Kays Medical generously donated a large medical kit containing IV fluids etc and individual bum bag first aid kits to all of the girls and teachers who were embarking on an expedition of a life time to Kenya this summer.

All students and teachers were from Sandbach High School and Sixth Form College.

What can I say? They were probably one of the best pieces of kit that we took with us and they came in very handy. For some of us, myself included we needed the paracetamol before even arriving in Kenya!

Becky Adams

After a very long delay at Heathrow airport and an eight hour flight, we finally arrived in Nairobi airport. Unfortunately our connecting flight to Mombassa had departed without us so we were left to sleep on the floor at Nairobi airport; it was extremely hot and humid. Our kays first aid kits were needed straight away as the mosquitoes were thristy and baying for our blood!! Out came the DEET!

We spent ten days on Makongeni carrying out the community work which included refurbishing the school toilet blocks, we built a community sanitary block for the local community and also made our own bricks. Due to the nature of our work many of us developed blisters and I think we all suffered from scratches, graze and bruises from the wheel-barrows, shovels and the other tools that we had to use. The savlon and plasters were a real God send.

Possibly one of the most valuable things the Kays Medical donated to us was the sachets of Dioralyte. My lasting impression of the Dioralyte is how great it was for those who became poorly and the way people were made to drink it, their faces said it all!!

The biggest challenge for out first aid kits was the trek up Mount Kenya. We trekked for five days which included negotiating a vertical bag and an acclimatisation day where we began to ascend the summit and the descend ready for the following morning. Looking back in hindsight our first aid kits were as fundamental to our success in reaching the summit as the high-tech equipment and malaria tablets were.

We all developed the most horrendous blisters on our feet and the Compeed blister packs were completely necessary in order for us to reach the summit. Thankfully about half of us reached the summit of Mount Kenya after a nineteen hour trek down the mountain we were ready for a well deserved rest.

For those who reached the summit this was a huge achievement which stretched each and every one of us physically and mentally.

If I had to sum up Kenya in one word it would be “AMAZING”. I personally can’t wait to go back to one of the most beautiful countries with some of the loveliest people in the world. I hope Tanzania will be as challenging and rewarding when I go there in three years time with my mum to work in an Aids Orphanage called “Little Angels”.

We all had the trip of a lifetime, from making paper out of elephant dung, to seeing elephants on a safari to actually stroking a black rhino. We had a few scary moments, when we got lost trekking down Mount Kenya and we knew that hyenas were close at range!

My final point however is that without the generosity of Kays Medical we would not have had the best medical supplies, and thanks to them we got the best which impacted on all of us while we were out there for a month. I personally had my first aid kit with me all of the time which goes to show how necessary they were.

I would like to say a HUGE thank you to Kays Medical on behalf of the Kenya 2007 expedition team.

Becky Adams

Bath Spa University Student and a member of the Sandbach Girls 2007 Kenya expedition team.