Nothing about this feels normal. I was up late last night listening to the bush babies cackling in the trees and the night-time guard dogs barking at them, but I couldn't bring myself to close my window because it was so uncomfortably HOT. I'm tired, both mentally and physically.
When we arrived at the clinic at 08:00, just a short walk from where we are living this week, there was already a huge line of people waiting to see us. It was a rough start to the day, and we had to adjust the workflow process several times throughout the day. There are some very sick patients here. So far I have seen malaria, brucellosis, amebaosis, typhoid, upper respiratory infections, conjunctivitis, musculoskeletal sprains and straines and fractures, HIV related infections, tuberculosis, and really bad hypertension. Asthma is also very common, as families cook over wood burning fires to prepare food. We also see a lot of eye irritation because of this as well. Everyone who came to see us also got a multi-vitamin and deworming medications. We had a little 86-year old woman as a patient today who is almost totally blind and who broke a rib when she was knocked down by a cow a week ago, and an 80-year old man who was walking to our clinic this morning and tripped over a rock while crossing a river and broke his clavicle. We met 5 and 7 year old orphans who have recently lost their parents to HIV and now reside with their grandmother. I have met battered and abused women, too. I feel like we are running a MASH unit in a war zone. I was not mentally prepared for this. We had a 10-month old with probable cerebral malaria come to us. She was extremely lethargic and started having seizures. Without care at a hospital she would most likely not make it. All we could do was start an IV and give her oral Tylenol, IV fluids and Rocephin and try to get her an urgent ride to Nairobi, to a hospital. She did NOT look good. It took us almost an hour, but we finally found someone able to drive her to Nairobi with her mother, who was also quite ill but not on the verge of death. What have I gotten myself into???
Another challenge has been getting translators. We have several of the benefactors, the young adults from MCF here, translating for us and I have loved meeting them and working with them. Although they do a great job, there are several different dialects being spoken in Kenya. Kenya is a country primarily assembled into tribes. The tribe is still lead by a tribal leader, though the modern role of a tribal leader isn't very specific. Historically, the tribal leader was the figurehead for the law enforcement and the civil affairs within the tribe. I can't get a definiteve answer as to what they do in 2011, but from what I gather the tribes are still very important to people and marriages between persons from different tribes is not encouraged. It is still very much a part of a person's culture and identity, including preserving the dialect: some of the older generations speak only their tribal dialect and have not learned english or swahili. Kamba is one of the more popular tribal languages in the area. It's all very interesting. Another challenge with giving care instructions or prescription information has been the lack of written language. Although most of the younger generation has been taught to read and write, not all of our patients are literate and none of us write in swahili. Our benefactor assistants have taught us how to write instructions so that they have meaningful information (for example, a BID medication given twice a day would be written out as 1 X 2, which to them means "take one pill two times in a day"). Even with that problem handled, dispensing multiple drugs at a time with different directions and uses makes me nervous. Some of the pateints with multiple issues need 3 or 4 or even 5 medications and these don't all get taken at the same time. Some are once a day, others are twice or three or even four times a day. I want them to be able to take the medicaions safely and effectively, but have not come up with a sure-fire way to do that yet. So I explain what they are taking, why they are taking it, when they are supposed to take it, and any side effects they might encounter. Then I ask them to repeat part of it back to me. This is time consuming, especially when it all has to be translated on the spot into swahili with the help of a translator. I have come up with a system of marking syringes with cloth tape for liquids and syrups given to children. Explaining asthma inhalers is still a challenge. Without giving myself multiple doses throughout the day as a demonstration, there isn't really a good way to show them exactly how. Most of them have never seen a metered dose inhaler before, but it is a pretty effective way to deliver aerosolized medication. My hope is that they still remember all of this when they get home. Culturally, I don't think they feel comfortable asking a lot of questions.
We saw about 200 patients today. We didn't close up shop until nearly 7:00pm. I am dirty and tired. Dinner never tasted so good. I'm going to wrap it up here and go to bed early and hope that I fall asleep easier tonight
Monday, January 31, 2011
Sunday, January 30, 2011
BY APRIL BERESFORD
January 30, 2011
Inadequate. Unprepared. Overwhelmed. Fristrated. Homesick. Yep, that's me.
We began the day by sleeping in - breakfast was at 09:00am. I absolutely love the fresh bananas and pineapple at mealtime. Right off the tree! We then walked over to the chapel, which is another open-air room with a cement floor, tin roof, and no glass windows. Phil warned us that the service was long, and he was so right. They sing and dance for almost ninety minutes, then preach for a little over an hour. And it gets HOT out fast here. African praise songs have a sound unlike any other, and I absolutely love it. The dancing is also so unique. I really enjoy it, but after an hour of enjoying it in ninety degrees it got tedious. The preaching was quite intense, too, for a whole hour. There were two peachers: one speaking in Swahili and the other in English. The english spoken here has a thick British accent, a reminant of the British rule over Kenya until the 1960's. Africans here are joyful worshippers: hands in the air, clapping, sawying with the music. Mama Mulli got up in front of the congregation at the end of the service and it was obvious that they all have an affection for her. I was really impressed with how (relatively) attentive the children stayed the whole time.
At lunch I started feeling a little disjointed from the group. I'm missing my family back home. When we sorted out the suitcases this afternoon to prepare for our medical clinic I opened up the two suitcases full of children's clothing that I had brought: clothes from Madeline and Charlotte's early years that I brought along to donate. It made me a little sad and reminiscent to go through those memories 8,000 miles away from home, by myself. I miss my kids and my husband so much.
