Five weeks have passed in Kochia, and I think my type A personality has become comfortable with my surroundings and is on the move. Silivia, Emmanuel, and I sat down yesterday and made a long list of all the goals and projects that need to happen at Abba. We constructed a timeline for the next two weeks, and have agreed to discuss every Sunday night what our plans are for the week. I am going to make larger lists with big boxes next to each task - nothing as satisfying as crossing things off the list! We were all very excited about our meeting, and Emmanuel stated 'sharing never leaves a person the same' which seems to have been a theme throughought this past week for me.
Emmanuel and I toured some of the health facilities in the area. I requested that we map out all the health services in the area, so I have a better idea of where people have to travel to get what, and at how much. All the of places we went to are staffed and supplied by the Kenyan government. The largest facility was a level 4 hospital, but to my surprise there was no doctor to be found. There were nurses and a clinical officer (I think equivalent to a physician's assistant back home). Silivia later explained that there are rarely doctors in these facilities, and that you must travel to Homa Bay, Kisumu, or Nairobi to see one, and many of these places are lacking specialists. Nurses at these centers asked us how they would benefit from showing us around, and Emmanuel replied by sharing knowledge with each other.
This past weekend was filled with football. Friday and Saturday there was a tournament for under 14 year olds. I arrived a bit later than the stated time, and waited another 2 hours or so for the tournament to kick off. THere were many other organizations involved in this tournament, and I talked to a girl from Indiana who had been in Kenya for 8 weeks teaching. We all had to make speeches before the games started (something that I'm still not getting used to). There was another organization there that is building a clinic for their orphans, and I hope to see their facilities and plans later this week. The football was great to watch - although boys here don't always know their age and there were some of the largest 14 year olds boys playing I have ever seen!
I am here wishing that I had taken many other classes or having knowledge about certain areas that I don't have. One of these is grant writing. I am very interested in writing a grant for a small clinic that would specialize in dentistry and possibly maternity (Silivia is trained in both and has many contacts that would help her). I have asked my parents and other contacts what they know about global health grants. My dad suggested I put it on the blog as well - and it seems ridiculous not to with this theme! Please send me your thoughts and suggestions at rachelmclark2@gmail.com - and hopefully we can get moving!
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Monday, August 15, 2011
I am starting to understand what people mean when they say Kenyan time. After taking two extremely rushed (and quite chilly) showers and hurrying people to get to a place by a certain time, I am slowly learning this is not necessary. I showed up for breakfast and the people I was supposed to eat with happened to still be sleeping. Rushing into a meeting place telling Silvia we were going to be late (the meeting was supposed to start at 9 and we arrived at 10) only to find it was just us and the people setting up chairs for the meeting that were present. It's hard to break the never-be-late mentality that has been instilled by my parents from an early age, and reinforced by sports teams and other engagements. The '15 minutes early is on time' phrase that was repeated endlessly during high school basketball practices is how I treat most situations - just ask my best friend or my roommates. I have since learned that there's always more than enough time to take tea here, and you should never be rushing to go anywhere.
I had survived almost three weeks here without any major health snafoos, and was starting to think all the excessive worrying by me and other people was a huge overreaction. The health gods must have heard me and decided to prove me wrong. I took some medication after my stomach had strong disagreements with some of the food I ate, and crawled into bed feeling slightly better than I had all day. My head was a bit itchy, but I assumed this was from not washing it as often as I do back home. One hour later, I sat up in bed and realized that my ears and head were extremely swollen and hot. I woke up Silvia and Emmanuel, only to have them stare at me sleepy eyed asking if I had not applied oil to my skin after my shower. I told them to go back to bed, determined not to ruin everyone's night. One more hour passed, and by now I was covered in hives from head to toe. Web MD didn't do much to ease my worry - cautioning anyone with hives starting at the head/neck that swelling of the throat could be next. Luckily, I live with a nurse who keeps her clinic well stocked, and after calls to Mom and about 12 hours, my face was looking a bit less swollen and the itchiness had subsided.
