It's about the people

I have less than a week left in Kenya. It's hard to imagine that. I can still remember sitting with Carl in a computer lab at Penn State over Christmas break and deciding to go to Kenya. I remember so many days of planning, searching for flights, and still managing to not actually have anything set in stone until we actually left. It's been a crazy, fun, adventurous, frustrating, and rewarding five weeks so far. The ups have greatly out numbered the downs and I've had the privilege to spend time with, talk to, and work with some amazing people. I met a Zimbabwean university student on a bus to Bulawayo, Zimbabwe that made enormous sacrifices for his education. I shared a room at Victoria Falls with a British Medical student who wants to work as an optometrist somewhere in the developing world. On our train to Dar es Salaam I met two South Africans headed to climb Mt. Kenya on a sustainability mission. They carried all of their climbing gear, around 80 kg each, and only travelled by public transport. You can check them out at www.kape2kenya.com . We shared a cabin on that train with a British university student and a 40 something Swiss man who lives in East Africa. Our first night in Kenya we met a Canadian MBA student who loves baseball so much that he recreated the 1986 world series with kids in a Nairobi orphanage. The video went viral and was featured on MLB.com,  ESPN, Yahoo Sports, the NY Post and the Toronto Star. He didn't stop there though, he set up a website to raise money for these kids. You can see it here along with the video:  www.behindthebag.com . For the last three weeks we've been sharing a room with two soon to be nurses from Philadelphia in the house of a Pastor wholives never ceases to amaze us. Without the two of them our experience wouldn't be the same. We've dealt with a lot of frustration together, we've laughed, played hearts, and drank tusker. We even cooked italian food for our host family together. We couldn't have imagined better people to spend our free time with. Back to the pastor, he's incredible. He goes to school, he's working on a degree in theology, he farms watermelons so as to not be a burden to his church, and supports 116 families living in a garbage dump. He seeks sponsors for their kids to attend boarding schools around Kenya (let me know if you're interested), his wife teaches the women how to weave bags that are then sold in the US,  and when he has the funds he pays for fresh water to be trucked in. We spent the weekend on safari with a guy named Travis travelling the world just because he could and he completely sold us on the idea of making our next vacation destination Utah. Travis, through talking about his travels taught me the importance of wonder; of being amazed by the littlest things in this world.

I can't even begin to talk about the wonderful people I've spent the last four weeks working with at the clinic. When I'm in the VCT I'm amazed by Irene's ability to counsel people and look on them without judgement regardless of their HIV status. She's confronted with that painful ten minutes I described in a previous post multiple times a day, five days a week and still manages to keep a smile on. During our downtime we had some enlightening conversations on the differences between our countries and just life in general. Speaking of smiles, Chris, one of the lab techs, is always up for a laugh. He's a guy that makes work a fun place to be and helps the time to pass quicker for workers and patients alike. Just today he taught me how important it is to do even the smallest of things for others without question because ultimately, to borrow from Old Crow Medicine Show, we're all in this together. Whenever Chris randomly leaves the lab, Evelyn, the other lab tech, and I have great conversations. She treats me like a son and has taught me so much about Kenya, its shortcomings, its highlights, and how it will look in the future. She's the most professional Kenyan I've met on this trip and its because of the persistence of people like her that this country will continue to improve. The time we spend talking each day is always a highlight. One of the nurses in the clinic, Catherine, is one of the hardest working ladies I've ever met. Each day she shuffles back and forth between her patient load in the TB office and giving vaccinations and immunizations to children. Any time there is a hole somewhere she manages to fill it without shirking any of her other duties. I'm going to miss this place and all these people more than I can adequately describe. I never thought I'd have formed so many meaningful connections in so short a time.

I came here to help and to serve and that stuff means a lot to me but these people mean more. It seems all these people that I've mentioned are working for the same things. They're all seeking to understand something foreign, something strange and different in order to improve the world in some way. The best part is they're all doing it by utilizing their own passions. Their using baseball, humor, smiles, and climbing to change the world. Mother Theresa says to find the place where your passion meets the worlds greatest need and I think these people do this everyday. They've given me great examples to live by and (as seems to be the theme) I can't put words to how thankful I am to have met them. As this experience wraps up I couldn't be happier with it,  frustrations and all.