I was stunned by how cluttered the clinic was. It sits esentially unused between mission trips, and we are the first of about four trips coming this year, and is primarily used as a dental clinic so we are going to have to improvise a lot. Boxes of unused or partially used equipment and medications had to be sorted, moved, and cleaned up. There was lizard poop all over, too, as there isn't glass covering all of the windows so they have easy access to come inside and make themselves at home. I moved a box on a countertop and a small one jumped out at me and ran away. Toto, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore! :o)
We found out today, too, that the scope of the mission trip has changed. When we were invited to come we were under the impression that we would be coming to serve the children of Mully Children's Family. We came with supplies and drugs to treat children, and we expected most of these to be well child checks. What we were tasked with today is to open up a clinic to serve the needs of the people in the nearby villages instead, and to check up on the kids here as time allowed. Wow. That really changes a LOT, and if we had known that before we got here we would have packed and planned a lot differently. And I'm not really a seat-of-your-pants kind of gal. The type "A" inside of me was dying. I was not feeling prepared at all. We had just this afternoon to set up and be ready. Word has already been sent and was filtering through the local communities that the American medical team will start seeing patients tomorrow at 08:00am. They were going to be here whether we were ready or not. We had just 5 or 6 hours to take a handful of dirty little rooms and make a functioning medical clinic.
It was a busy afternoon and that spilled over into a busy evening. As I sit here to journal I already have a hand cramp from rewriting four copies of the list of available drugs we have on hand - one for each physician. We actually have quite a bit, but a couple of the vital ones we are anticipating we will use quite a bit of we need to send to Nairobi for. Phil is going to go on Tuesday and come back on Thursday. Until then, we use what we have. I'm a bit nervous about how tomorrow is going to play out. It's going to be chaotic, and I can handle chaos but controlled chaos. It sounds like an oxymoron, but it does exist.
Julia is a sweet young lady from Germany who is here for six months to teach some of the benefactors how to speak German, both as an enrichment and as a tool for them to use. Germany is a bit more leniant in allowing student VISAs to orphans in Kenya. I found out that the United States of America is actually a pretty hard country to get an approved Study VISA for orphan children. Would have never guessed that. There are quite a few hopeful benefactors currently awaiting acceptance into nursing school in Germany. Anyway, Julia, being the nice person she is, allowed me to use her travel cell phone to call home tonight. I got to hear Matt's voice and talk with the girls for a few minutes. They sound happy, and that makes me feel better and more able to cope. I needed to hear that they are fine, and Matt always knows just what to say when I need encouragement. I am such a lucky girl! :o)
Inadequate. Unprepared. Overwhelmed. Fristrated. Homesick. Yep, that's me.
We began the day by sleeping in - breakfast was at 09:00am. I absolutely love the fresh bananas and pineapple at mealtime. Right off the tree! We then walked over to the chapel, which is another open-air room with a cement floor, tin roof, and no glass windows. Phil warned us that the service was long, and he was so right. They sing and dance for almost ninety minutes, then preach for a little over an hour. And it gets HOT out fast here. African praise songs have a sound unlike any other, and I absolutely love it. The dancing is also so unique. I really enjoy it, but after an hour of enjoying it in ninety degrees it got tedious. The preaching was quite intense, too, for a whole hour. There were two peachers: one speaking in Swahili and the other in English. The english spoken here has a thick British accent, a reminant of the British rule over Kenya until the 1960's. Africans here are joyful worshippers: hands in the air, clapping, sawying with the music. Mama Mulli got up in front of the congregation at the end of the service and it was obvious that they all have an affection for her. I was really impressed with how (relatively) attentive the children stayed the whole time.
At lunch I started feeling a little disjointed from the group. I'm missing my family back home. When we sorted out the suitcases this afternoon to prepare for our medical clinic I opened up the two suitcases full of children's clothing that I had brought: clothes from Madeline and Charlotte's early years that I brought along to donate. It made me a little sad and reminiscent to go through those memories 8,000 miles away from home, by myself. I miss my kids and my husband so much.
I was stunned by how cluttered the clinic was. It sits esentially unused between mission trips, and we are the first of about four trips coming this year, and is primarily used as a dental clinic so we are going to have to improvise a lot. Boxes of unused or partially used equipment and medications had to be sorted, moved, and cleaned up. There was lizard poop all over, too, as there isn't glass covering all of the windows so they have easy access to come inside and make themselves at home. I moved a box on a countertop and a small one jumped out at me and ran away. Toto, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore! :o)
We found out today, too, that the scope of the mission trip has changed. When we were invited to come we were under the impression that we would be coming to serve the children of Mully Children's Family. We came with supplies and drugs to treat children, and we expected most of these to be well child checks. What we were tasked with today is to open up a clinic to serve the needs of the people in the nearby villages instead, and to check up on the kids here as time allowed. Wow. That really changes a LOT, and if we had known that before we got here we would have packed and planned a lot differently. And I'm not really a seat-of-your-pants kind of gal. The type "A" inside of me was dying. I was not feeling prepared at all. We had just this afternoon to set up and be ready. Word has already been sent and was filtering through the local communities that the American medical team will start seeing patients tomorrow at 08:00am. They were going to be here whether we were ready or not. We had just 5 or 6 hours to take a handful of dirty little rooms and make a functioning medical clinic.
It was a busy afternoon and that spilled over into a busy evening. As I sit here to journal I already have a hand cramp from rewriting four copies of the list of available drugs we have on hand - one for each physician. We actually have quite a bit, but a couple of the vital ones we are anticipating we will use quite a bit of we need to send to Nairobi for. Phil is going to go on Tuesday and come back on Thursday. Until then, we use what we have. I'm a bit nervous about how tomorrow is going to play out. It's going to be chaotic, and I can handle chaos but controlled chaos. It sounds like an oxymoron, but it does exist.
