Welcome to the adventure!

Hello! I would like to introduce myself and this latest venture in my life to those who may not know me. My name is Doug Smith.  I am a Doctor of Medicine, a Fellow in the American Academy of Family Practice, and have a Diploma in International Medicine and Public Health. By way of introduction, I will give a little of my history. I was born in Hawaii, where my parents were serving as missionaries, and spent a lot of my late childhood in Canada. I spent a year of undergraduate work at Tel-Aviv University in Israel, and did a year of post-graduate work in Nutrition and International Development at the University of Missouri, Columbia before entering medical school at St. Louis University. I completed my residency in Family Medicine in 1990, and then spent 3 years on Active Duty in the US Navy, 2 of which were on Adak Island in the Aleutian Islands of Alaska. I also had the opportunity to spend the years 1999-2001 working in rural practices in Australia. My wife Judi and I have four children.

I became interested in working in Africa in 1997 when I had the opportunity to go on a church mission to Kenya, and have been involved in both church and medical missions to Africa, Central America, the Philippines, India and Nepal many times since then. Kenya has always kind of been my base as far as church activities have gone, and my family was able to live in Nairobi for 3 months in 2007.

While in Kenya, I was inspired by the work of the late Dr. Abisai Amolo Kola, a cardiologist and dermatologist in Nairobi, who would take trips back to his village area to help those in need of medical attention, and have looked for the possibility of returning to actually work in Kenya on a long-term basis. That opportunity came this last summer when, working through African Restoration Ministries, some start-up funding for developing and opening a clinic in Kisumu Kenya was offered.

That was the genesis of the Mildred Smith Mission Health Center. In discussions with members of the Church of Jesus Christ, Restoration Ministries, Kenya, (the sponsoring local institution in Kenya), the request was made that the center be named for Mildred Smith, a woman whose faith and example has inspired many people around the world, and who used her knowledge as a food and nutrition specialist to also improve their physical health. She continued to share with her sisters in Kenya well into her 80’s, before her death in 2007. It is certainly fitting that a center devoted to education, prevention and wholeness would carry her name and work forward. She was also my mother.

I have been asked by several people what exactly I want to see accomplished by setting up this Center. That is a fair question. There are many good medical services being provided in Kenya by government, private and mission institutions which are already established. Certainly supporting any of them would be helpful. However, as a Family Physician, I do still see a need for care focused on the unique needs of the family, including an emphasis on nutrition counseling, education, and prevention, especially among the poor, who so often do not have the resources to seek care for anything except life-threatening emergencies. I also see a need for wholistic care, including dentists, behavior health specialists and social workers to be involved. Family Practice as a specialty is just emerging in Kenya, and establishing a modern center where those principles can be demonstrated, and even taught, will be a real contribution to the community.

How will it all come together? Can all of those services be offered in a cost-effective manner in a low resource community? I really do not know, but I am excited about the opportunity to try. We have been assured that with God, all things are possible, and so we are prayerfully moving forward. It will certainly need to be a group effort, and will not be based on my knowledge or experoience alone. I have reached out to many people in planning the early stages so far, but one of my purposes in starting this web site and blog is to have an opportunity to get comments and suggestions from YOU. I would love to hear your thoughts and get your input on what we are doing. I also have been asked many times by colleagues and friends if they could come to help out on a mission trip. It is my hope that with this center, the answer will be yes. We hope to make opportunities for people of various backgrounds to come and serve, and to make it as hassle free as possible. And donations are also accepted, if that is your desire. I will use this blog to highlight needs as they arise.

The reason for this blog is also to chronicle the journey, so that others can see how the process goes. I could not find a lot of information about how to go about starting a center from scratch. This may turn out to be a roadmap if someone else is looking to see what to do, or it may be a cautionary tale of what not to do, but either way I hope it is useful as I chronicle the successes, failures, joys, disappointments and blessings of our adventure. Welcome aboard!