So Much To Tell...Kenya Week 1

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. In the case of Africa, no picture can capture what I’ve seen and experienced in just one week. And no words can describe the beauty, joy, suffering and pain any picture would attempt to capture. But nonetheless, I’ll do my best to share the Kenya I have experienced in the past 7 days:

Doctor Jimmy, Nurse Amanda, and I landed in Nairobi Saturday evening. After passing through customs and gathering all our luggage, we found Boniface, the tall skinny, Kenyan driver for St. Camillus. He eagerly greeted us with a hug and huge “Karibu!!” (“Welcome” in Kiswahili). We spent the night under our mosquito nets at the St. Camillus Seminary in Karen, the wealthier, safer area of Nairobi.

After Mass Sunday morning, we began the 8 hour journey to Karungu. Like I said, no pictures or words can describe the beautiful landscape and people of the Rift Valley. We saw Massai men herding their cattle, women carrying any variety of heavy objects on their heads, and children smiling and waving wildly as the “Mazungus” (White people in Kiswahili) drove by. We stopped in Kisii to buy cell phones and calling cards and were greeted by a huge and desperately needed thunderstorm. We drove the rest of the way to Karungu on unpaved roads through the storm while Boniface joyfully exclaimed that we were bringing Karungu the blessing of rain! The sun set majestically just beyond the cloud line and the perfectly arched rainbow welcomed us to our new home.

Lauren and Christy (the CMMB volunteers that have been here since February) helped Amanda and I move into our apartment when arrived in the darkness of the storm. They are both so excited to have more Americans here and have been incredibly helpful welcoming and orientating us. Dinner in the dining hall (a 3 course Italian/Kenyan cuisine!) was a multi-lingual meet and greet. Father Mario, Angela, and three other short-term volunteers (Andrew, Julia, and Christina) are all from Italy and speak varying degrees of English. Father Julius and Brother Stephen are Kenyan and both speak English quite well. Mix in a bit of Kiswahili and Duluo and you’ve got yourself four languages and 3 overwhelmed and exhausted new American volunteers!!

I spent the week getting a feel for St. Camillus and exploring the surrounding village of Karungu. Here are some highs and lows:

- Amanda and I got “stuck” in our new apartment Monday morning until a merciful neighbor came and unlocked the door for us. No worries now; we’ve figured it out now! You just have to pull hard!

-Started work at the Maternal and Child Health Clinic/Tuberculosis Clinic Tuesday.

- Wednesday afternoon Brother Stephen took Julia, Christina, Amanda, and I to climb Tigra. This huge hill overlooks all of Karungu and provides a perfect panorama of the villages, homesteads, and lake. The hike ended up becoming a five hour epic journey with multiple “I can’t believe I’m experiencing this right now” moments. Watch the video below for a glimpse of what I saw from the summit!

- Every evening when I come home from work, the children in the Staff Compound come running and smiling towards me. I through them each into the air and give them big hugs. They constantly yell, “Ciao!”, “Hello!”, or “OBAMA!” as I walk by!

I’m working at the Maternal and Child Health Clinic (a.k.a. MCH)/ Tuberculosis (a.k.a. TB) Clinic. My co-workers Irene, Helen, and Mary, have been incredibly patient, helpful, and thoughtful. I’ve learned so much in such a short time and I know I’m going to enjoy my work very much.

Highlights and Lowlights of working at MCH/TB:

- Yes, it is both a pregnant mothers and infant clinic AND a tuberculosis clinic. Everyone is well aware of the danger and stupidity of the situation, but there are honestly few other options right now. They are dong the best they can with the little they have. And it’s better than nothing.

-I saw a pregnant mother find out she was HIV Positive on my first day. Talk about a wake up call. I’m in Africa. The HIV prevalence surrounding Karungu is anywhere from 15% to 30%, depending on who you ask. This is serious. This is everyday life.

- I’ve seen more TB patients, HIV patients, pregnant mothers, and newborn infants in 4 days than I’ve seen in my entire life. It’s incredible.

- I’ve learned how to give vaccinations, take blood pressure, find a fetal heart beat, and find the fundal height and presentation of the baby. I’m getting pretty good at estimating the gestation period and I’m learning about all the possible complications of a pregnancy. The ultrasound technician loves Americans, which means I get a detailed explanation for any ultrasound (which are actually very few since they are only referred if there are possible complications)

- When there are no patients, I started organizing and consolidating their out of date filing/record keeping system The nurses are very appreciative and I enjoy/abhor seeing the extent of the data collection the nurses must do for the unending number of sponsors/donors (A short list includes CMMB, PEPFAR, The Kenyan Ministry of Health, MYAE (and Italian Mothers to Mothers NGO) and many more).

- I went on one of the MCH Mobile Clinics. So much to tell.

I think that’s enough for now. In short, this has been one of the most beautiful, heartbreaking, discouraging, inspiring, and thrilling weeks of my life. I constantly find myself completely overwhelmed. I’m doing my best to be patient with myself: I can only do small things with great love. It’s only been one week and I have many more to go. I can only imagine what is in store.

Please continue to keep me in your prayers. More importantly, pray for the mothers, children, and sick patients that come to St. Camillus. Pray that we can offer them the comfort and care they need and that Christ will bring them healing of body and spirit.

Feel free to send me mail at the address on the right. According to the other volunteers, it is best to send things in padded envelopes rather than boxes or packages. So if you can shove it in an envelope, send it my way!! Any music, movies, games, or treats will be much appreciated by all the volunteers and neighbors!!

Also feel free to call my Kenyan cell phone. Simply dial: +254714798157. It is free for me to receive incoming calls, so get an international calling card or Skype and call away!! Nobelcom.com has rates to call from the States to Kenya for as low as 11 cents a minute!