Julia is a sweet young lady from Germany who is here for six months to teach some of the benefactors how to speak German, both as an enrichment and as a tool for them to use. Germany is a bit more leniant in allowing student VISAs to orphans in Kenya. I found out that the United States of America is actually a pretty hard country to get an approved Study VISA for orphan children. Would have never guessed that. There are quite a few hopeful benefactors currently awaiting acceptance into nursing school in Germany. Anyway, Julia, being the nice person she is, allowed me to use her travel cell phone to call home tonight. I got to hear Matt's voice and talk with the girls for a few minutes. They sound happy, and that makes me feel better and more able to cope. I needed to hear that they are fine, and Matt always knows just what to say when I need encouragement. I am such a lucky girl! :o)
Saturday, January 29, 2011
BY APRIL BERESFORD
January 29, 2011
Learning the ropes
10:00pm -
"If you want to life yourself up, life someone else." ~Booker T. Washington
Things I learned today:
*people of caucasian descent fry when placed on the equator
*don't forget your water bottle when going on a hike
*Africa has all sorts of interesting and nasty bugs
*If there is a God, Charles Mulli knows him personally
We began with breakfast at 08:00 after a really cold shower (not on purpose). All of my fears about having horrible hair while here are now gone. I might feel like crap on the inside but my hair is fabulous. Perfect spiral curls like my daughters have. Although I'm blowing my nose every ten minutes I'm ever so slightly starting to feel better. I finally got some decent sleep last night (thanks to Tylenol PM). At 09:30 we began our walking tour of MCF Ndalani with Tom. This place is huge. He explained how they grow their own crops, organize workers, havest and sell crops, process and prepare food. He showed us how they have managed to take the dry, barren earth and cultivate microclimates where food plants can flourish. They do so by planting trees and corn in certain areas in position with the fields of other crops, and by alternating crops and hauling in comoposite material (silt from the river, cow dung, lava rock from West Kenya, etc...) and many hours of hard work in the hot sun. They engage and support the community by employing families in the area: the parents work whiel their children are allowed to study at the MCF schools for free, and meals are provided for everyone. They teach the families how to grow their own food in gardens at home so that someday they can leave MCF and be self-sufficient and take care of themselves. Their dwellings on the MCF property are tiny but provided for free. After walking through lots of scenic fields and farm land, we visited the grainary, the food processing and storage areas, and the irrigation pumphouse, which was run by computer and quite impressive to see. We then walked to the childrens' dormatories and saw room upon room of hand-built bunk-beds with suitcases all lined up along a wall. Each child gets one suitcase in which to keep all of his or her personal belongings, including clothing. It's hard to think about how hard I had to try to keep my packing for this trip to a minimum, and yet one suitcase is all that each child owns. In many cases, the suitcases were nowhere near full. The children wash their bodies and their clothes in the river that runs through the property, called the Thika /TEE-kah/ River. The boys and the girls take shifts. The river is not clean, as the village of Thika is up river and dumps a considerable amount of contaminants into it, but it's what is available when there are over a thousand people who need it. The drinking water comes from wells, and is purified. In the middle of the dormatories are usually clotheslines filled with drying clothes. The smaller kids (ages two to eleven) live together, and the older kids (ages twelve and up) all live together, girls separated from boys. The young adults live in separate housing, though their rooms are very small and made out of sheets of metal. From what I can guess, they are about 5 to 7 feet by about 10 feet per unit. The older kids are called "beneficiaries" and remain here to teach and help care for the younger children while they await a sponsor to help get them to college. There are 50 kids currently in college and almost 150 waiting to go. We arrived in that part of the village around lunchtime. Lunch was being prepared in huge cauldrons over an open fire in a sheet metal hut. The contrast between the updated technology in the farming techniques and the primitive cooking routines confused me. But I guess when funds are limited, you put your money into creating the food and the income, and leave less for food preparation. No food means nothing to cook.
When the Thika River dried up two years ago during the dry season, that's exactly what happened. MCF had to purchase food for months, and they are feeding over two thousand people a day. And not only did they feed their kids and their workers, but they had sponsored feed-ins around the community as well. They also supply clean drinking water to their community as well. Currently they fill up a large water tanker and drive it to town, but they have plans to install a water purification system on the bank of the Thika River this year and this will include a watering station for the community to access as well. Water-borne illnesses here are very common, and is a huge contributor to the high mortality rate. We met some of the dhildren as we took our tour. The small ones, the toddlers, are curious and easily approached. They want to touch us, see our cameras, touch our hair and our skin. Sometimes they are so happy to have our attention that they do not want to let go of us. The breaks my heart. Although they all appear lively and well nourished, they don't have parents. That's why they are here. The benefactors that help them and raise them and educate them are not the parents who created them and should be here to love them. The older kids are a bit more shy but will often smile back or quietly wave "hello". We met the leader of the MCF karate team, Paul, who just qualified to represent Kenya in the next Olympics. He told us that he was rescued as a street kid from the slums but now has a VERY bright future. The karate and soccer teams run up and down the mountains here that surround MCF. That makes my three-mile run at the gym look like a mere warm-up routine. :o)
Lunch was delicious. So far it has been 100% vegetarian, which they eat most of the time. They have to slaughter two cows or 5 goats to feed all of the children, so it's a rarity. We eat rice, potatoes, tomatoes, green beans, and kale a lot. YUM! I don't think every person here is thrilled about it, but I am! After lunch we got on the bus and took a 45-minute ride to the Yatta campus. I enjoy these bus rides because it provides me an opportunity to catch a glimpse of the real, everyday life in Kenya. I have taken over 100 photos so far, but still see a million things I want to capture and share back home. I'm still not used to driving on the left side of the road.
