Springs and Such – Tuesday, February 8th

My sponsor child Moses

Tuesday morning I got to go by the disability clinic described in more detail in Kathy’s blog. It was quite exciting because the child that I sponsor through Chalice named Moses was at the clinic, so I got to meet him and his grandmother, Grace. He’s 4 years old and was abandoned by his parents when they realized he had learning disabilities and his grandmother took over his care. He’s a very sweet boy and I got to hold him. He smiled and giggled when someone translated the word ‘handsome’ and he was at the clinic to receive braces to help him walk. Before the clinic, it was believed that he would need a wheelchair and would never walk, so the news that all he would need is braces was very exciting. Eventually he will be able to remove the braces as well once his legs become stronger. It was really neat to be able to meet him and see firsthand where the money I send to Chalice is going, and see the additional benefits such as braces that goes along with the program.

There were the sweetest kids at the clinic. One little boy was sitting on the ground holding a giant umbrella. He was four or five years old, and every time one of us wazungos (white people) smiled at him, he lowered the umbrella so he couldn’t see us. I decided to play with him and kept ducking to look under the umbrella, and he just kept lowering it until it touched the ground. He was sooo cute! There was one little boy that Ted noticed whose eyes were popped so far out his head, he couldn’t believe they were still attached.

Then Cheri, Shawna and I went and had tea with Fr Bernard and checked out the hotel that everyone would be moving into. We used to call it the Francis Inn (the owner’s name was Francis), but the name that’s now painted on the wall is the Limo Guest House. It’s where we stayed last year, so Cheri, Shawna, and I made sure that all the rooms had a bed, mosquito net, working lights, a toilet seat if there was a toilet, working hot water if there was a heater, and looked reasonably clean. Out of the 16 rooms, 7 have longdrops, as in a ceramic hole in the floor. Those same rooms don’t have hot water heaters either; the way they give you hot water here for showers is a heater in the shower head, so the water is either ice cold or scaldingly hot, and sometimes it’s hard to tell which one as they’re both such a shock to the body! It’s an odd problem to have so you end up doing this dance in and out of the stream turning the water heater on and off at intervals to achieve a semi-consistent warm. Anyway after taking stock of the rooms, we realized we would have to add 7 bed and help decide with Ted which unlucky people would be in the rooms with the longdrops. All the people that are returning are guaranteed a longdrop, and a select few of the new group.

Kenyan Water Meeting



That afternoon we went back to ‘No Name’ hotel (where we had been staying and eating meals) for lunch. There was a group heading off to look at water projects that afternoon. The group consisted of Jack, Ted, Paul, Anthony, the local head of the water committee named Jefferson, and Francis. We went to two different sites. The first site is a water project that MCOH funded to draw water from a spring and provide it to 30 families. The families formed a board and paid a fee to join and monthly fee. The project is working great and being maintained by the community! During the dry months when the spring can’t sustain the whole community, they ration the water so half the families use it one day, and half the next. We arrived by two houses that were well off that had round houses and thatched roofs, and many cattle. We then took a hike up the mountain to the spring, and followed the pipes to a 1000L tank. We then followed it down to the river where there was a big effort to dig so the pipe from the stream could go under the water. (Why was there a spring fed water source when there’s a river right there, I asked that too. It’s because the river water is contaminated and spring water is clean). During the walk I was informed that there are pythons in the area, but saw some dead baby mice along the path, so that can’t be true. The snake would have eaten those. I also saw some water being sprayed onto crops in this really cool sprinkler that was 6 feet off the ground and could spray a great distance. I inquired as to which crops were so vital that they were using drinking water, and found out it was mira, a drug with similar effects to marijuana that the men chew. It’s such a great cash crop (and not illegal) that it is very carefully maintained.

Not your typical toy


  

 

On the way back to the combi we passed a group of adorable children all under 5. One of the little boys who might have been 3 was holding a machete as large as he was, just like it was a toy truck! We then visited a farm that is benefitting from the water project. He had a great amount of crops, including some white sweet potatoes, papaya (called paw paw here), seedlings that he gives for other farmers to use, and many other crops. His house even has a solar panel for lighting! We all shared a raw sweet potato on the spot. Yum!

