By Jon Niconchuk
Jambo from Kenya! After barely escaping a rare Nashville snow storm and back to back 8 hour flights, we arrived safely in Nairobi (well, two of the three of us at least; our final companion missed a connection and made it the next morning.) Despite having been here once before, the drive down the hill into Kijabe was just as breathtaking. This idyllic oasis, this “place of the wind” nestled on the mountainside overlooking the ever-widening Great Rift Valley, remains as aesthetically beautiful as ever. With our comfortable guest house and nightly dinners waiting in the fridge, it is easy to lose sight of the reality of ever-present scarcity that exists all around. Yet as familiar faces welcomed me back to the operating theaters on Monday morning, I was reminded why AIC Kijabe Hospital – built from nothing over the past century – remains such a remarkable place. On our second morning in the ORs, one of the surgeons approached us hurriedly and said, “Dr. Jon, please go to the emergency ward, there has been a mass casualty.”

Beth O’Connell became a Frist Global Health Leader in 2010, completing an internship in rural Rwanda for her Bachelor of Public Health. She received the award again in 2013 for an internship in rural Guatemala for her MPH. Today, Beth has earned a DrPH and works as an Assistant Professor in Public and Community Health at Liberty University. She teaches undergraduate and graduate public health courses, while continuing to serve and conduct research to improve health in low-resource communities both domestically and globally.

By Jamie Robinson

By Jamie Robinson
The last 2 weeks have been a whirlwind. From the moment I saw the sign with my name held by the friendliest driver I’ve ever had at the airport in Nairobi all I have seen are smiles. Every person I have encountered has been nothing but kind and welcoming.

The past month taking care of patients, teaching, and learning from my colleagues in the Accident and Emergency Department at the Georgetown Public Hospital in Guyana has been a wonderful experience, as always. I have learned a great deal, and I have also had the opportunity to teach in a variety of settings, which has been very gratifying. I never leave here not in awe of the great work these physicians do with the limited resources they have available. I also rarely leave without a memory of some patient that we were not able to help as much as I would have liked due to these limitations.