We got to Yatta at around 3:00pm, and it was unbearably HOT. The sun is harsh. It is stronger than any sun I have ever felt. I'm being irradiated. We spent about 2 hours walking through the crop fields and the greenhouses, the plant nurseries, and the produce handling areas. We were able to walk into the produce cooler, which is the only air-conditioned room on the property. Row after row, MCF grows enough food for about 9,000 meals a day. Their farming practices are excellent; they go way past LEED practices at home! They waste nothing and reuse everything possible, including rainwater. We also walked by the seven manmade fish ponds, all in a row, where they farm tillapia. That's a LOT of fish! One of the ponds was damaged a few months ago by a hippopontamus. I'm definitely NOT in Michigan anymore! On the hillside by the fish is where the pineapple, mango, and banana groves are. (There's nothing quite as delicious as fresh bananas, mango and pineapple for dessert... trust me!) Row upon row, these plants are well cared for and nothing is overlooked. Just last year I lost 25% of my garden to weed overgrowth, quite embarrasing! That just doesn't happen here. They work six days a week. It blows my mind that in a country where malnutrition takes lives and starvation is a real threat, they are able to reap so much on a consistant basis.
Before heading to the living quarters, we walked down a long trail, up a huge hill, to where the livestock is kept. They have about 50 cattle (which look VERY different from cows in the USA), 100 goats, and about a thousand chickens. The goats and cattle are let loose twice a day to graze with shepherds through the surrounding bush and scrub fields. None of them appear 'fleshy' like my animals do at home. Herding animals like this is common practice here. It's not uncommon to see herds walking down the side of the road with traffic whizzing by, or see them tied by their back ankles to a tree or bush in the hot sun. Some of the kids shepherding the animals are no more than 6 or 7 years old.
Back now to the part of Yatta where the kids live and go to school. Yatta is mostly girls, women & children. Their faces are so beautiful. They live in shared dormatories, like their Ndalani counterparts. The girls go to school during the day and their little ones go to 'baby class' which is like preschool. There are a lot of child mothers here. It's a sad reality in the culture here. The schools here concentrate on giving the girls life skills and a vocation: sewing, hairdressing, or secretarial, for example. The sewing machines they use have the old style foot pedals that have to be manually powered. Still, the students are able to create nice things. They do not have enough material to practice with so they use old burlap bags to learn on. There were several nice burlap outfits hanging around the perimeter of the room. Even a dress shirt and tie, all sewn and pressed. Material is expensive and only used for final exams and clothing made for their brothers and sisters at MCF. The beauty parlor school was not outfitted with a lot, but I hear it's quite a popular program. The computers in the classroom were old IBM machines but well maintained. After our tour and a chance to meet with some of the residents we went over to the cinder block church for an evening worship service. Every weat was taken, and a worship team played a guitar, keyboard, and drums. The children sang worship songs in both English and Swahili, and some danced up on stage. Have you ever heard 500 African children singing gospel praises? It's the most beautiful sound in the world! It was so joyful, and unlike anything I've ever heard before. As soon as we sat down we had kids in our laps, and I loved the impromptu snuggle. :o)
Back on the bus to Ndalani for a later dinner. Driving at dusk I was surprised at how many people walk the roadside at disk. It's amazing I haven't seen anyone hit by a car yet. Even children walk by themselves in the dark. At dusk I was able to get a quick glimpse of the inside of a few of the huts as we drove by some that were near the roadside. They use gas laps to light up at night, and through open doors I was able to see that these tiny little huts didn't have much in them at all. Most huts weren't more than 20 by 30 feet. A bed, maybe a couple of shelves. So humbling.
At dinner, Esther Mulli (AKA "Mama Mulli") told us about the local wildlife in Ndalani. Leopards apparently get in the trash so they have to put the trash bucket away at night. Leopards?!?! And that cackling noise coming from the trees at night are the bush babies. Oh, and from time to time the babboons block traffic up on the roads. Seriously. No mentin of lions or elephants in this area, but there were hippos in the Thika last year. Oh, my! :o)
Learning the ropes
10:00pm -
"If you want to life yourself up, life someone else." ~Booker T. Washington
Things I learned today:
*people of caucasian descent fry when placed on the equator
*don't forget your water bottle when going on a hike
*Africa has all sorts of interesting and nasty bugs
*If there is a God, Charles Mulli knows him personally
We began with breakfast at 08:00 after a really cold shower (not on purpose). All of my fears about having horrible hair while here are now gone. I might feel like crap on the inside but my hair is fabulous. Perfect spiral curls like my daughters have. Although I'm blowing my nose every ten minutes I'm ever so slightly starting to feel better. I finally got some decent sleep last night (thanks to Tylenol PM). At 09:30 we began our walking tour of MCF Ndalani with Tom. This place is huge. He explained how they grow their own crops, organize workers, havest and sell crops, process and prepare food. He showed us how they have managed to take the dry, barren earth and cultivate microclimates where food plants can flourish. They do so by planting trees and corn in certain areas in position with the fields of other crops, and by alternating crops and hauling in comoposite material (silt from the river, cow dung, lava rock from West Kenya, etc...) and many hours of hard work in the hot sun. They engage and support the community by employing families in the area: the parents work whiel their children are allowed to study at the MCF schools for free, and meals are provided for everyone. They teach the families how to grow their own food in gardens at home so that someday they can leave MCF and be self-sufficient and take care of themselves. Their dwellings on the MCF property are tiny