Developing medical and humanitarian projects in Sub-Saharan Africa
Read about our Projects
Helping Sudanese Refugee Children at Hope House in Kenya.
The first project commenced in June 2017 when a friend introduced me to 24 refugees who had fled South Sudan six years ago during the repression imposed when the largely Christian south broke away from their mother country to try and obtain independence and autonomy. These youngsters, aged 3 to 16 at the time, walked a thousand miles across the desert to find a safe haven in northern Kenya where they still live in the town of Kitale, in Hope House.
They are all from the Dinka tribe, a tall and very dark-skinned group. They have maintained their traditional cultures around food, religion and social interaction, but have managed to thrive in the educational system available in Kenya. However, this costs money, and they have very limited funds to cover this. So we are funding the eldest 12 refugees through further education at present. It costs only £1,000 a year to attend University and many of these young men and women are highly intelligent and extremely motivated to complete a degree and return to South Sudan to play an important role in establishing their new country. I am convinced this is a sustainable and worthy cause and am committed to maintaining my involvement through Bishop Peter who coordinates funding and investment at Hope House.
Funding for the rest of the expenses has been provided by other sponsors. However, funds from them are running out so we are having to make further changes. Our Sudanese friends in and around Kitale will have to return to their country of birth earlier than planned, and many will continue their education there which is cheaper but less extensive. We have now purchased some land in Juba in South Sudan to use as a base for the refugees when they return to their own country which James and Debra have already done.
I went to Kenya in August 2022 this time with Karen, Carolyn and Jake. We spent a few days working with Sister Vicky in and around Nakuru where we provided some teaching and clinical support for her and those who work for her. Meanwhile, we also worked with the local orphanage to provide drama and art classes. We then repeated the same approach in Kitale where we worked with the South Sudanese refugees under Gabriel’s supervision. We have planned ahead for the repatriation of the Hope House residents back to their own country when they complete their education in Kenya. The land we bought there for the Charity will be used as a base for them to build a large day School for the local children. We plan to build this during 2023 and to have 7 classrooms, sewing room, carpentry, sports field and a small farm all on site. We will have school houses for the staff and we will grow our own food and have a shop to sell the excess, along with the produce of the workshops from the children. The Hope House graduates will invest their educational attainments into the local economy which needs their newly acquired skills and education to help the young country realise its potential through education and leadership roles.
Providing a home and education for orphans in Uganda.
In July 2017 I was asked to leave Kenya to visit Uganda where another friend had identified twelve young boys living in the sewers under the City of Mbale during daylight hours. They were all AIDS orphans and were addicted to glue sniffing. They hid from the Police to avoid daily beatings and slept on the pavements at night.
I was asked to assess and treat their many medical problems, and once we’d gained their confidence and improved their health, we calculated what the cost of providing ongoing support for these twelve lads would be until they were old enough to be independent. Eventually we committed to establishing a Charity (KELAH) in Mbale to accommodate, clothe, feed and educate these young men until the age of eighteen.
This program commenced in October 2017, and within five years the boys became almost unrecognisable. They are healthier and happier, and live in a large house which we’ve bought for our Kelah House Charity which also supports 6 adults (and their families) who look after them. This costs about £700 a month in total and presently I am able to raise some of this from regular donations from generous sponsors. However, the costs of both food and rent have risen lately so we have decided to purchase some land around where we can grow our own food.
Leah also sends me detailed accounts of all the money she spends. We have now bought the house and land on which it stands, in order to become more independent into the future. Raising the requisite funds is proving challenging but nothing is impossible to those who believe although we face constant challenges. Most recently, thieves broke into Kelah and stole the boys school uniforms and school shoes. They have nothing left to wear to school now and are heartbroken. The back gate is broken and the House is no longer secure. We face a constant struggle for repair and maintenance costs.
