Chapter
GlobeMed at University of Pennsylvania | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Partner
Lwala Community Alliance | Lwala, Kenya

Key Fact
In the Lwala area, approximately 1 in 4 people is infected with HIV.

About the Partnership
After losing their parents to AIDS, Kenyan brothers Milton and Fred Ochieng’ felt a strong call to action to provide access to primary care in their home village. They opened the Lwala Community Hospital, where more than 80,000 patient encounters have been provided in the last 5 years. This has since grown into the Lwala Community Alliance – an organization based in Lwala, Kenya that focuses on building the capacity of the people of Lwala to advance their own comprehensive well-being. In April 2007, after 3 years of fundraising, the Lwala Community Health Center finally opened. Over time the program has become more multi-dimensional to include small scale micro-enterprise, public health outreach, water and sanitation, and education programming. The GlobeMed chapter at University of Pennsylvania was drawn to Lwala’s focus on bringing high-quality care  to disadvantaged populations with unwavering emphasis on sustainability.

Project
GlobeMed at University of Pennsylvania is aiming to raise $6,000 to assist in capacity building at Lwala Community Hospital and its newly constructed Maternity Wing and HIV Center. The Maternity Wing was built in Lwala, Kenya in 2011 to address the prevalence of HIV and the dangers of transmission during birth. GlobeMed’s collaboration will increase education outreach to the community of Lwala and support birth of healthy babies and healthy mothers in Lwala.

Get Involved
Donate to their cause. Interested in joining GlobeMed at University of Pennsylvania? Contact upenn@globemed.org.