but provided for free. After walking through lots of scenic fields and farm land, we visited the grainary, the food processing and storage areas, and the irrigation pumphouse, which was run by computer and quite impressive to see. We then walked to the childrens' dormatories and saw room upon room of hand-built bunk-beds with suitcases all lined up along a wall. Each child gets one suitcase in which to keep all of his or her personal belongings, including clothing. It's hard to think about how hard I had to try to keep my packing for this trip to a minimum, and yet one suitcase is all that each child owns. In many cases, the suitcases were nowhere near full. The children wash their bodies and their clothes in the river that runs through the property, called the Thika /TEE-kah/ River. The boys and the girls take shifts. The river is not clean, as the village of Thika is up river and dumps a considerable amount of contaminants into it, but it's what is available when there are over a thousand people who need it. The drinking water comes from wells, and is purified. In the middle of the dormatories are usually clotheslines filled with drying clothes. The smaller kids (ages two to eleven) live together, and the older kids (ages twelve and up) all live together, girls separated from boys. The young adults live in separate housing, though their rooms are very small and made out of sheets of metal. From what I can guess, they are about 5 to 7 feet by about 10 feet per unit. The older kids are called "beneficiaries" and remain here to teach and help care for the younger children while they await a sponsor to help get them to college. There are 50 kids currently in college and almost 150 waiting to go. We arrived in that part of the village around lunchtime. Lunch was being prepared in huge cauldrons over an open fire in a sheet metal hut. The contrast between the updated technology in the farming techniques and the primitive cooking routines confused me. But I guess when funds are limited, you put your money into creating the food and the income, and leave less for food preparation. No food means nothing to cook.
When the Thika River dried up two years ago during the dry season, that's exactly what happened. MCF had to purchase food for months, and they are feeding over two thousand people a day. And not only did they feed their kids and their workers, but they had sponsored feed-ins around the community as well. They also supply clean drinking water to their community as well. Currently they fill up a large water tanker and drive it to town, but they have plans to install a water purification system on the bank of the Thika River this year and this will include a watering station for the community to access as well. Water-borne illnesses here are very common, and is a huge contributor to the high mortality rate. We met some of the dhildren as we took our tour. The small ones, the toddlers, are curious and easily approached. They want to touch us, see our cameras, touch our hair and our skin. Sometimes they are so happy to have our attention that they do not want to let go of us. The breaks my heart. Although they all appear lively and well nourished, they don't have parents. That's why they are here. The benefactors that help them and raise them and educate them are not the parents who created them and should be here to love them. The older kids are a bit more shy but will often smile back or quietly wave "hello". We met the leader of the MCF karate team, Paul, who just qualified to represent Kenya in the next Olympics. He told us that he was rescued as a street kid from the slums but now has a VERY bright future. The karate and soccer teams run up and down the mountains here that surround MCF. That makes my three-mile run at the gym look like a mere warm-up routine. :o)
Lunch was delicious. So far it has been 100% vegetarian, which they eat most of the time. They have to slaughter two cows or 5 goats to feed all of the children, so it's a rarity. We eat rice, potatoes, tomatoes, green beans, and kale a lot. YUM! I don't think every person here is thrilled about it, but I am! After lunch we got on the bus and took a 45-minute ride to the Yatta campus. I enjoy these bus rides because it provides me an opportunity to catch a glimpse of the real, everyday life in Kenya. I have taken over 100 photos so far, but still see a million things I want to capture and share back home. I'm still not used to driving on the left side of the road.
We got to Yatta at around 3:00pm, and it was unbearably HOT. The sun is harsh. It is stronger than any sun I have ever felt. I'm being irradiated. We spent about 2 hours walking through the crop fields and the greenhouses, the plant nurseries, and the produce handling areas. We were able to walk into the produce cooler, which is the only air-conditioned room on the property. Row after row, MCF grows enough food for about 9,000 meals a day. Their farming practices are excellent; they go way past LEED practices at home! They waste nothing and reuse everything possible, including rainwater. We also walked by the seven manmade fish ponds, all in a row, where they farm tillapia. That's a LOT of fish! One of the ponds was damaged a few months ago by a hippopontamus. I'm definitely NOT in Michigan anymore! On the hillside by the fish is where the pineapple, mango, and banana groves are. (There's nothing quite as delicious as fresh bananas, mango and pineapple for dessert... trust me!) Row upon row, these plants are well cared for and nothing is overlooked. Just last year I lost 25% of my garden to weed overgrowth, quite embarrasing! That just doesn't happen here. They work six days a week. It blows my mind that in a country where malnutrition takes lives and starvation is a real threat, they are able to reap so much on a consistant basis.
Before heading to the living quarters, we walked down a long trail, up a huge hill, to where the livestock is kept. They have about 50 cattle (which look VERY different from cows in the USA), 100 goats, and about a thousand chickens. The goats and cattle are let loose twice a day to graze with shepherds through the surrounding bush and scrub fields. None of them appear 'fleshy' like my animals do at home. Herding animals like this is common practice here. It's not uncommon to see herds walking down the side of the road with traffic whizzing by, or see them tied by their back ankles to a tree or bush in the hot sun. Some of the kids shepherding the animals are no more than 6 or 7 years old.
