NHS Lothian Trainee Advanced Nurse Practitioner Harriet Jennings is taking on a huge challenge of running 417km to raise money for charity.
Harriet has recently joined the team in the Emergency Department at the Royal Infirmary and once her training is complete will be moving to the new Major Trauma Centre.
Between December and April 2019 Harriet is aiming to run 417km to raise funds for a small charity called ‘Eating Stones Fund’.
Harriet said: “As healthcare professionals, we know that effective delivery of healthcare is essential if vulnerable communities are to thrive. ‘Eating Stones Fund’ work to support the training and education of vitally important nurses in rural communities in Kenya. They work with grassroots projects in rural Kenyan communities. In 2018 I visited some of their projects in Kenya, which were working to provide healthcare across the region.”
Whilst attending a ward round in Ukwala, Harriet learned that, in order to receive specialist care, patients often needed to travel 417km to Kenyatta Hospital in Nairobi. For the majority of people, this journey would be long, expensive and potentially risky.
“It’s because of this that I have decided to run this distance by the end of April (the anniversary of my first visit to Kenya), to highlight the difficulties faced by many people in rural Kenya, when it comes to accessing healthcare. My target is to raise £417, which can help towards the £3,500 that it costs to train a nurse in Kenya, from beginning to end of their 3-and-a-half-year training.”
Harriet continued: “The impact that a trained nurse can have on their community in Kenya is huge. It is so much more than just a job for one person. The work they do, caring for their community will have an immeasurably large reach and change the lives of countless vulnerable people.
“Nurses in Kenya are carers, educators, medics, pharmacists, nutritionists, shoulders to cry on, supporters, friends, confidants and often the glue in a community. It’s very much a nurse-grown healthcare project of #nursesfornurses.”
If you’d like to support Harriet go to https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/harriet-jennings2
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