often treat other medical issues, as the nearest hospital to Lwala is approximately 40 kilometers away.
"To get to my village in Lwala, you leave the paved road and walk about five and half miles," Milton Ochieng said.
This distance has presented challenges to the villagers even since the construction of the health center. Recently, Milton Ochieng recalled, a woman in need of a Caesarian section who came to the clinic after hours. The brothers managed to deliver the infant without complications, armed only with a donated obstetrics textbook and an American obstetrician on the phone.
The brothers later learned that this woman was the daughter-in-law of the woman who had died in the wheelbarrow.
"It had gone round a circle and there we were," Fred Ochieng said. "It was just amazing, really."
AIDS has also presented a significant challenge to the health center. Of 529 villagers tested in Lwala in August, 2006, 32 percent were HIV positive, according to the Dance for a Dream 2008 website. The Ochieng brothers lost both of their parents to the disease while students at Dartmouth.
Resources and funds for the clinic are also scarce. The clinic, which is run by three physicians, one physician's assistant and three nurses, currently uses the kitchen as the maternity ward and lacks proper anesthetics and an equipped operating room.
This Saturday, students, alumni and community members gathered in Collis Commonground to support the Alliance at Dance for a Dream, an evening of live music and dance held annually by DMS students. The event also honored the late Deborah Miller, a registered nurse and midwife who worked extensively on behalf of the Lwala clinic. Miller had hoped to be the clinic's first midwife, featured speaker William Young said.
Dance for a Dream hopes to raise $35,000 for the Lwala Clinic through private donations. Administrators expect to continue to receive donations throughout the week, according to Shailvi Gupta DM '10, the event's coordinator.
Saturday's event featured Live African music by Robert Ajwang, David Kline and the World Percussion Music Ensemble, and performances by a variety of student dance groups. The event also included a DJ and dancing and a full bar catered by the Maple Street Catering Company. Donations were suggested at the door.
At the event, the Ochieng brothers expressed their gratitude for the fundraising efforts at the College and DMS.
"We are in this together and we are thankful for that," Fred said.