Back now to the part of Yatta where the kids live and go to school. Yatta is mostly girls, women & children. Their faces are so beautiful. They live in shared dormatories, like their Ndalani counterparts. The girls go to school during the day and their little ones go to 'baby class' which is like preschool. There are a lot of child mothers here. It's a sad reality in the culture here. The schools here concentrate on giving the girls life skills and a vocation: sewing, hairdressing, or secretarial, for example. The sewing machines they use have the old style foot pedals that have to be manually powered. Still, the students are able to create nice things. They do not have enough material to practice with so they use old burlap bags to learn on. There were several nice burlap outfits hanging around the perimeter of the room. Even a dress shirt and tie, all sewn and pressed. Material is expensive and only used for final exams and clothing made for their brothers and sisters at MCF. The beauty parlor school was not outfitted with a lot, but I hear it's quite a popular program. The computers in the classroom were old IBM machines but well maintained. After our tour and a chance to meet with some of the residents we went over to the cinder block church for an evening worship service. Every weat was taken, and a worship team played a guitar, keyboard, and drums. The children sang worship songs in both English and Swahili, and some danced up on stage. Have you ever heard 500 African children singing gospel praises? It's the most beautiful sound in the world! It was so joyful, and unlike anything I've ever heard before. As soon as we sat down we had kids in our laps, and I loved the impromptu snuggle. :o)
Back on the bus to Ndalani for a later dinner. Driving at dusk I was surprised at how many people walk the roadside at disk. It's amazing I haven't seen anyone hit by a car yet. Even children walk by themselves in the dark. At dusk I was able to get a quick glimpse of the inside of a few of the huts as we drove by some that were near the roadside. They use gas laps to light up at night, and through open doors I was able to see that these tiny little huts didn't have much in them at all. Most huts weren't more than 20 by 30 feet. A bed, maybe a couple of shelves. So humbling.
At dinner, Esther Mulli (AKA "Mama Mulli") told us about the local wildlife in Ndalani. Leopards apparently get in the trash so they have to put the trash bucket away at night. Leopards?!?! And that cackling noise coming from the trees at night are the bush babies. Oh, and from time to time the babboons block traffic up on the roads. Seriously. No mentin of lions or elephants in this area, but there were hippos in the Thika last year. Oh, my! :o)
Friday, January 28, 2011
BY APRIL BERESFORD
January 27, 2011
11:00pm - Nairobi time. We landed safely in Nairobi. No more plans for April for another 11 days! It is 3:00 pm Michigan time, a difference of eight hours. It's dark and quiet here at the Methodist hotel in Nairobi. I just showered and have on clean pajamas and that feels great. The hotel is very small, and our roon is about 18 feet by 20 feet: two single beds, a toilet and a sink/shower. We have mosquito nets but I haven't seen a mosquito yet. I can hear a dog barking in the distance. My head is still dizzy from traveling over 24 hours straight with sinusitis. My roommate, Jennifer, is a office manager for a pediatric surgery office in Grand Rapids. She's great! She has three daughters, so we have a lot in common. On the bus ride from the airport to the hotel we saw zebras crossing the road. Zebras! I was sitting on the wrong side of the busto get a good look, as it was dark, but there were enough people who saw them to confirm it. ZEBRAS! holy cow - I'm in Africa!!!
From what I could see on the dark bus ride, Nairobi reminds me a lof of rural southern Mexico, but with cars on the opposite side of the road. And people here drive crazy! I can't wait to see what tomorrow brings. After some sleep. :o)
January 28, 2011
11:00 pm - What a day. I woke up feeling quite ill at 2:00am and couldn't get back to sleep. There were dogs barking all night next to the hotel in Nairobi. I knew it went on for quite a while when I was able to identify the four different dogs involved without every laying eyes on any of them. So I arose feeling congested, dizzy, delirious and dumb. After breakfast we went to explore a bit on foot as a group. Then onto the MCF bus to a local shopping center for an hour, then to lunch at a cafe'. After lunch we began our 3-hour bus ride to the Mully Children's Family (MCF) campus in Ndalani. I was feeling overheated (it's at least 90 degrees outside!), sick, and close to passing out at that point but stayed glued to the bus window, absorbing as much as I could of what I saw. In Nairobi we went by the Kenyan Presidential Palace, Nairobi University, and several different local neighborhoods. On the way out we passed the Kiberi slums. It looked like a scene from "Slumdog Millionare". It was hard to believe I was seeing the real thing; a first-hand witness to total devastation. We saw loose goats and cattle trying to find anything to eat, school children, street vendors, and different style homes. We saw homeless people, rich people, broken down cars and bling'ed out Land Rovers, and everything in between. Life here is so very different than my life in the US. It's wild to see it all in person. It's hard to put into words.
When we got to Ndalani we settled into our rooms in the guest house. We then sat down in the patio spot outside of our building and met some of the MCF family and staff. We haven't talked to Charles yet, but Esther and some of the MCF kids were with us. They informed us about the beginning of the Mully Children's Family, the kids, the rescues, and facilities and the rules. I am humbled. This is such an extraordinary place. Dinner was amazing, and totally vegetarian. Hooray! By sunset I was feeling a bit better, but still far from 'normal'. And tonight I'm using my mosquito net and leaving the windows wide open.
11:00pm - Nairobi time. We landed safely in Nairobi. No more plans for April for another 11 days! It is 3:00 pm Michigan time, a difference of eight hours. It's dark and quiet here at the Methodist hotel in Nairobi. I just showered and have on clean pajamas and that feels great. The hotel is very small, and our roon is about 18 feet by 20 feet: two single beds, a toilet and a sink/shower. We have mosquito nets but I haven't seen a mosquito yet. I can hear a dog barking in the distance. My head is still dizzy from traveling over 24 hours straight with sinusitis. My roommate, Jennifer, is a office manager for a pediatric surgery office in Grand Rapids. She's great! She has three daughters, so we have a lot in common. On the bus ride from the airport to the hotel we saw zebras crossing the road. Zebras! I was sitting on the wrong side of the busto get a good look, as it was dark, but there were enough people who saw them to confirm it. ZEBRAS! holy cow - I'm in Africa!!!
