Twas the Day Before Christmas...Kenya Week 12: December 20-26

 

 

I feel my Kenyan Christmas experience is best expressed in rhyme**... Enjoy!

Twas the day before Christmas, and all through St. Camillus,
The mzungus spread Christmas joy even if it would kill us.
The decorations were hung by Kayla and Lauren with care,
In hopes that visitors would leave them right there.

The patients were nestled all snug in their beds,
While Christy placed dextrose and painkillers over their heads.
And Dr. Jimmy monitored patients with his smile and stethoscope
Checking vitals and breath sound for signs of hope.

When out on the staff compound there arose such a clatter,
I sprang up from my nap to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew with glee,
To see little Alan stuck up in a tree!

The moon on the breast of the beautiful lake
Gave the luster of a postcard or something else fake.
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
A tall Italian priest, talking loud for all to hear.

With a tank top and shorts, his cigarette aglow,
I knew in a moment it must be Fr. Emilio.
More rapid than eagles his orders they came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and called us by name!

"Now Kayla! Now, Jimmy! Now, Lauren and Christine!
Fr. Mario! Fr. Julius! All the novices get in!!
Climb into the cars! Be careful don’t fall!
Its time for Christmas Mass! Now dash away all!"

The Duluo Christmas songs they were a-singing,
While the English Noel in my ears was a-ringing.
After Mass we drank wine and ate Panattone,
All together in the house so we didn’t feel quite so alone.

On Christmas Day we gave the patients some sweets,
And sang them Christmas Carols. Oh what a treat!
We each had a few packages we opened with joy.
The chocolates and cards much better than any trinket or toy.

My Kenyan friends and neighbors did little to celebrate.
For them having rice makes their small feast just great.
Poverty keeps them from buying gifts and such.
But at least they can take off work and not do much.

I hope you all enjoyed my little Christmas rhyme.
And I pray that it finds you warm, happy, and fine.
A poet I’m not, but I wish you with all of my might,
"Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night!"


**The characters and events of this poem are based on fact...to the greatest extent possible when attempting to rhyme. Any resemblance to classical American Christmas poems is purely coincidental.

Do you know how to dance? and other such questions...Kenya Week 11: November 13-December 19

As part of my new job working with the HIV/AIDS Prevention program AWAKE, I helped facilitate a five day volunteer training for the Catholic Diocese. 24 volunteers came from each parish in the diocese to learn the basics of HIV/AIDS, Life skills, and Peer Education so they can in turn train the youth in their parishes and local schools. The basic idea: teach adults how to teach kids life skills and the basics of HIV/AIDS Prevention. Being the local “Public Health Officer” AND the token American, the volunteers came to me with any question concerning health, HIV/AIDS, STIs, and of course, the state of being in our beloved United States.

Many of the questions were incredibly relevant and insightful:
o How has the HIV/AIDS epidemic affected food security?
o How long can the HIV virus survive outside the body?
o If a baby is born with both male and female parts, is it a male or a female?
o Why do many of the symptoms for STIs only affect women and not men?

Others made me realize we have a big job to do concerning health and sexual health education:
o Can you get HIV by kissing?
o Why do women stay longer with the virus than men? (Translation: Why do HIV+ men died sooner than HIV+ women?)
o Do people with the HIV virus go to heaven?

Others just made me laugh. Here is a sample of the more noteworthy inquiries regarding Obama-land:
o Do you have potatoes in America?
o Do old people get taken care of in America?
o Do you have grass in America?
o If you don’t have ugali or sukuma wiki in America, what do you eat?
o Is it true that men are only allowed to have one wife in America?

And of course, they all wanted to know:
o Do you have a husband?
o How many children do you have?
o Which team are you for? (Translation: Are you a Manchester United or Chelsea fan? Translation: Do you watch European Football?)
o Do you know how to dance?

It was an exhausting, intense four days of training. My brain was tired mostly from having to explain what Americans eat other than ugali and sukuma wiki. But we managed to have fun and ended Thursday evening with a dance party! And not to brag or anything, but apparently I’m a good dancer according to Kenyan standards.

From Rongo we headed to Homa Bay, the headquarters for our Catholic Diocese. The diocesan employees close out their year with Staffmass, a four day (yes, a full four days!) party. We only attended the last afternoon of festivities which included speeches (a Kenyan staple for ANY social gathering), giving out gifts, and of course, a dance party!! Encouraged by the “You really know how to dance like a Kenyan” comments I’d received the night before, Nancy and I had a great time dancing into the night! And again as the token mzungu, I must have danced with over half the males currently employed by the Homa Bay Catholic Diocese!!

