On Swimming and Storytelling

When I first moved to Kijabe, there was a ton of storytelling work to be done and not much help, so I took pictures for events, needy patients, reports, and just about everything.

Now the hospital has two talented full-time staff in addition to other part-time interns. Bruno is our videographer and media storyteller and Robert does Needy Patient reporting and documentation. They use cameras and lenses donated from my wedding photography days and produce amazing pictures and videos.

We try to create a rotation of videos for my Friends of Kijabe work of happy patients, students, and big project stories, ideally one a month. This means going out into the community to visit a family and record an interview – it’s a great chance to spend some time together and see what home life is like for the Kenyans we serve.

One of our latest home visits was to promote a new cancer center we are fundraising for in Kijabe. We visited a sweet 12-year-old cancer survivor named Suzzaine, who was happy to make the video if we could go for a swim afterward!

It was fun to shoot with Bruno, he’s a great interviewer and I helped out with a few b-roll shots on the gopro. It’s also a great reminder of why our work in Kijabe is so meaningful – we care for lovely people and walk alongside them in their hardest moments with the love of Jesus!