Nashville Honors Kenyan Clinic's Accomplishments and Ground-Breaking on Maternity Wing at 3rd Anniversary Celebration April 30th, 2010

NASHVILLE, Tenn., April 26 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- On April 30th, Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee honors the accomplishments of two recent medical school graduates, brothers Milton and Fred Ochieng', who founded a rural health program in their home village of Lwala, Kenya after their parents' tragic death from AIDS.  This month marks the third year of operations at the clinic with more than 40,000 patient visits, and next month ground will be broken on a new maternity wing to expand the facility in western Kenya.

Two years ago, the award-winning documentary Sons of Lwala, which features the Ochieng's story, premiered at TPAC. The audience that night raised $230,000 for the clinic. Now a staff of 25 Kenyans provides medical care to more than 1,200 patients a month, 65% of whom are children under 5. 570 patients in Lwala are now on HIV care. The new maternity wing will address the urgent need of mothers and newborns – an initiative that was honored by President Bill Clinton at the Clinton Global Initiative's annual meeting last September.

On Friday evening, April 30th, from 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m., founders Milton and Frederick Ochieng', honorees of ABC News Person of the Week, will present recent footage from the clinic and community and update supporters on life in Lwala since the clinic opened.  They will detail the significant milestones and address the urgent need for maternal and newborn care.  

The event - Lwala: An Evening of Celebration - will take place at Langford Auditorium at Vanderbilt University on April 30th from 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. In addition to the main program, the celebration will feature a multimedia village walk through experience and  live African dancing and drumming. Tickets start at $30, and can be purchased online at www.LwalaCommunityAlliance.org/donate/.    

All sales will directly benefit the Lwala Community Alliance, and are tax deductible.  As always, tax deductible donations are welcome from those who are not able to attend.

For more information regarding the event, please contact Lwala Community Alliance at 615-974-1400 or email:  [email protected].   Photos are available on the website: www.LwalaCommunityAlliance.org. The Lwala Community Alliance is a non-profit  501c3 organization.

SOURCE Lwala Community Alliance