Sometimes, even small donations can have a big impact. So it was in the case of Angela*, an intern working at a hospital in Nairobi, Kenya.
Angela had two small children at home and was struggling to make ends meet. Her parents were far away and had nothing to spare. Her husband was also away and could not help. Determined to keep her children with her and finish a demanding internship, she sewed clothes for the local markets to supplement the meagre intern salary.
At the same time, Aqueduct donor Dr. David Reich met Angela during a rotation at the teaching hospital where she worked and she began accompanying him in the laboratory when she could. Soon, Dr. Reich learned that Angela would soon complete her internship and was considered by the medical staff to be an excellent candidate for specialty training In Lab Medicine.
However, she did not have the funds to complete the training.
Dr. Reich connected with Canadian charity Bethany Kids, Relief and Rehabilitation, which trains and supports native African pediatric specialists with the hopes that they will remain in Africa to practice. The charity oversaw the process and donations from the donor and medical clinic colleagues.
With the funding in place, it was up to Angela to make change happen. The result? After years of study, Angela now works as a staff pathologist in the hospital where she started out as an intern.
To quote Angela, “Thank you all, with many blessings to you from my children as well! I am so excited and grateful that you have made my dream possible. I can’t really believe it is true, you are all like angels to me”.
The full story can be made available upon request. More information about Bethany Kids can be found here: bethanykids.org/ *Name has been changed to protect the individual’s privacy.

Photo credit: David Uttley/Bethany Kids