Development in Kenya

We're pretty settled in and past the halfway point of our stay in Nakuru. Sorry for so few posts. My phones been broken and finding/using internet can be a chore. Anywho new post:

Kenya finds itself in a very crucial place of its history. In 2008 violence marred the post election climate driving thousands from their homes and costing some their lives. Kenya has come a long way politically since then. In October 2010 they passed a rewritten and updated version of their constitution which greatly increased the individual rights and freedoms of the people. Since I was last here in 2010 many improvements have taken place. Roads that I travelled in 2010 that consisted mostly of broken concrete and dirt have recently been paved drastically decreasing the transit time to major cities. New buildings have been erected and are currently springing up everywhere. Wireless coverage is found everywhere and 3G data can be found in most populated areas. Sanitation is improving with squat toilets being replaced with washrooms with running water. Farmers have begun using drip irrigation to conserve water and large scale farms even use GPS assisted planting. This country is improving rapidly and the people play an active role.

Last Friday I went out into the community I work in with a Public Health and Safety Officer. We went to lumber yards and restuarants to check for permits and safety certificates as well as to check working conditions. When a place failed to meet minimum standards a formal citation was written and issued. Rechecks are done two weeks after the citation is issued. Their standards are high and closely resemble western ones especially for restaurants and bakeries. We had to close a restaurant because of poor sanitary conditions. In order to reopen the proprietor would need to install washrooms, raise the roof in the kitchen, and have some sort of running water. These are very expensive changes and at first I felt a bit frustrated with shutting this man down for lack of infrastructure. The office however explained to me that by being tough on one person it softly coerces others around to improve their conditions. Doing development this way allows for a more gradual adaption of new policies. While one person suffers others can learn from it and plan for these new improvements. If left to their own devices people would not spend money on improvements.

In the same way the clinic we work at is improving. The national government employs two of the clinic workers, a lab tech and the public health officer; the rest are employed by the local government. The federal employees are well versed in updated policies and procedures and have a certain air of professionalism about them. These are the individuals being used as examples for the other nurses and techs. They uphold high standards and aren't afraid to reprimand those who don't. Improvements in much of the public sector are happening top down. The national government is training the most able bodied individuals and sending them out to the provinces to be examples to everyone else.

Not surprsingly when on safari in Maasi Mara last weekend I had 3G data coverage. I tweeted a picture of a lion from the middle of a game reserve. It's tough in that area to get a cold drink or a hot shower but not wireless networks. The mobile infrastructure in Kenya has led to many new innovations, most notably MPESA. MPESA is a banking program that works through text messaging. With it people can transfer money between accounts, pay bills, give money to friends and family and even buy more phone credit. In 2011 an estimated 20% of Kenya's GDP was transferred through MPESA.

The improvements in Kenya are not going unnoticed in the international community. China and a host of European countries are investing heavily in the area. By 2016 the world bank estimates Kenya will be a middle income nation boosting it out of 'developing' status. What an awesome time for Kenya.

Maasi Mara

A few weeks ago we went on Safari. I wrote this and never posted. Enjoy.

Feet away from our van sit four lioness silently stalking their prey. In the distance sits a majestic Tope, perched on a rock, looking out for his children and women as they grazed. The lions kept their distance and creeped into formation. Everything was going according to plan until a van moved exposing one of the lions to the male Tope. He ran and his herd followed. This is life in Maasi Mara. A place where humans can come and interact, albeit from a distance, with extraordinary wildlife. Humans can at the same instant provide cover for a hunting animal and completely ruin its plans of attack. These lions seemed to shrug it off easily enough and regrouped, scanning the plains for another potential meal. As the sun began to fall between the mountains we had to wait until morning to see if these lions had any success.

We didn't come across this pride the next day but saw at least three others including one napping next to the carcass of a wildabeast. The day started with a search for the ever elusive cheetah. As the fruitless search wore on we found ourselves mere feet from a pack of giraffes, some hyenas, and large herds of gazelle. By mid morning we had moved into the heart of Maasi Mara characterized by large swaths of open grazing lands in the area between two ranges of hills. Here we happened across a herd of elephants intent on protecting a new born from our sight. As we drove on the elephants watched with ears at attention ready to force us away. After eating a surprisingly delicious boxed lunch we walked along the banks of the Mara river viewing countless hippopotamus almost completely submerged. As we approached a bend in the river a 7 foot crocodile slid off the bank and into the water. This bend will play a crucial role in the annual wildabeast migration that begins in July. It's at this junction where predators sit and wait for easy prey. The rest of the afternoon provided more of the same; a relaxing yet exciting ride through one of earths greatest natural environments.

