Occupational Therapy Program's Mission Trip to Kenya

MSOT faculty and students returned to Kenya this summer to further their work from last year's medical mission trip.

In August 2025, Rachel Shoener, OTR/L and Mindy MacRone-Wojton, DSc, OTR/L, professors in GMercyU's Occupational Therapy department, returned to Kenya to build upon their previous capacity-building work in the community (see below for more on their 2024 trip).

Six Master of Science in Occupational Therapy (MSOT) students, Katelei Clark, Shannon Meenan, Gabriela Mills, Kennedy Niness, Trinitee Thompson-Pierce, and Lindsay Worthington, were excited to participate in this international service-learning experience and support an expanding number of partner organizations.

The GMercyU team actively engaged in hands-on therapy sessions at AIC Kijabe Hospital’s Child Developmental Clinic and provided practical suggestions for children and their families.

Since last fall, Professors Shoener and MacRone-Wojton have been leading monthly virtual educational sessions for occupational therapists from Ubuntu Life Foundation Children’s Wellness Center to support children with high-intensity needs.

GMercyU MSOT students built upon their fieldwork experiences in adaptive sports to plan and facilitate field day activities. Engaging in field day activities expanded teachers’ awareness of how to modify and adapt games so their students could more fully participate.

Professors Shoener and MacRone-Wojton were invited by faculty from Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT), one of only three World Federation of Occupational Therapy accredited OT programs in Kenya, to present on sensory processing, sensory integration, and sensory-based assessments at the Kenya Institute for Special Education. Occupational therapists from across Kenya engaged meaningfully with the content, contributed to discussions and asked thought-provoking questions. Kenyan occupational therapists representing the Clinton Health Access Initiative, Inc. also approached Professors Shoener and MacRone-Wojton about supporting them with examining items on sensory assessments to determine culture relevance and validity.

Last year,  Professors Shoener and MacRone-Wojton led an interprofessional team which trained eight teams of social workers, teachers, and caregivers at Chariots for Hope’s six children’s homes and two baby homes, including two GMercyU MSOT students. The teams learned how to administer and score developmental, hearing, and vision screenings. Prior to the training, only 1% of children in Chariot’s for Hope’s homes had ever received a developmental, hearing, or vision screening. Within six months of the training, the teams screened 410 children (96%) in their care.

Throughout the screening process, team members recognized gaps in their knowledge and the need for additional training. Professors Shoener and MacRone-Wojton conducted virtual focus groups with training team members in December and May, analyzed the data, and met with Chariots for Hope leadership to determine topics for this year’s seven training modules: Eye, Ear, and Hand Care; Developmental Milestones; Play; Self-regulation; Preteen/Teenage Development; Teen Hygiene; and Substance Abuse.

Prior to the trip, MSOT students worked in pairs, with guidance from professors, to create seven different training sessions. In designing the interactive modules, MSOT students applied principles of teaching, learning, health literacy, and cultural humility. Through facilitating the modules, MSOT students expressed growth in their leadership skills as well as an appreciation for the commitment of Chariots for Hope’s team members to overcome challenges associated with health inequities and social injustices.

Chariots for Hope team members attended presentations, engaged in simulations, offered their opinions and insights, and collaborated to incorporate their new knowledge into the children’s homes and baby homes. They appreciated the GMercyU team’s willingness to listen, learn, and empower them to best meet their needs.

The GMercyU team was moved by the hospitality shown to them everywhere they went. They were grateful for the opportunity to listen, learn, present, problem solve, and meaningfully contribute to the transformative work being done by their partners in Kenya.

 
Summer 2024 Trip

Gwynedd Mercy University's Occupational Therapy (OT) program organized a 12-day medical mission trip to Kenya in summer 2024 in conjunction with Chariots for Hope, Cornerstone Church of Skippack, and additional healthcare providers from the community. 

The GMercyU team, led by Adjunct Instructor of OT Rachel Shoener, OTR/L, included Associate Professor of OT Mindy MacRone-Wojton, DSc, OTR/L, MSOT Students Hannah Kalup and Lisa DiLullo, and alumna Linda (Farina) Harper ’88.

