LYMM mum Dr Becky Nightingale is on a mission, to complete her latest project, building and equipping a brand new X-ray building at Dreamland Mission Hospital in Kimilili, rural Kenya.
Becky and Mike Nightingale moved to Lymm in 2017 just in time for the birth of their first child Esther. Becky continued to volunteer as the Health Programme Manager remotely and they travelled back to Kenya as much as possible before COVID hit.
Becky has a PhD in Tropical Medicine with a focus on respiratory disease and is a Consultant Respiratory Physio at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine and has therefore been on the frontline of the COVID response.
Lesley Achim Fundraising Manager – IcFEM Europe who met Becky at Lymm Baptist Church where they both attend said: “Becky is an inspiration with a huge heart for the poor and disadvantaged in Kenya. Having spent large parts of her adult life in sub-Saharan Africa and living and volunteering at Dreamland Mission Hospital since 2010 she is all too aware of the poverty and deprivation suffered by many rural Kenyans.”
Dreamland Mission Hospital is based in rural western Kenya on the Uganda border, it started as small health centre employing 14 Kenyan staff and now has over 140 Kenyan staff, an operating theatre and 80 beds.
Becky with husband Mike and their daughter Esther
Lesley added: “The past 15 months coping with COVID have been especially difficult in rural Kenya where there is limited testing and treatment available. Becky has worked tirelessly to support the team in Kenya, among many other things arranging the supply of oxygen machines and COVID tests. Now she is seeking help to fund the remaining £38,000 required to complete the X-Ray building.
“The new X-ray building project has been desperately needed for a long time, the current machine is old and unreliable, the X-Ray room is small and impractical, the doorway is even too small to push a hospital bed or wheelchair through so patients have to be carried. However, the need for a new x-ray unit is now extremely urgent, the disposable films required are no longer being made and in less than four months the remaining stocks will have run out. All X-Ray services at the hospital will have to be cancelled unless this project can be completed in time.
“The building is well on its way to completion, we have employed 40 local workmen and women to build the unit who are all being paid above average wage which means they can feed and support their families. A little market has also sprung up where other locals come and sell their produce such as mangos to the workmen. The impact is far-reaching, making a huge difference to the lives of those in Kimilili.
“We can’t wait to have the new unit up and running, if you would like to support this exciting project and help us reach our target you can pay for a stone to be laid for £10 or make a donation of any amount by visiting www.icfem-mission.org/x-ray/ ”
meanwhile, Becky and Mike are getting ready to welcome their second baby in August, it would be incredible if the X-Ray project could be complete by then!