The-ka! (Smile!)

The second site we went to is a prospective site to tap a spring to provide water to 30 people. We had a group of kids follow us during the hour hiking through the heat. When we were running down the mountain (as I may have left the working group to goof around with them), you would swear they were wearing shoes for the sound their feet made in the dirt. I had fun talking to them and learning words in kimeru, the local language. I took a picture of them, then told them all ‘Theka’ which means ‘smile’, and they were so surprised I used a kimeru word that they laughed and laughed! During the hike, I was struck at how formally the Kenyas were dressed. We Canadians were finally dressed appropriately, in shorts and a light shirt, as it was really really hot and sunny! The Kenyans didn’t look out of place at all in nice trousers with button up shirts, and they didn’t even get dirty! It was really neat. The Kenyan pace is a bit slower than the Canadians are used to walking, and much slower than Ted is used to walking! Hiking was interesting because their pace never quickened. Everything here is hakuna matata!

Summary: A successful water project tour and I learned how to tell children to smile! (Chekah in Swahili)

Pre-team thoughts

From Kathy, Jack and Ed about their adventures:

Kathy, Jack, Ed, and Ted (the pre-team) arrived Friday evening, January 31^st, and spent Saturday with Anne Josiah and Bernard from Chalice. It was a great meeting. Kathy adds, ‘As always they provided insight, sensitivity to culture, and guided our way.’ Jack mentions that he couldn’t sleep Saturday night due to the time change and jet lag.

Sunday morning they went on safari and saw lions, cats, rhinos, antelope, Masai giraffe, regular giraffe, Masai zebra, regular zebras, and impalas. The two pessimists (I won’t name them) said they didn’t see cheetahs or leopards, but saw everything else. They remember with a note of sadness a large pile of ash that was made from illegal sales of ivory tusks and surrounds a memorial to discourage the practice. Sunday afternoon was quiet and they spent the afternoon shopping for shorts for Jack. (Note: Jack somehow arrived in Africa without shorts and Ted has suggested that they stop and buy him a pair of shorts every time they pass someone selling him). They went to a high end mall in Nairobi, quite different from the stores in Mikinduri.

Ted playing with Silvanos' children

Jack spent the evening with his friend while Ted played in the pool with Silvanos’ wife and children. Silvanos was the manager of MCOH in Mikinduri (locally called MHCDO), and was murdered in December 2005 in Nairobi. His family has remained a part of the MCOH family and when Ted mentioned playing in the pool at their visit last year, the children remembered and were quite overjoyed to go in a pool for their first time.

Now that the pre-team was more acclimated to the time change, they were ready to get to work.  Monday morning at 8am, Ed, Father Bernard, Antony, Bernard and Jack met with APDK. Kathy, Ted, and Anne met with the Lion’s Club. The meeting was with Eunice Wandei of APDK, coordinator of community based rehab programs. They reviewed requirements for establishing community based rehab programs and learned about the micro-financing programs for people with disabilities. They saw the outside of the factory that produces wheelchairs for only $200, tailored to the specific needs of the disabled, with larger wheels for the rough road, more like a mountain bike would have so it can be repaired easily in the villages. They also make crutches, braces, and prostheses.  In a different part of town, the meeting with the Lion’s club was with Dr Khan and Mr Datoo. Their mission statement is ‘we serve’. They were eager to partner and support and outreach for eyecare. It was a beautiful hospital and they balance the services well. People with money would pay for dialysis and eyework, which allow them to offer services to the poor for a minimal price. A second meeting was set up to discuss the possibility of the partnership. At 10am (yes all that was in only two hours!), they all promptly returned to the Methodist Inn to meet Zarah and Leah, consultants recommended by Amref Canada, who were hired by MCOH to do an environmental scan (more detailed than an assessment), as part of a feasibility assessment for community based health care. They presented a preliminary report with the promise to deliver a final comprehensive report mid-February. They spent so long in the meeting that the consultants nearly missed their plane!