Instructor Shoener was introduced to the opportunity through Cornerstone Church of Skippack where Chariots for Hope is a core partner. Chariots for Hope is an organization that provides holistic care for nearly 900 orphans and vulnerable children in Kenya, addressing their physical, social, emotional, educational, and spiritual needs. This commitment extends beyond basic needs, offering care from babies to young adults, intending to support individuals until they can sustain themselves, their families, and their communities.

After attending a pilot trip to Kenya with the organization, Instructor Shoener realized there was a significant gap in accessible training and equipment to provide hearing, vision, and developmental screenings. In fact, only 1% of the 870 orphans and vulnerable children in Chariots for Hope's homes have had access to vision, hearing, or developmental screenings. This inspired her to form a multidisciplinary team of healthcare professionals, including speech-language pathologists, occupational therapists, physical therapists, and mental health counselors to train 27 staff members that included social workers, teachers, tutors, and dorm mothers across eight children's homes.

Our shared mission was to empower staff and caregivers by providing them with the training and equipment needed to individually care for the needs of orphans and vulnerable children. Their commitment and desire to learn more about how best to address those needs was truly inspiring.

—Instructor Shoener

Instructor Shoener recruited her colleague and teammate Professor MacRone-Wojton, who share more than 50 years of combined clinical experience working with children and caregivers, to organize the trip. They presented the opportunity to the OT cohort and two students, Hannah and Lisa, volunteered to join. 

“GMercyU’s OT program emphasizes both conceptual understanding and practical application, helping me build the abilities required to problem-solve in a variety of contexts,” Hannah said. “Its emphasis on cultural competence and interdisciplinary teamwork, combined with hands-on experiences during fieldwork placements, helped me prepare to work effectively in Kenyan communities. These experiences allowed me to apply what I had studied in real-world settings, increasing my confidence and capacity to think critically and adaptively.”

For Lisa, GMercyU’s emphasis on whole-person and collaborative care is what pushed her to join – and feel confident in making the leap.

“The program emphasizes a holistic approach to care, which was crucial when working with the children, as many faced complex challenges,” Lisa said. “The focus on interprofessional teamwork at GMercyU was key in helping me collaborate successfully with various healthcare professionals and caregivers, ensuring that our training ran effectively and was aligned with the children’s needs and the community’s resources.”

To help cover the students’ cost, Instructor Shoener and Professor MacRone-Wojton applied for and were awarded one of the President’s Excellence Grants, which supports top strategic priorities that support innovation and student success.

In a full circle and serendipitous moment, GMercyU alumna Linda (Farina) Harper '88 joined the team using her expertise as a radiologic technologist and personal experience as an African native. Linda’s parents were missionary parents who served in the county of Congo, Africa, where Linda spent 13 years until she had to evacuate to Kenya. There, she attended an American-accredited boarding school. Later in life, Linda enrolled in GMercyU’s Radiologic Technology program and has worked in the field ever since.

Linda is an active member of Cornerstone Church and has been on six mission trips with Chariots for Hope. Because of her unique background as both Kenya and a GMercyU alumna, Linda jumped at the opportunity to go on this trip.

When asked by Rachel to go on this medical trip, I was so excited. These children do not have the privilege of the kind of healthcare we here in America take for granted. I was on the Vision Team along with [OT students] Lisa and Hannah. They taught at the baby home, and I could not have been more proud of them. They taught like professionals, adapted to every situation they were faced with, and never complained. I have no doubt they will succeed in their profession and personal lives.

—Linda (Farina) Harper ’88

 Linda has since trained Instructor Shoener to take over her role in leading the future mission trips out of the Cornerstone Church of Skippack.

“This partnership is built on mutual respect, knowledge-sharing, dedication, and love for the children,” Instructor Shoener said. “Throughout this training, I witnessed the true meaning of empowerment, an experience that has forever changed my heart.

The team also left three vision kits and four audiometers for the staff to continue screenings and continues to meet with them monthly to review how the screening process is going. Currently, one of the barriers is that the homes need to share kits, making it challenging to get the kits from one home to the other due to distance and lack of transportation. The team is currently raising money to purchase additional kits so that each home will have their own.

You can support this effort by donating here.