From what I could see on the dark bus ride, Nairobi reminds me a lof of rural southern Mexico, but with cars on the opposite side of the road. And people here drive crazy! I can't wait to see what tomorrow brings. After some sleep. :o)
January 28, 2011
11:00 pm - What a day. I woke up feeling quite ill at 2:00am and couldn't get back to sleep. There were dogs barking all night next to the hotel in Nairobi. I knew it went on for quite a while when I was able to identify the four different dogs involved without every laying eyes on any of them. So I arose feeling congested, dizzy, delirious and dumb. After breakfast we went to explore a bit on foot as a group. Then onto the MCF bus to a local shopping center for an hour, then to lunch at a cafe'. After lunch we began our 3-hour bus ride to the Mully Children's Family (MCF) campus in Ndalani. I was feeling overheated (it's at least 90 degrees outside!), sick, and close to passing out at that point but stayed glued to the bus window, absorbing as much as I could of what I saw. In Nairobi we went by the Kenyan Presidential Palace, Nairobi University, and several different local neighborhoods. On the way out we passed the Kiberi slums. It looked like a scene from "Slumdog Millionare". It was hard to believe I was seeing the real thing; a first-hand witness to total devastation. We saw loose goats and cattle trying to find anything to eat, school children, street vendors, and different style homes. We saw homeless people, rich people, broken down cars and bling'ed out Land Rovers, and everything in between. Life here is so very different than my life in the US. It's wild to see it all in person. It's hard to put into words.
When we got to Ndalani we settled into our rooms in the guest house. We then sat down in the patio spot outside of our building and met some of the MCF family and staff. We haven't talked to Charles yet, but Esther and some of the MCF kids were with us. They informed us about the beginning of the Mully Children's Family, the kids, the rescues, and facilities and the rules. I am humbled. This is such an extraordinary place. Dinner was amazing, and totally vegetarian. Hooray! By sunset I was feeling a bit better, but still far from 'normal'. And tonight I'm using my mosquito net and leaving the windows wide open.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
The Packing party
Left to right: Phil, Miriam, Melissa, April (back row), Marijo ,Karli, Anna, Neal, Kayley, Jennifer, Anita
13 of us going. 2 members of team were not able to be at the packing party - Sarah (still in CA), and Chuck de Sibour (working)
We got everything packed up in about 1 1/2 hrs and realized that we will have 26 bags that can be checked, leaving us with 5 empty bags. So, it took only a minute for offers to be made to take home and fill the empty bags. I took a bag and bought a bunch of soccer cleats (per MCF request)
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Less than a week ....
Where has the time gone?! Seems like yesterday that I was going to an information meeting and I was telling Sarah about the mission trip to Kenya. And, then, finding out we were both accepted on the team! And, now, it's almost here. I have been working with the group here in Grand Rapids to get together supplies and medications to take with us. Tomorrow is our packing day - to meet up and pack up all the checked bags (2 for each) that will be filled to max for weight and size with medical equipment, supplies and medications. I will try to take some pictures share with you.
On a side note, today, it's a blustery, snowy, COLD COLD day here in Michigan. Yes, Sarah is in warmer weather in California for a couple more days, then, she'll be in arrive to beautiful, snowy, COLD Grand Rapids on Tuesday morning!
Right now, per weather.com
Aliso Viejo, CA 60 degrees F and sunny ( feels like 60 F )
Grand Rapids, MI 13 degrees F and light snow / no sun ( feels like -2 F )
.... and 32 degrees is freezing temperature -- did I mention it's COLD here?!
Nairobi, Kenya 72 degrees F and partly cloudy ... a quick look a the next couple of weeks, looks like temperatures are about mid 80's during the day and around 60 degrees at night.
On a side note, today, it's a blustery, snowy, COLD COLD day here in Michigan. Yes, Sarah is in warmer weather in California for a couple more days, then, she'll be in arrive to beautiful, snowy, COLD Grand Rapids on Tuesday morning!
Right now, per weather.com
Aliso Viejo, CA 60 degrees F and sunny ( feels like 60 F )
Grand Rapids, MI 13 degrees F and light snow / no sun ( feels like -2 F )
.... and 32 degrees is freezing temperature -- did I mention it's COLD here?!
Nairobi, Kenya 72 degrees F and partly cloudy ... a quick look a the next couple of weeks, looks like temperatures are about mid 80's during the day and around 60 degrees at night.
Friday, January 21, 2011
CROSS ...and My Work Family
I want to extend a special THANK YOU to all customers, friends and colleagues who have extended their support and donations...From the bottom of my heart, thank you. I feel so blessed to have a job that I love and live in an are that is warm - I'm sorry to my friends and family in Canada, but the cold is just too much for me...after spending time in sunny California, there is no desire within me to move back to the bitter cold!!
I'm going to make a photo album to carry with me to meetings so you'll be able to see some of our travels, stories and adventures. We are separating from the group for three days at the end and I'm so excited what Miriam has planned - she is much more of a planner than me!
One work request, if I can...Please keep presenting, showing and selling the CROSS, LAMY, and Franklin Covey lines while I'm gone!!! I'll do whatever I can to help you sell even more when I'm back, refreshed and with a new outlook on life.
http://www.cross.com/ or http://www.mycrossbiz.com/
Thank you and have a blessed day!
