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!).
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!
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!!
Kayla- your picture of David didn't show up. But I loved reading about it anyway. Loved talking to you yesterday.
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