Early the next morning we set out for our final game drive. We reached the park in time to see the sun emerge from behind the distant mountains. As we drove away from our first view point our driver noticed something perched on a far off hillside. These could be cheetahs. I quickly took a picture zooming in on the image as far as I could. Confirmed, we headed fast in their direction. We were the first van to arrive. The morning air was cool and these cheetahs looked hungry and ready to hunt. Cheetahs shy by nature and once more vehicles showed up they disappeared into the tall grass. Upwind from where the cheetahs disappeared sat a large herd of gazelle. We waited between the tall grass and gazelle for the predators to emerge. After thirty minutes, nothing. We moved on. Not so long after we stumbled upon a large pride of lions, twelve strong lying in some tall grass. They were hunting. Some Buffalo anxiously stood guard in the distance. Before we could see a kill however we had to head out. Our created world beckoned and we had to leave this raw, untamed nature behind.

Ten Minutes

I sit listening trying to understand the conversation going on beytween the two women in the room with me. I'm in a VCT. A girl named Gloria has come to be tested. Through the occasional english that breaks through the rapid swahili I learn her age, she's 19, and her fear, a positive result. The pre test counseling runs longerthan usual as the anticipation builds. Her feet tap nervously, she shifts repeatedly in her seat, and with a sign rubs her eyes. The worry is palpable. I can't do anything but sit there expecting the worst and running each possible scenario runs through my brain. She's 19 and could be HIV positive. Nineteen. What would the rest of her life look like? Will she be alone? Will she ever have children? Is this the just consequence for her actions? The woman in the white coat abruptly pulls out the testing supplies dropping each piece to the table with a forceful thud. Gloria wipes a bead of seat that has formed off her brow. Her finger is swabbed and pricked. Her index finger on her right hand. As the blood is being pipetted on to the test strip she gazes out the window before putting her head in her hands. It's time to wait.

Robert hesitantly shakes hands with the three of us he has joined in the cream colored room. As soon as   he sits his white Pumas begin nervously tapping the floor. His fists lay clenched in his lap. Counseling begins. He admits to having many partners, to drinking heavily, and to not using protection. He's at risk and knows it. I'm nervous for him. Before counseling is through he believes he has been infected and requests the drugs rather than a test. He's sure he's positive. As the testing supplies come out he calms slightly. His palms lay on his lap and his feet lay still. It's obvious he's still nervous as his hand constantly strokes the scruff on his chin. The test kit comes out. The middle finger of his right hand is pricked. No blood. They try again, this time on the pointer finger of the same hand. Blood flows. The test is prepared. He looks around the room before putting his head in his hands. It's time to wait.

Ten minutes pass before either of these tests could be read. Those ten minutes can be the most impactful period of the testing process. Few words are spoken and the patient is left to reflect on the actions that brought him/her to this point. It's a painful period as the patient reflects. It's evident on their faces how scared they are. HIV changes your life. Anti retro viral drugs become the center of health and wellness. Sexual habits must change. The potential for starting a family diminishes. So many decisions past present and future must be considered. I start feeling awful as I run their life scenarios in my mind and can't even begin to imagine what they must be feeling. Regardless of the outcome of these tests the hope is that individuals will change from unhealthy behaviors. This doesn't always happen. Some people come in consistently, every few months and won't change until they are infected but even then some don't. Gloria had been tested twice before. Twice, and she's 19. The ten minutes is up. The reflection is over. The patients must read the results of their own test before the nurse confirms it. Luckily this time both return negative. I'd expected each to breath a sigh of relief but both left knowing they had dodged a bullet and would have to make difficult life changes in order to never live through those ten minutes again. 

The First Week

It's really hard to begin this post. As I reflect back on the wide array of emotions felt this week its hard to put them collectively into words. I've been excited and optimistic at the thought of new opportunities, I've been frustrated and dissappointed when things haven't gone as planned, but I've alse remained confident (with the help of some of you) in the belief that whatever it is I'm actually doing will someday make the slightest bit of difference to someone somewhere. Or at the very least will provide me with the skill set neccesary to pursue a career in an aid related field. That might be egocentric or undoubtebly American but it provides me with ample motivation.

With all that being said Thursday and Friday made for much better days then the early half of the week. Carl and I worked in the Free Area Clinic, a clinic we came to find that was not free but simply located in 'Free Area'. Ha, only in Kenya. In the clinic our duties change based on the day of the week. Mondays and Fridays are supposedly the busiest days in the clinic however this past Friday was only moderately so.