And just in case I hadn’t had enough Christmas celebrations or dancing, we made it back to Karungu just in time for the much anticipated St. Camillus Hospital Staff Christmas Party. Luckily this time I wasn’t the only mzungu and actually knew most of the people. Lauren, Christy, Jimmy, and I still managed to be the highlight of the dance party. I’ve figured out that Kenyans just want to know how us white people dance.

So as it turns out, the answer to your question is:
YES, I do know how to dance.
YES, America does have potatoes.
YES, men in America are only allowed to have one wife.

Jiggers Infestations, Public Transportations, and Priestly Ordinations... Kenya Week 10: December 6-December 12

What happens when your schedule includes an Ordination in Nairobi on December 12, a Volunteer Training in Rongo December 13-18th, a Christmas Party in Homa Bay on the 18th, followed by another Christmas Party in Karungu on the 19th? Ten days of intense traveling, talking, sitting, eating, and not sleeping. I’ve barely seen a computer in the past 10 days! But I’m happily back on the porch overlooking the endless Lake Victoria in the dry Karungu heat. Let me fill you in on the highlights of my life in Kenya the past two weeks!!

Monday, December 6, 2009 We found a young boy, Rocky, with jiggers in his feet last week during the Mobile Maternal and Child Health Clinic at a nearby village called Otati. I removed the jiggers but knew we needed to spray their home to kill those still living in the dirt floor. I organized to bring disinfectant and a sprayer to spray any homes in Otati with jiggers. Frank (the nurse that help us so much with removing Mary, Michael, and Gaston’s jiggers) graciously agreed take me on his day off to spray the homes. We rode out on his motorbike and disinfected Rocky’s home and one other home. The older couple living in the home had a serious case and we agreed that I would return on Thursday to remove their jiggers at the dispensary.
Tuesday and Wednesday, December 7 and 8, 2009 I helped facilitate another Life-skills training with AWAKE. The trainng was just down the road at B.L. Tezza, the primary and secondary school for orphans run by St. Camillus. The kids were a joy to teach and seemed to enjoy the training.

Thursday, December 10, 2009 I traveled with the ART Clinic (Anti-Retroviral Therapy for HIV/AIDS patients) to Otati to remove the jiggers from the husband and wife we met on Moday. We also brought a bed and mattress for Rocky’s family. They’d been sleeping on a mat on the ground, one of the common problems causing jiggers infections. Between bringing the bed to the home and rumors of a mzungu removing jiggers at the dispensary, a crowd of mothers and their barefooted children, all infected with jiggers quickly gathered. Before we knew it, we had over 35 different families reporting at least one child with a jiggers infection! a.k.a. Jiggers Outbreak in Otati!! Now I’m coordinating with the local nurse, village chief and government public health officer to arrange a community wide day for disinfection and removal of jiggers. Hopefully these sweet kids will be jigger free by Christmas (or at least the New Year!).

 

This is Rocky's little brother David. The family was so excited to finally have a bed and mattress.

Despite the unexpected outbreak discovery, I still managed to be back to Sori to catch the “night bus” with Lauren and Christy to travel to Nairobi. The night bus leaves Sori at 4:30 pm and inches its way towards the capital city, picking up passengers, sugar cane, corn, goats, chickens, and anything else that may be traveling to the booming metropolis. Lauren tells the story better than I possibly can. Check out her latest blog: http://laurenmeisman.blogspot.com/

Friday, December 11, 2009 After a fitful night’s sleep constantly interrupted by crying baby, a gawking chicken, and constant stop and go on the half paved highways, we arrived in Nairobi at 3:30 am. We stayed on the bus till the driver kicked us off in the pre-dawn haze of the city-center. The three blonde, young, and sleepy mzungus broke through the crowds of vendors, bicycles, push carts, taxis, and buses till we managed to escape the markets and arrive at the Kenyan Embassy to renew our visas. I won’t go into details of renewing my visa, but lets just say in a notoriously corrupt country, sometimes its helpful being blonde, young, and from America! Apparently my feminine charms exempt me from the hassles of the entire visa renewal process and no, Mr. Embassy Worker, you cannot have my phone number (but thanks for making this whole ordeal quite easy!)
We spent the afternoon finding a hotel and a decent place to eat lunch then shopping for beautiful Kenyan fabric. Kangas, kitanges, and kikoyos are literally the fabrics holding Kenyan life together. These versatile materials are a day to day necessity for a Kenyan woman: they become everything from the tablecloth to baby sling to travel bath towel. They’re sewn into exquisite Sunday dresses, men’s shirts, and grocery bags. The unbelievable diversity of materials, patterns, colors, and written messages on the fabrics made the afternoon an explosion of color and battering. Not exactly like shopping in the sterile and set-price atmosphere of an American mall and the three Mzungus had a blast! We bought fresh baked bread, peanut butter, and apples (all of which are priceless in Karungu!)at the grocery store and ate dinner in our hotel room before falling asleep at 8 pm!