The big meeting that I thought we would be late to didn't actually start until around 12 - only 4 hours later than planned. It was a meeting for all of Kochia, wihich is the town I'm living in. It is normally split into three regions - East, West, and Central, but the new constitution has made it into 1 place. People who were originally from Kochia but living in Nairobi, Mombasa, or Kisumu were present. There were about 9 different groups, with 10 people in each that were coming together to discuss how the whole of Kochia could be improved. Sone of the groups were Health, Education, Energy, Food Security, Etc. It lasted the entire day and was really incredible. Everyone here wants to improve their community so much, and are taking many steps to make this into a reality.
I have had the good luck to be able to spend a bit of time with Paul and Berend (boys from Holland) this weekend. I went to their guest house on Friday and they made me spaghetti and shared insights about living in Kenya. They are hilarious, and both working very hard with Abba and other CBOs in the area. We watched a movie on their lap top and I got to eat a Dutch version of Nutella in the morning. They are encouraging me to start a project here and making sure that I'm having a bit of fun in addition to that. They told me I have to learn some Dutch, and they are keeping my sarcasm sharpened!
I can't believe I have been here for almost a month. It has been raining quite a bit, and the roads and grounds at Abba are full of water and mud. I have been learning to make Kenyan dishes, and slowly by slowly learning some Luo. I now have two football (soccer) teams at Abba that have yet to start practicing, but hopefully will soon. I played with some of the older boys some days ago, and many were surprised to have a Mzungu (especially female) elbowing them and pushing them around. A microscope has been re-discovered at Abba, and I'm hoping to get malaria and typhoid testing back up - because they use to do these tests but have since ran out of supplies. My arms are becoming strong from swinging kids in circles and carrying Che around, and I'm almost used to ice cold showers in the morning!
I had survived almost three weeks here without any major health snafoos, and was starting to think all the excessive worrying by me and other people was a huge overreaction. The health gods must have heard me and decided to prove me wrong. I took some medication after my stomach had strong disagreements with some of the food I ate, and crawled into bed feeling slightly better than I had all day. My head was a bit itchy, but I assumed this was from not washing it as often as I do back home. One hour later, I sat up in bed and realized that my ears and head were extremely swollen and hot. I woke up Silvia and Emmanuel, only to have them stare at me sleepy eyed asking if I had not applied oil to my skin after my shower. I told them to go back to bed, determined not to ruin everyone's night. One more hour passed, and by now I was covered in hives from head to toe. Web MD didn't do much to ease my worry - cautioning anyone with hives starting at the head/neck that swelling of the throat could be next. Luckily, I live with a nurse who keeps her clinic well stocked, and after calls to Mom and about 12 hours, my face was looking a bit less swollen and the itchiness had subsided.
The big meeting that I thought we would be late to didn't actually start until around 12 - only 4 hours later than planned. It was a meeting for all of Kochia, wihich is the town I'm living in. It is normally split into three regions - East, West, and Central, but the new constitution has made it into 1 place. People who were originally from Kochia but living in Nairobi, Mombasa, or Kisumu were present. There were about 9 different groups, with 10 people in each that were coming together to discuss how the whole of Kochia could be improved. Sone of the groups were Health, Education, Energy, Food Security, Etc. It lasted the entire day and was really incredible. Everyone here wants to improve their community so much, and are taking many steps to make this into a reality.
I have had the good luck to be able to spend a bit of time with Paul and Berend (boys from Holland) this weekend. I went to their guest house on Friday and they made me spaghetti and shared insights about living in Kenya. They are hilarious, and both working very hard with Abba and other CBOs in the area. We watched a movie on their lap top and I got to eat a Dutch version of Nutella in the morning. They are encouraging me to start a project here and making sure that I'm having a bit of fun in addition to that. They told me I have to learn some Dutch, and they are keeping my sarcasm sharpened!
I can't believe I have been here for almost a month. It has been raining quite a bit, and the roads and grounds at Abba are full of water and mud. I have been learning to make Kenyan dishes, and slowly by slowly learning some Luo. I now have two football (soccer) teams at Abba that have yet to start practicing, but hopefully will soon. I played with some of the older boys some days ago, and many were surprised to have a Mzungu (especially female) elbowing them and pushing them around. A microscope has been re-discovered at Abba, and I'm hoping to get malaria and typhoid testing back up - because they use to do these tests but have since ran out of supplies. My arms are becoming strong from swinging kids in circles and carrying Che around, and I'm almost used to ice cold showers in the morning!
