Editor’s Note January 2020: In the below, our founder Terri Wingham shares how her vision to expand the AFC model to Kenya crystallized through conversations with local Kenyan leader Philip Odiyo Ouma and a trip to Nairobi in 2018. Today, the AFC team is planning its second Kenya Elevate Program for September 2020 to develop partnerships formed with Kenyan cancer advocates and elevate their efforts to improve outcomes for both Kenyans and Americans impacted by the disease.

Editor’s Note August 2023! The pandemic clearly had different plans for us all. While our second Kenya Elevate Program was not able to take place in September 2020, we are thrilled to finally see it on the horizon — just a month from now — in September 2023!

In the spring of 2017, I met Philip Odiyo Ouma. From our first conversation over Skype, I could tell ‘Odiyo’ – a psycho-oncologist and cancer advocate in Nairobi, Kenya – resonated with A Fresh Chapter’s (AFC’s) mission. He immediately asked when we might bring AFC to Kenya. I told him we had programs in South Africa and Peru on the horizon and couldn’t explore a new location yet. He encouraged me to keep Kenya in mind and so, when a last-minute spot opened up on the 2017 South Africa Odyssey, I invited Odiyo to join us so he could experience the AFC model for himself.

Here is what he had to say:

The Fresh Chapter program was a life-changing experience for me. I will be forever grateful to Terri and the people who made it happen. I joined A Fresh Chapter when I was really low, tired, and exhausted after many years of serving patients in Nairobi. Listening to the pain the families go through, the fear of losing children to cancer, and the constant financial burden can be emotionally exhausting and draining. I needed a new perspective on my service and work. The South Africa Odyssey gave me exactly that. Listening to my fellow tribe members share their experiences and volunteering alongside them in the hospital made me realize that the challenges patients face – the pains and the fears – are the same, no matter where in the world you are.

A Vision For AFC Kenya

Shortly after returning home, Odiyo again asked when AFC might come to Kenya. We agreed to explore the idea further. In March of 2018, I took him up on his offer to come and stay with his family in Nairobi and learn more about the Kenyan cancer context. In addition to traveling to Eldoret in Western Kenya, he invited me to speak at a cancer support group in Nairobi. It was in the 90 minutes of 1:1 discussions I had with Kenyans from diverse backgrounds following my talk that caused me to think even more seriously about a program in Kenya. In particular, I remember a moment with a fellow cancer survivor. We both had tears in our eyes as she told how cancer had stolen her dream of having more children. She didn’t feel like the traditional support group model resonated for her, but she needed something to help her feel that cancer hadn’t won. She wanted to know when AFC would come to Kenya and how she could get involved. She wanted a program for people like her – Kenyans impacted by cancer.

I returned to Kenya in September of 2018 with an invitation to speak at the Association for Psycho-Oncology in Africa and Oncology Nursing Conference in Nairobi. I shared my story and the vision for AFC, and both the questions from the audience and the conversations I had afterwards affirmed for me how alike we are– no matter where in the world we live. Survivors shared their stories of loss and their fears and dreams for the future. Nurses talked about the challenges of caring for patients with both physical and emotional scars from cancer. Health care workers asked how we might bring AFC’s model to Kenya to serve patients and their families in Nairobi, and also to help provide emotional support to people affected by cancer in the rural areas of the country.

A Fresh Chapter Global Emerging Leaders Program

Through these conversations and the many I have had with our Global Advisors and Alumni over the last year, AFC has made the decision to expand our resources, tools, and life-changing experiences to people grappling with cancer’s emotional scars in other countries around the world. To develop a program(s) where we can learn from local patients and leaders and explore how to adapt our AFC resources for a local context.

In September 2019, AFC will pilot its Elevate Program in Kenya. This revolutionary new program will bring together three diverse groups – Americans impacted by cancer, Kenyans impacted by cancer, and employees of our 2019 partner organization, Eli Lilly & Company – for the first immersive, cross-cultural, peer-to-peer advocacy initiative of its kind. Together, our 18 participants will play a leadership role in locally-led cancer awareness and education events, volunteer in Kenyan communities, experience AFC’s innovative psychosocial support model, and participate in the initial discovery and development phase of an AFC Toolkit adapted for Kenya.

If you’re interested in exploring this program further, you can learn more about our collaborative approach here.

Thank you for being part of our A Fresh Chapter tribe and we look forward to the life-changing experiences ahead.