This past weekend, we were invited by the Africa Cancer Foundation for a health camp at Sinai in Viwandani, near Doonholm Estate.

Unlike the last screening, this one was more holistic, incorporating dental and blood-sugar, weight and height checkups and HIV tests, all for free!

BRCK provided the connectivity to transmit patient data to their cloud database, just like the last time. It is a very simple thing – being able to get online, access, and transfer data (and update social media pages) – but technology does not have to be complicated.

Pictures tell a better story, so here you go!

Registration

Weight and height measurements

Blood-Sugar Test Station

BRCK co-founder Juliana Rotich taking one of the volunteers through the connection process

And we have lift-off! Data sent!

We also had BRCKs in the screening areas

A mobile ODT (optical detection technology) machine using a BRCK to send images and other screening information

If you would like to become a volunteer for the Africa Cancer Foundation, go to this page. To keep up-to-date with the organization, follow them on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

You can also follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. If you would like to become part of initiatives such as this, visit BRCK.org and send us and email.

On a rainy Friday last week we went to Joyland Primary School in Gatundu to carry out teacher training for the Kio Kit. We went with Jeff Crystal of Voltaic Systems, Jamie Drummond (co-founder of ONE.org), Mwambu Wanendeya (ONE.org Africa Executive Director) and Keith Stewart (CTO of Thomson Reuters).

The Kio Kit empowers pupils and enables teachers to have an easier time with their jobs. Our approach is to introduce them to the Kit and then let them explore it on their own. The reception was encouraging. The teachers took to the Kit fast.

Peer learning and collaborative learning are integral parts of our training. After we introduce the Kio Kit, we find teachers are more receptive to it when we give them the freedom to learn with other faculty and by learning from other teachers.

We also installed solar-powered lights for eight of the classrooms with Jeff. It seems like a small thing, but a well-lit classroom makes teaching and learning much more efficient.

We took a lot of photographs, and they can best tell the story.

The class where the training took place.

BRCKs + Kio Kit

Mark Kamau, our UX Lead, taking the teachers through the training.

Bottom-right corner – Mr. Nguuuo, the school manager

Teachers playing a memory game to help “flex their fingers” and minds.

eLimu Content

Juliana on the roof installing the solar panels.

Juliana and Reid installing solar panels.

Jeff Crystal of Voltaic Systems installs lights in one of the classrooms.

Jeff testing the lights.

Juliana fastens the solar panels.

A sample of the solar panels and cables used.

Mark and Keith having a chat with Jamie in the back.

Teachers getting more acquainted with Kio tablets.

One of the teachers heading a lesson.

L to R: Juliana Rotich, Jamie Drummond, Keith Stewart, Mark Kamau, and Mwambu Wanendeya

Here is a short interview with Jamie Drummond:

Last week on Friday we had the privilege of seeing first-hand the work of the Africa Cancer Foundation during a two-day screening at Meru Primary School. Despite the dreary weather, the turnout was excellent. Almost 350 men and 200 women had shown up by the time the day was over!

The Africa Cancer Foundation is a non-profit organization that promotes cancer awareness and prevention by early detection, provides support to cancer patients and caregivers, and is involved in the development of guidelines and protocols for cancer diagnosis, treatment and healthcare provision.

With the increase in the uptake of smartphones and the increasing coverage of mobile networks, the foundation has come up with a smartphone app for the collection and storage of the data collected during cancer screenings. A smartphone with the app installed is given to the volunteers. They then use these to gather and send information to a central cloud.

BRCK Providing Connectivity for Uploading Data

The name of the patient, age, phone number and intelligence like drinking and smoking habits is collected and even images from, for example, cervical cancer screenings, can be stored and transmitted using the app.

Mobile ODT (Offline Data Transfer) Device is a smartphone-enabled medical device that is used to detect Cervical Cancer.

Initially, this process required each phone used to have a line and an individual service plan, which was expensive and inconvenient. That is where we stepped in. In four of the data collection points – the reception, breast cancer screening, cervical cancer screening and prostate cancer screening rooms. One BRCK’s connection is shared between four or five people, thus minimizing the overall costs of data.

When you imagine internet connectivity in a people-driven context, you seldom remember that it can be used not just for social media or Education. It also makes it easier to store and retrieve health information, use that becomes more profound when dealing with a disease like cancer where early detection and prevention is a huge factor in minimizing incidences.

The BRCK is not just a device to keep you online but also one that can be used to do good, as we experienced first-hand during the cancer screening on Friday. The ability to set-and-forget a BRCK allows you to focus on what is most important to you, and it allowed the volunteers to focus on their potentially life-saving jobs.

We had fun; we were honored at the invitation, and we hope to do it again sometime soon! Please follow The Africa Cancer Foundation on Twitter for screening dates and locations. Who knows? You just might bump into us 😉

An announcement is coming up soon about how we will continue doing this sort of work through BRCK.org. If you are interested in partnering with us, do contact us at [email protected] and also on Twitter via @brcknet.