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
A few things...
I arrived in Kenya only two weeks ago, but it feels like it has been much longer than that. I have seen and learned many, many things along the way and want to highlight them here.
One. Princene (who everyone calls Che) and I are now great friends. I have introduced her to sticking out tongues, making faces, and tickling. She laughs at most of these, and will run from me during others. I brought a WWU tshirt for Sylvia, and Princene quickly decided this was hers and didn't want to take it off. It is a floor length gown on her, but of course looks wonderful. She is the chattiest 2 and a half year old I have ever met, and sings and dances ALL the time.
Two. If unmarried in Kenya (or really just a person under the age of probably 30) you will be asked if you are married, and then why you are not married. Practically every conversation I have with people, my age comes up, and then if I'm married follows. I have memorized a - I will finish medical school (age 26 or 27) story before I'm married and repeat it often. If you are single, you may experience the meeting of similarly aged people of the opposite sex for tea, or for computer trainings. It is highly entertaining! Someone asked me the other day if at home womens' parents receive cows when they are married like they do here, and I said no, but that my parents would actually probably appreciate some cows for the farm. THey laughed and so did I.
Three. I have never in my life seen sunsets of this color. The sky turns pink, and purple and the sun is a huge orb. It takes significantly longer for the sun to go down here - more time for enjoying it, although people think I'm a little strange for standing outside looking at the sky with my camera for so long (these pictures are for you parents!). Once the sun goes down, it is completely dark outside, with no streetlights or carlights to light up the night. I couldn't figure out why sleeping here felt so different - but it's because the darkness literally envelopes and tucks you in before you fall asleep.
Four. Storms here are frighteningly wonderful. I experienced my first rain storm last Friday. The roofs here are made of tin and sitting inside sounds like metal tools are being thrown violently at your roof. The sky flashes with lightening and washes the surroundings with brightness, and the thunder is equally as violent. You can barely hold conversations at dinner without shouting at your neighbor. Mud will cake your feet and your shoes the next day, and picking paths to walk places feels like you are a mouse in a maze hunting for cheese. We don't know what rain storms are in Washington...
Five. Piki pikis (motorbikes) are possibly the best way in the World to travel. We drove to Homa Bay yesterday to send some mail and pick up other items. I had no need to go, but asked if I could because I wanted to ride on a piki piki so badly. Sylvia thinks I'm crazy - she's terrified of them because people go zooming by at high speeds without helmets. The drive to Homa Bay goes along Lake Victoria with green hills on the other side. People wave at you along the way and the breeze dries the constant sweat from my shirt. The ride home we were chased by rain and the sun was setting over Lake Victoria. The sky was an angry dark blue/purple and I had to wipe dirt from my mouth upon arrival because I was smiling the whole ride.
Six. You should all come here and just listen. Listen to the stories of people - I spend most of my time following Sylvia or Emmanuel around listening to their stories of people in Kochia or about their life. I have never met people who have so many joyful, sad, incredible stories - or who tell them so well. I hunt for aimless questions just so they will continue talking to me. Listen to the laughter of children - I try to bring my camera everywhere, just so that I can show the LCD screen with a kid's picture on it to hear them laugh. They also laugh at my trying to learn Luo, or participating in chores and cooking with them. Listen to the sounds at night. Dogs, crickets, people - it's sometimes hard to sleep because of the outside noise here, but it reminds you of how connected you are to other people and the World around you.
Seven. Slow down. If you know me well, you know that I move through life in fast forward - rarely slowing for anyone or anything. The time in this place seems to be in another dimension from the time back home. Travelling places takes about four times as long as people tell you it will, and meetings never stick to a schedule. If arriving at someone's house to discuss something, you will be showed the entire compound, school, church - everything, and then sat down in the living room and force fed tea, ground nuts (peanuts), and white bread. I was very anxious the first couple of days here, because I spend a lot of my time sitting and not doing a lot, but I am coming to love it. Days are wonderfully long and full of great moments - many more than I ever realized could be packed into one day. Am I doing anything I thought I would be doing? Nope! Am I concerned? Not in the slightest (okay well maaaaybe a little when those medical school apps float in my head, but not really).
