• Text size  | | |
• Email this document
• Printable version

Kenya/Democratic Republic of Congo: Whether a specific doctor practises medicine in Nairobi at the Medicare Plaza on 3rd Parklands Avenue; information on Family Network International, specifically whether it has a mobile haemodialysis machine; whether the doctor worked for Family Network International in Goma, DRC in August 2006

A school named Shani Kindergarten indicates on its website that its management team has been involved in education and parenting programs through Family Network International (Shani Kindergarten n.d.a). The address of Shani Kindergarten (Kabarsirani Avenue off Waiyaki Way, P.O. Box 67978-00200, Nairobi, Kenya) is the same address provided for Family Network International in documents attached to the Information Request (ibid. n.d.b). Two of three telephone numbers provided for Shani Kindergarten also correspond to Family Network International's telephone numbers as per the documents attached to the Information Request (ibid.).

Attempts to reach Shani Kindergarten by telephone were unsuccessful; however, the Research Directorate was able to contact Shani Kindergarten by correspondence and the following information was provided by the Coordinator of Family Network International through Shani Kindergarten's email address on 14 January 2008. Family Network International and Shani Kindergarten are both projects of the Shani Foundation and they are both run from the same office whose address appears above (Family Network International 14 Jan. 2008b). Family Network International is a non-governmental organization founded by Kenyans in 1996 whose mission is to improve the status of families. Family Network International provides parenting seminars, facilitates research on family-related issues, advocates for family-oriented legislation and organizes free medical camps in less fortunate areas. Family Network International mainly operates with the help of volunteers, including paramedics, and obtains donations of medicine and medical equipment when they are required. The Coordinator of Family Network International stated that they are familiar with the doctor named in the Information Request, who is a private practitioner in internal medicine and who worked for their organization in 2006 on a voluntary basis. The phone number for the doctor provided by Family International Network corresponds to the phone number provided in the documents attached to the Information Request. Information regarding whether the doctor works in Nairobi at the Medicare Plaza on 3rd Parklands Avenue could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.

Regarding whether Family Network International has a mobile haemodialysis machine, during a subsequent telephone interview with the Research Directorate, the Coordinator stated that they do not have such a machine but that they did have access to one when they did voluntary work in the Democractic Republic of Congo and that it was supplied by an organization in Goma (Family Network International 14 Jan. 2008a). The Coordinator also confirmed that the person who signed the letter attached to this Request for information did work for them until September 2007 for a period of about two years (ibid.).

On its website, the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT) lists Family Network International (in Kenya) as an accredited organization under its list of civil society partners (UN n.d.). In correspondence to the Research Directorate dated 11 January 2008, a programme officer with the UN-HABITAT office in Nairobi confirmed that they accredited Family Network International either in 1996 or in 2001. The Programme Officer also indicated that, according to their database, Family Network International works "to strengthen the family unit in society and to create a forum for parents to meet and exchange view on effective parenthood. It also works to safeguard the needs and welfare of children" (UN 11 Jan. 2008). The Programme Coordinator stated that he was not able to reach the organization and, as a result, could not say whether a specific doctor worked for this organization (ibid.).

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

Family Network International. 14 January 2008a. Telephone interview with a coordinator.
_____. 14 January 2008b. Correspondence from a coordinator.

Shani Kindergarten. N.d.a. "Mission Statement." <http://shanikindergarten.org/index.html> [Accessed 8 Jan. 2008]
_____. N.d.b. "Contact Us." <http://shanikindergarten.org/pages/contact.html> [Accessed 4 Jan. 2008]

United Nations (UN). 11 January 2008. United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT). Correspondence from a programme officer with the Monitoring and Research Division at the Nairobi office.
_____. N.d. United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT). "Accredited Organisations." <http://www.unhabitat.org/list.asp?typeid=45&catid=364&start=701&page=8> [Accessed 9 Jan. 2008]

Topics: Health care,