NJOGU
I remember very well when I decided to become a doctor. That day my mum was at work and I was at home doing my homework with a teacher. I felt very sick and he decided to take me to the Hospital. It was a public hospital and there were many people waiting in line, so before even registering we were screened by some clerks, they were not even doctors. They would look at your face and decide if you were sick enough to be seen by a doctor.
I was told I wasn’t sick. We then went to a private clinic where I was tested and found positive for malaria. I was so angry that day, and I was thinking at how many other sick people had been turned away.
I got my degree in Medicine in Italy thanks to a scholarship. I decided to come back to my country, because what I like the best in my job is to bring the service to the very needy where they live, directly in the slum. Now I am studying to get a specialization in Public Health here in Nairobi.
It is such a joy when you cure someone. We receive patients that are so poor that they can’t even dream to be visited by a doctor. They don’t believe it! The gratitude of our patients is my greatest reward.
Sometimes I find that people just need to receive some attention; at that point I become a counselor and I talk with them. That’s a good medicine too.
Washington Njogu
Doctor