Huntington Grad Kelly Potter
Moves to Kenya
Kelly Potter is a long way from home. The Huntington High School Class of 2004 member has moved to Kenya and along with a local doctor there opened a community medical clinic to serve people desperately in need of good care.
Pamela Piffard, a Huntington art teacher, has kept in contact with Ms. Potter and recently donated several hundred dollars to the Kenyan medical initiative. "Kelly is doing amazing work and making a real difference for the people in the Keru community," Ms. Piffard said. "I am so proud of what she is doing!"
Ms. Potter was popular with her Huntington classmates. She went on to earn an undergraduate degree at the University of Connecticut and has become very comfortable in foreign settings.
"On my recent trip to Africa, I volunteered at a hospital in Nairobi, Kenya," Ms. Potter said. "After a few months, the head doctor, Ishmael Oyango and I decided to open our own clinic in the rural town of Sori, an area in dire need of medical assistance. Thus, the Keru Community Health Clinic arose from a need to provide essential medical services to the population underserved by Kenya's central government."
The Keru clinic offers services at a true grass roots level and helps address the needs of disadvantaged members of the Sori community. Clients include orphaned children, widows, unemployed youths and the general community that languishes in poverty and struggles with a variety of medical concerns.
"Few Kenyans have the opportunity to purchase medical insurance, leaving families dealing with huge hospital bills whenever an illness, disease or emergency arises," Ms. Potter said. "High prices at private hospitals are beyond the reach of the poor, unlike Keru Community Health Clinic, where patients will pay a small and affordable fee."
The clinic's main priority areas are primary health care programs, HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis prevention programs, guiding and counseling programs, environmental training programs, family planning programs and prenatal care programs.
"On Feb 19th there was a free medical camp where we carried out a de-worming program for children ages three to 12 years old," Ms. Potter said. "The turnout was amazing and we managed to help 298 local children!"
Ms. Potter hopes her friends and Huntington community members find a way to support this new initiative of hers. "The one City Council hospital is a shell, which is poorly managed, understaffed and lacks essential drugs," she said. "The Sori community relies solely on two clinics, which cannot meet the demands of their current health needs. Successful completion of this project will enable us to administer to the large number of needy people in the community."
Those who would like to contribute to Keru Community Health Care can go to www.PayPal.com and donate to KeruHealthCare@gmail.com.