Karin Cockram is pictured with a Ugandan child.

Karin Cockram presented a travelogue on her recent trip to Kenya to the Shakespeare Club last month.

She began her presentation with a brief history of her childhood in Uganda, including referencing research on the impact on young children who spent their early years in a foreign country. After fleeing the regime of Idi Amin, Karin spent some time in Kenya before the family realized they wouldn’t be able to return to their Ugandan home.

The trip back to Kenya this past November was the answer to a 50-year-long dream of returning to “nyumbani” (Swahili for “home”).

Cockram, an Occupational Therapist, traveled as part of a medical team which included a doula, midwife, and four nurses. Most of the trip was planned around women’s health issues, especially pregnancy, labor, and delivery, with clinics offered in a variety of settings for people of all ages.

She was able to work with children, families and teachers who had questions about developmental delays, and provide vision screening services for older women.

With the technical assistance of Dr. Lisa Mertz and Cheryll Rogers, she presented a Keynote show consisting of a brief overview of Kenya as well as many photos of her trip. Cockram’s talk included information on the culture, language, people, and animals of the area as well as an overview of the work the team did.

She will be presenting at other venues in January if people are interested in hearing more.