 

Kenyan kangas, kitanges, and kikoyos in one of the many shops on our shopping spree!

Saturday, December 12, 2009 We really came all the way to Nairobi to attend the Camillian Ordinations and Final Professions. Richard was ordained a priest while Elphas, Thomas, and Joseph took their final vows as brothers. We’ve become friends with almost all the Camillians in Kenya, especially the younger brothers and seminarians and we were happy to be there for their big day. The celebration was beautiful and lasted all day!! In the evening we managed to enjoy a bit of Nairobi nightlife, which was a treat after being “in the bush” of Karungu!!

The Meaning of Friendship...Kenya Week 9: November 29-December 5

 

“What is a friend?” Daniel asked the group of middle school children.

“Someone you like.”
“Someone who gives you his things.”
“Someone who is your neighbor.”
“Someone you trust.”
“Someone who helps you.”

The idea that a friend is simply someone who gives you his things or helps you surprised me initially. Is it because these kids have so little that a friend is anyone that gives them something? All of the children, aged 10 to 17, are partial or total orphans and are sponsored by the Mercy Orphans Group, a large organization within the Catholic Relief Services. Mercy Orphans sponsors 75% of their school fees, provides support for their caretakers, and trains teachers and volunteers to assist these needy youth. As a part of their school sponsorship they must attend a 4-day “Life skills Training” course. Sitting in a circle in a dilapidated schoolroom on incredibly uncomfortable desks, these children learn about everything from Communication, Being Assertive, Self Esteem, and Setting Goals to HIV/AIDS, Rape, Sex, and Abstinence. I was blessed to spend two days learning and laughing alongside these beautiful kids.

After two months of working in the Maternal and Child Health Clinic, I have decided I want to utilize my skills as a “Public Health Officer” and spend more time in the community. While I’ve had incredibly valuable experiences working in the Clinic and helping in the Wards, I’m hoping to learn more about life, health, and poverty outside the gates of St. Camillus. After coordinating with Father Emilio, nurses, social workers, and volunteers at the hospital, I’ll be volunteering with AWAKE. AWAKE is a youth HIV/AIDS Prevention Program that reaches kids in the classroom to teach them about HIV/AIDS and how to avoid becoming infected. Starting in January, (when the kids go back to school) I’ll help give talks and facilitate discussions along with the other AWAKE workers. The AWAKE Coordinators, Angela, Daniel, and Mary, are excited to have me on board: hopefully the mzungu (white person) will make the kids pay more attention rather than distract them. And I am looking forward to the opportunity to “be in the field” and to impact, in some small way, the lives of the students we reach with the AWAKE Program.

After the first day of my “new job”, I couldn’t help but reflect on Daniel’s talk about friendship. I realized the children’s response that a friend is someone who gives you his things is not simply a result of their poverty or need. It is not a way of seeing a friend as someone to take advantage of. Rather, it is acknowledging that a true friend will give till it hurts. They’ll share from their own poverty to help someone they care about. This is universal: my friends give me not only their things, but also their time, patience, support, love, and joy. Good answer kids.

Even more surprising than the students’ response to Daniel’s question about friends was his next question to the students:

“How many children do you think Kayla has?”

Wait, WHAT!?!

Some kids giggled. Others quickly guessed the number of my offspring:
“2!”
“3!”

WHAT, I’m only 22?!?!!?!

I quickly clarified: “ONGE!!” (“NONE!!”)

“Kayla doesn’t have any children because she wants to complete her education and accomplish her goals.”

Where are you going with this Daniel?

“And so Kayla chooses friends that will help her accomplish these goals. Her friends also work hard and want to accomplish their goals and dreams.”

Ok Daniel, nice recovery. I guess the fact that most Kenyan girls have at least 2 children by the age of 22 makes me a good role model for these girls. I’m glad my fertility could help you clarify what it means to be a good friend.


All in all, it was a wonderful training. The kids seem to pay attention and even managed to have some fun. I can only hope something sunk in and they’ll keep themselves and their friends virus-free. Who knows? Maybe they even learned a life skill or two.