I'm going to make a photo album to carry with me to meetings so you'll be able to see some of our travels, stories and adventures. We are separating from the group for three days at the end and I'm so excited what Miriam has planned - she is much more of a planner than me!
One work request, if I can...Please keep presenting, showing and selling the CROSS, LAMY, and Franklin Covey lines while I'm gone!!! I'll do whatever I can to help you sell even more when I'm back, refreshed and with a new outlook on life.
http://www.cross.com/ or http://www.mycrossbiz.com/
Thank you and have a blessed day!
An update and thank you
We leave for Africa next Wednesday - it's going to be here before we know it! Although our fundraising link below shows donations of just under $500, we are closer to $2500 with funds saved and checks mailed. Thank you to everyone for your thoughts, prayers and support. To those who have donated, a big THANK YOU from the bottom of our hearts!
Sunday, January 16, 2011
IMPORTANT: For any checks being made out to Ada Bible Church
Please do not reference the MCF mission trip on the memo line.
They have requested it be made out only to Ada Bible Church.
Ada Bible Church
Attn: Wendy Niemeyer
8899 Cascade Road SE
Ada, Michigan 49301
Thank-you!
They have requested it be made out only to Ada Bible Church.
Ada Bible Church
Attn: Wendy Niemeyer
8899 Cascade Road SE
Ada, Michigan 49301
Thank-you!
Donations needed for medical supplies
They are in need of additional donations and any amount you can donate would help. Please do not feel you need to donate anything – all thoughts and prayers for a smooth and safe trip are appreciated too! ..They are estimating over 4000 children will be coming to the two clinics we are setting up for various treatments, surgeries, medications and immunizations.
Miriam and I are doing a personal fundraising that you can donate towards through PayPal (BELOW) or you can mail a check to myself or Miriam. Both of us have been saving up... immunizations have cost over $600, can you believe it?! The church is pitching in funding and any funds received above what we need, will be donated to Mully Children's Family.
OR…as we are not able to offer a tax deduction … we would rather ask that you put all or at least a larger portion of your donation towards medical supplies. Any amount donated towards Ada Bible Church referencing this trip will go directly to this amount still needed for medical supplies or the orphanage. As well, you will be able to use it as a deductible charitable tax donation. An urgent email was just sent out that if they receive additional donations of up to $5000, they will be able to purchase another order of tetanus immunizations, deworming medication, and antibiotics…they anticipate the need will be greater than the supplies currently on order. Thank you in advance – if you are sending an amount to the church, please let us know. We’ll give them the heads up as they are asking for notification of all in-coming donations to see if they have enough money raised to place a reorder…time has flown quickly and we leave in less than 2 weeks.
Ada Bible Church
Attn: Wendy Niemeyer
8899 Cascade Road SE
Ada, Michigan 49301
The Mully Children's Family is truly making such a difference in the lives of so many African children. They have an amazing list of achievements and success stories...all I can say is WOW...what a difference they are making and I feel honored to go be a part of helping!
Miriam and I are doing a personal fundraising that you can donate towards through PayPal (BELOW) or you can mail a check to myself or Miriam. Both of us have been saving up... immunizations have cost over $600, can you believe it?! The church is pitching in funding and any funds received above what we need, will be donated to Mully Children's Family.
OR…as we are not able to offer a tax deduction … we would rather ask that you put all or at least a larger portion of your donation towards medical supplies. Any amount donated towards Ada Bible Church referencing this trip will go directly to this amount still needed for medical supplies or the orphanage. As well, you will be able to use it as a deductible charitable tax donation. An urgent email was just sent out that if they receive additional donations of up to $5000, they will be able to purchase another order of tetanus immunizations, deworming medication, and antibiotics…they anticipate the need will be greater than the supplies currently on order. Thank you in advance – if you are sending an amount to the church, please let us know. We’ll give them the heads up as they are asking for notification of all in-coming donations to see if they have enough money raised to place a reorder…time has flown quickly and we leave in less than 2 weeks.
Ada Bible Church
Attn: Wendy Niemeyer
8899 Cascade Road SE
Ada, Michigan 49301
The Mully Children's Family is truly making such a difference in the lives of so many African children. They have an amazing list of achievements and success stories...all I can say is WOW...what a difference they are making and I feel honored to go be a part of helping!
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Kenya - Supplies Needed
The group has asked us for help with donations of a few supplies we've been asked to bring with us to the medical clinic. We leave January 26th and it will be here before we know it...If you are able to help with any of the items below, please let me know. Thank-you!
Calculators
2oz bottles of hand santizer
Pen lights
...Pill crusher/splitter
Silver nitrate sticks
Slings
Speculums
Speculum light
Tooth paste
Calculators
2oz bottles of hand santizer
Pen lights
...Pill crusher/splitter
Silver nitrate sticks
Slings
Speculums
Speculum light
Tooth paste
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Fundraising Link
For a tax deductible donation - those have to be done through the church and will go towards everyone in the group (about 10 of us total I think).
Ada Bible Church (and just specify on memo line for MCF mission trip Jan 27-Feb 7)
8899 Cascade Road SE
Ada, Michigan 49301
Thank you to everyone in advance. Sarah and I are both saving up. Immunizations will cost about $300-$500 (I'm told). Mission cost for Miriam will be about $1000, for Sarah, about $2000 (as she is going as a volunteer with no medical training; the church is pitching in funding for medical help to go on the trip). Any funds received above what we need, will be donated to Mully Children's Family (MCF). We will putting a post on here soon about this organization. If you want to look into it now, here is a link you can copy and paste.
http://www.mullychildrensfamily.org/
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