Human Care Weert

Human Care Weert has a heart for Kenya

If someone in the Netherlands suffers a cardiac arrest, an AED is often nearby thanks to the 6-minute zone. The emergency services also arrive at the scene as quickly as possible. That's completely different in Kenya. The nearest cardiologist is often hours away. Kenyan hospitals also suffer from a chronic shortage of medical devices. There's often no AED present or it’s poorly maintained and not functional.

A foundation that's trying to change this is Human Care Weert. The man behind the foundation is Harrie van der Velde. He's an Intensive Care nurse with a super specialization in cardiology. He lives and works in the Netherlands but came into contact with the medical emergency situation in Kenya in 2013 through family. Since then, he regularly travels to three rural hospitals about 360 kilometers south of the capital, Nairobi. He always brings along (medical) materials at his own expense, sees patients and gives, among other things, CPR training to nurses and doctors on behalf of Human Care Weert.

AED-Partner donates French-spoken AED
For his last trip to Kenya, Van der Velde ordered a new AED battery from AED-Partner. The order didn't go as planned.

“I was supposed to fly on Saturday, but on Friday I still didn't have the battery. So I called customer service. It turned out that the AED battery had been sent to my old home address by mistake. When I explained why I needed the battery, AED-Partner was happy to help. Not only was my order personally delivered to my house the same day, but I also got a French-language AED to donate to one of the hospitals. Fantastic!"

Human Care Weert continues: Equipment needed
In addition to the French-spoken AED, many more goods have been donated to Kenyan hospitals in recent years. In 2018, Human Care Weert equipped, among other things, 6 complete hospital rooms. In September 2023, van der Velde expects to send a new container with, among other things, unused hospital equipment of which only the manufacturer's warranty has expired.

Van der Velde makes an appeal: “If there are others who have equipment left over, we'd be happy to take it. Even if it's just a simple blood pressure monitor! As crazy as it sounds, they often don't have one. For more information, email harrievdvelde@icloud.com. Thanks so much.”

The team at AED-Partner wishes Human Care Weert success!