Bridging Borders: Religion, Health, and Collective Wellbeing in Nairobi Restricted; Files Only

Abstract

This dissertation attends to religion, health, and collective wellbeing at Mwana Mwema Program, a network of clinics, funded by the United States Agency for International Development, that care for children and adolescents living with HIV across Nairobi, Kenya. Drawing on ethnographic research and a twelve-year relationship with Mwana Mwema, I highlight a community of people where healing is a collective endeavor. Analyzing everyday practices among practitioners, volunteers, and former clients of Mwana Mwema, I suggest the community demonstrates an ethic of collective wellbeing within a global health system that frequently impedes it. In collective wellbeing, healing, biomedical or otherwise, is not only deeply relational, but also inseparable from other categories. Rather than treating biomedical health as its own bounded entity, members of the Mwana Mwema community situate health alongside social, political, economic, and even spiritual issues. Ultimately, I suggest collective wellbeing provides an opportunity to reframe the way we consider religion and health. The stories of Mwana Mwema capture an expansive framework that help us think about healing not just in Kenya, but across the globe.

 

 

Table of Contents

Introduction

Multidisciplinary Team Meeting………………………………………………...page 1

Chapter One

Data Collection: Tools and Trying at Mwana Mwema…………………………page 20

 

Chapter Two

The Chicken Conundrum: Index Children and Food Distribution………………page 52 

Chapter Three

Phillip’s Bicycle and the Economic Empowerment of Hustling………………...page 85

Chapter Four

“Taking Your Drugs Well”: Adherence and Social Healing………………........page 114

Chapter Five

Healing the Inner Wounds: Addressing Affliction at the Yaya Altar…………...page 149

Epilogue

The Certainty of Uncertainty……………………………………………………..page 192

About this Dissertation

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School	Laney Graduate School
Department	Religion
Subfield / Discipline	Ethics and Society
Degree	Ph.D.
Submission	Dissertation
Language	English
Research Field	Anthropology, Cultural Religion, General African Studies
Palabra Clave	PEPFAR African Religions Ethnography Christianity Faith Public Health HIV Healing Kenya
Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor	Ellen Ott Marshall, Emory University
Committee Members	Esther Mombo, St. Paul's University, Kenya John Blevins, Emory University Ted Smith, Emory University Devaka Premawardhana, Emory University

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