THe list could continue forever, but Che is asking where the Mzungu is, and there's too many other people to go spend time with.
One. Princene (who everyone calls Che) and I are now great friends. I have introduced her to sticking out tongues, making faces, and tickling. She laughs at most of these, and will run from me during others. I brought a WWU tshirt for Sylvia, and Princene quickly decided this was hers and didn't want to take it off. It is a floor length gown on her, but of course looks wonderful. She is the chattiest 2 and a half year old I have ever met, and sings and dances ALL the time.
Two. If unmarried in Kenya (or really just a person under the age of probably 30) you will be asked if you are married, and then why you are not married. Practically every conversation I have with people, my age comes up, and then if I'm married follows. I have memorized a - I will finish medical school (age 26 or 27) story before I'm married and repeat it often. If you are single, you may experience the meeting of similarly aged people of the opposite sex for tea, or for computer trainings. It is highly entertaining! Someone asked me the other day if at home womens' parents receive cows when they are married like they do here, and I said no, but that my parents would actually probably appreciate some cows for the farm. THey laughed and so did I.
Three. I have never in my life seen sunsets of this color. The sky turns pink, and purple and the sun is a huge orb. It takes significantly longer for the sun to go down here - more time for enjoying it, although people think I'm a little strange for standing outside looking at the sky with my camera for so long (these pictures are for you parents!). Once the sun goes down, it is completely dark outside, with no streetlights or carlights to light up the night. I couldn't figure out why sleeping here felt so different - but it's because the darkness literally envelopes and tucks you in before you fall asleep.
Four. Storms here are frighteningly wonderful. I experienced my first rain storm last Friday. The roofs here are made of tin and sitting inside sounds like metal tools are being thrown violently at your roof. The sky flashes with lightening and washes the surroundings with brightness, and the thunder is equally as violent. You can barely hold conversations at dinner without shouting at your neighbor. Mud will cake your feet and your shoes the next day, and picking paths to walk places feels like you are a mouse in a maze hunting for cheese. We don't know what rain storms are in Washington...
Five. Piki pikis (motorbikes) are possibly the best way in the World to travel. We drove to Homa Bay yesterday to send some mail and pick up other items. I had no need to go, but asked if I could because I wanted to ride on a piki piki so badly. Sylvia thinks I'm crazy - she's terrified of them because people go zooming by at high speeds without helmets. The drive to Homa Bay goes along Lake Victoria with green hills on the other side. People wave at you along the way and the breeze dries the constant sweat from my shirt. The ride home we were chased by rain and the sun was setting over Lake Victoria. The sky was an angry dark blue/purple and I had to wipe dirt from my mouth upon arrival because I was smiling the whole ride.
Six. You should all come here and just listen. Listen to the stories of people - I spend most of my time following Sylvia or Emmanuel around listening to their stories of people in Kochia or about their life. I have never met people who have so many joyful, sad, incredible stories - or who tell them so well. I hunt for aimless questions just so they will continue talking to me. Listen to the laughter of children - I try to bring my camera everywhere, just so that I can show the LCD screen with a kid's picture on it to hear them laugh. They also laugh at my trying to learn Luo, or participating in chores and cooking with them. Listen to the sounds at night. Dogs, crickets, people - it's sometimes hard to sleep because of the outside noise here, but it reminds you of how connected you are to other people and the World around you.
Seven. Slow down. If you know me well, you know that I move through life in fast forward - rarely slowing for anyone or anything. The time in this place seems to be in another dimension from the time back home. Travelling places takes about four times as long as people tell you it will, and meetings never stick to a schedule. If arriving at someone's house to discuss something, you will be showed the entire compound, school, church - everything, and then sat down in the living room and force fed tea, ground nuts (peanuts), and white bread. I was very anxious the first couple of days here, because I spend a lot of my time sitting and not doing a lot, but I am coming to love it. Days are wonderfully long and full of great moments - many more than I ever realized could be packed into one day. Am I doing anything I thought I would be doing? Nope! Am I concerned? Not in the slightest (okay well maaaaybe a little when those medical school apps float in my head, but not really).
THe list could continue forever, but Che is asking where the Mzungu is, and there's too many other people to go spend time with.
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