*** POST news director Canon Rath chatted with Kim Baxter. The pair discusses the history behind the project, what rotary does and so much more. To learn more, check out the podcast above.
North Platte, Neb. - Kim Baxter is an optometrist who has been doing mission trips to provide eye care in developing countries for many years, including to Kenya.
About 13 years ago, Kim went on a trip to Kenya with his son Craig, and they were deeply impacted by the poverty and lack of access to healthcare, especially for newborns and expectant mothers.
After Craig's tragic passing a few years later, Kim worked with his local Rotary club to secure a large global grant from Rotary International to provide medical equipment and training to a hospital in Kenya.
"Lots of this has to do with Craig, so his spirit is very much enthralled and a big part of it,” said Kim Baxter.
After Craig's passing, Kim made a promise to continue the work in Kenya in his son's memory, which led to a major global grant project through Rotary to improve the maternity ward and neonatal care at a hospital in western Kenya. This project was highly successful, reducing infant mortality at the hospital by 60% and leading to significant improvements in the hospital's facilities and equipment.
Baxter and his Rotary club have continued to go on annual eye care missions to Kenya, providing eye exams and glasses to thousands of people who have never had access to such care.
The Rotary Club is working to build and equip a medical clinic called the "Craig Memorial Dispensary" in Kenya, named after a Kim’s son Craig. There was initial setback when the local village leader reneged on a promise to donate land for the clinic, but they found an abandoned clinic that they will renovate instead.
The club is working on a $250,000 global grant from Rotary International to provide medical equipment and other infrastructure for the clinic. This project has attracted partnerships with the Kenyan government, a local university, and other Rotary clubs that are providing additional funding and resources.
The clinic will provide medical services and training opportunities for local students, helping to address a shortage of healthcare access in the region.
This project has involved many volunteers and donors from the local community and Rotary network and has been described as a story of "divine intervention" and people coming together to do good.
"For anybody out there that thinks they can't make a difference in the world, particularly, I'm thankful to be a Rotarian because it's linked me up with many other Rotarians. It's given us access to the Rotary Foundation funds for these big projects, these big global grant projects that without that kind of funding behind us, we wouldn't be able to ever get off the ground with the magnitude of the projects that we've been involved in is tremendous,” said Baxter.