In August 2022 we went to visit Kelah House, along with Leah, the boys and the rest of the staff there. Karen,Carolyn and Jake came with me for the first time. Covid prevented us from returning for the last couple of years but we’ve continued to invest in the future of the boys and their education. We’ve also been able to help provide food for those people who were most affected by the famine that continues to affect rural Uganda due to the conflict in Ukraine. Four of the original boys have been able to return to their extended families nearby although we continue to fund their education. Others who have no family or whose placements broke down again, remain at Kelah. We visited their relatives to discuss future plans for them. It became apparent that all the remaining boys are likely to remain at Kelah for the forseeable future until they finish their education. Thereafter we will help them to find an apprenticeship locally as mechanics or carpenters which most of them would like to become. Four however,are keen to go on to further studies and have the potential to become social workers and teachers themselves. This could allow them to use their own early life experiences as street children to help and support other children who are at risk of being abandoned too. That would be a great way of ‘paying it forward!’
Medical research
We are currently involved in a number of research projects across Sub-Saharan Africa, looking at arthritis, kidney disease, mental health and heart failure in the younger population. We are in the process of publishing our data while establishing and supporting clinical services in several East African countries. We hope that with early diagnosis and treatment we can prevent the early deaths caused by organ failure.
We’ve undertaken clinical, teaching and research work in Tanzania, Kenya, Zambia and Madagascar. The link between health care, education and poverty is self-evident and hugely relevant here. Hence we’re trying to address these issues by linking up with a variety of Health Care providers, NGO’s, Social Services and other Charities to maximise effectiveness.
I work with several Universities in the UK and in Africa, and continue to work clinically in the NHS on a part time basis to help fund these projects. I remain happy to discuss our work and plans with anyone who is interested to know more, to volunteer, collaborate or get involved in any other way.
Our recent relevant publications include:
Elinisa M, Lugata S, Doshi B, Kelly CA, Ngocho JS. Journal of Mental Health. Symptoms and predictors of depression among university students in the Kilimanjaro region of Tanzania: a cross-sectional study. J Mental Health 2020 https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/J42TTPRHBG6FJ4KEIG8K/full?target=10.1080/09638237.2020.1793129
Rebecca B. Walsh, Anthony Mwingwa, Nateiya M. Yongolo, Sanjura M. Biswaro, Manasseh Joel Mwanswila, Clive Kelly, Blandina T. Mmbaga, Faith Mosha, William K. Gray, Emma McIntosh & Richard W. Walker (2022) The spectrum and burden of in-patient paediatric musculoskeletal diseases in Northern Tanzania, Paediatrics and International Child Health, DOI: 10.1080/20469047.2022.2062561
Nateiya Yongolo, Christopher Bunn, Jo Halliday, Benson Mtesha, Clive Kelly, Anthon Mwingwa, et al. Estimating the prevalence and predictors of musculoskeletal disability in Tanzania: a pilot study, Rheumatology, Volume 61, Issue Supplement_1, May 2022, keac133.097, https://doi.org/10.1093/rheumatology/keac133.097
Yongolo N, Krauth S, Biswaro S, Moshi B, Mwanswila M, Hemed A, et al. A retrospective survey of arthritis among inpatients at a consultant hospital in Northern Tanzania from 2017 to 2019, Rheumatology, Volume 61, Issue Supplement_1, May 2022, P208 keac133.207, https://doi.org/10.1093/rheumatology/keac133.207
Stefanie J Krauth, Nateiya Yongolo, Sanjura Biswaro, Clive Kelly, Richard W Walker, Stefan Siebert, Manuela Deidda, NIHR Global health Research Group on Arthritis inTanzania, Sally Wyke, Jo Halliday, Blandina T Mmbaga, Emma McIntosh, P105 Prevalence and associated factors of musculoskeletal joint disease in the community setting in Hai district, northern Tanzania, Rheumatology, Volume 61, Issue Supplement_1, May 2022, keac133.104, https://doi.org/10.1093/rheumatology/keac133.104
Kuo C, Black L, Barber S and Kelly CA. Arthritis in East Africa. Arthritis in East Africa: An Observational Study - Article (Preprint v3) by Catherine Kuo et al. | Qeios
Clive Kelly. Medical and humanitarian work in East Africa. November 2022 Providing Medical Assistance in East Africa: A Life-Changing Experience. - Article (Preprint v1) by Clive Kelly | Qeios
Wong R, McKinnell Z, Wong P, Richmond G, Howlett W and Kelly CA. Effect of increasing altitude on physiological responses and symptoms. Proceedings Assoc Phys November 2019 P 2-3.
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