So as I said the clinic is in Free Area that sits just beyond the fence of Lake Nakuru National park. To get there each morning we need to take 2 matatus (micro buses used for public transport) and it takes about 30 minutes. The clinic itself is not large its a collection of four buildings layed out in a U with the fourth building in the center. The first building houses a reception counter, a pharmacy, the exam room for children, the VCT, and the family planning room. The building directly opposite houses the doctors office and the head nurses exam room used mainly (atleast these last few days) as a dispensary for TB drugs. The building at back is the largest and houses the maternity ward. The center building contains the 'lab' an 8' x 6' room with chemicals in it, and the public health officials office.

This post isn't very exciting so here's a picture of Carl:
(He looks like he's scrubbed in for surgery but that's what we had to wear to fold bandages. We didn't use gloves or wash our hands and we put them in stacks on a dirty table before putting them in dirty boxes. I hope I don't ever need one)

Now the Adventure Begins

*So it's been a few days without a post so I owe you one! Sorry there are no pictures, it has been difficult to find an internet connection better than dial up. Anyways thanks for reading and feel free to let me know what you think.*

So on our first full day in Nairobi we had orientation where we found out we'd be leaving the hustle and bustle of Nairobi for Nakuru, Kenyas fourth largest city situated 2.5 hours outside Nairobi in the Great Rift Valley. Nakuru's claim to fame is its lake that houses over a million flamingos. The national park that surrounds it boasts sizable populations of Zebras, Buffalos, Baboons, and the rare White Rhini. The landscape itself made the placement appealing. Little did we know what awaited us. We arrived on Saturday afternoon after dropping several other volunteers off at their placements. After seeing their surroundings then pulling into our own we had reached the pinnacle of our excitement. Little did we know what the next few days would look like. That night after an unsuccessful scouting mission through town (where within 15 minutes we bought 5 liter containers of water) we returned back to the apartment where we finally met our host family. We are staying with Pastor Anthony, his wife, two daughters, and two people of indeterminate relation. The kids are 1 and 4 and enjoy a good cry. Ha but really they are awesome people doing a lot of great work in the community. So far the time spent with them listening to stories and such during dinner has been the highlight of each day. The pastor told us on Sunday night about our placements for the coming weeks and the more he talked the more our excitement grew. It sounded like we would be doing real beneficial work. Normally during the week Carl and I will be working with a Voluntary Counseling and Testing Clinic (VCT) Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and at a hospital with the Red Cross on Tuesday and Thursday. This week would be different and we would be working with the Red Cross on monday as well.

After two days working with the Kenyan Red Cross I can only hope our days become more exciting. Yesterday we had to report for an "orientation" that lasted all of twenty minutes and through it we ascertained nothing more about our work then we knew before but that could have been because of the freakishly loud TV blaring Kenyan soap operas in our ears. Not the day we had anticipated.

Today offered a little more promise as we were to report to the hospital. After another orientation meant to acquaint us with the geospatial location of each ward on the hospitals campus we recieved our days assignment: making large pieces of cotton into cotton balls and cutting up and intricately folding gauze. It's hard to judge our actual effectiveness from today. What should we have accomplished and how much impact did it have? I don't actually know and it's kind of frustrating. We want to help anyway we can and don't mind most tasks but today felt like busy work. It felt like they didn't know how else to use us but didn't want to ask. I'm optimistic this will change and I'm hopeful that things will be different tomorrow at the VCT at the Free Area Health Center.

Thanks for reading

Dan

On Nature and Being

Musings from a few days back...

In our modern society few things remain that leave us feeling small and insignificant. As I gaze up at the mountains dotting the northern Tanzanian landscape with peaks hidden behind the delicate puff of a cloud I can't help but feel just that. We're on a road cut through nature. A natural world that has created things more beautiful than any human being could accurately capture or reproduce. I think back to last week as I watched the Zambezi River spill over a cliff setting one of the most spectacular scenes of the natural world. I think of the double rainbows created by the play of light off the mist that permeated the air around them. Such beauty is foreign to our ways of life. Seeing them reminds us or atleast me of my insignificance in the grand scheme of things. It's comforting though in a way. The clouds will continue to cover mountains without admiration, the river would continue to run without our need of it, and the rainbow would not relinquish an ounce of its beauty if no one watched. So to I will continue on, so will we all continue on regardless of our apparent importance or impact. But there's more to it. Unlike the river, the rainbow, or the mountain, our time here is fleeting. Nature reminds me that regardless of who sees, who knows, or who appreciates I should continue to be who I am in pursuit of who I am to become. Nature doesn't change for anyone but itself, nor should we.