Data measures they track for Community Based Health Care

Monday afternoon, they took off for Makindu, a town East of Nairobi, half way between Mombassa and Nairobi in a place called the ‘hunters lodge’. Makindu is a model Amref site for Community Based Health Care that they visited on Tuesday. They learned so much about Community Based Health Care and were able to visit two different sites that day. They met two CHEWs (Community Health Extension Workers) and were show the types of data collection and indicators that were used by the Dept of Health to monitor program effectiveness. The second site was a demonstration on using computers for data collection for Community Based Health Care. Community Health Workers (CHW) directly entered the information on their areas on health conditions to send to Amref that they’re responsible for monitoring. It gave them insight into the relationship between CHWs, CHEWs and Community Development Committee (the board). On the trip back to Nairobi, Jack purchased a GPS for better investigation of water locations…and went on a second shorts shopping trip.

On Wednesday, they had a more extended tour of the Lion’s clinic and were quite excited to start a partnership that the Lion’s would provide support at the vision clinic during the Mikinduri health clinics this year! The Lion’s club will do screening for diseases and eye conditions, i.e. cataracts. They can do very accurate vision testing. It provides an interesting opportunity to facilitate referral of patients to Nairobi and possibly more regular clinics if the need is present. Meanwhile, Jack and Fr Bernard went to the national statistics agency and got some great information about the Mikinduri area. They bought two publications on Population and Household Statistics by Administrative unit, the smallest unit in the country, which gave them a good baseline on the population that they’re serving. That book cost 4000 shillings ($50). They bought a second book called Socio-Economic Characteristics which was a bigger geographical unit and will be very representative. That book was also 4000 shillings. They were searching for topographical maps of the Mikinduri area. On Wednesday evening, they had the pleasure of meeting Bernard’s family: Emily and Joy.



Education before clinic began

The next week of their activities are in the previous blogs, so jump to Tuesday February 9^th:  APDK from Embu and Meru had a clinic at the Mikinduri dispensary where MCOH clinics are held. We learned many things from them about how to run clinics.  They started with micro-education, and taught a large crowd preventative teaching: the importance of immunization and particularly how it relates to polio; they emphasized the importance of vitamins especially in pregnancy; they reviewed the importance of early recognition of club foot (with the consent of a four year old teetering by with club foot, the Occupational Therapist, Peter Kareoke, the Embu Regional Coordinator of APDK, demonstrated club foot, the importance of early diagnosis and treatment to prevent the need for later surgery or amputation); and the importance of health insurance and joining the national health Insurance Fund and national disability fund the Kenyan government has established. That also provided an opportunity to instruct the people to be screened in the manner the clinic was going to be conducted. They divided into three teams: Physical therapy (PT), occupational therapy (OT), and orthopedic technologists, with one person from Meru and one from Embu. Those from Embu were training the Meru staff on how to run a clinic so the Meru staff can come back on a monthly basis for screening and assessments.



Boy with Club Foot



They saw 176 patients. Approximately 40 custom made wheel chairs were ordered. They will be made at the facility previously toured and sent directly to Mikinduri. Crutches were measured and ordered. Orthoses, custom footwear, were measured and ordered. Patients were referred for follow-up for school assessments, and subsequent follow up with the OT and PT. The patients were amputees, one with a bilateral above knee amputee walking around with 5-year old limbs that were in great disrepair, but he was able to walk around with his crutches. It was inspiring. He was fitted for a new wheelchair. There were 18 year olds carried on their parents back, who have never had wheelchairs. There were people with spina bifida, cerebral palsy, leprosy, scoliosis, muscular dystrophy, downs syndrome, spinal chord injury, elephantiasis, development delay, autism, epilepsy, ADHD, and mental illnesses. There was a man who arrived carrying his wife on his back, and on her back was her 6 month old baby! She was paralyzed from the waist down and the baby was malnourished. The APDK team was very surprised at the frequency of malnutrition, leprosy, elephantiasis, and they commented on the relatively high frequency of upper extremity amputations due to trauma (from machetes).



The APDK team had previously indicated that they would consider monthly clinics in Mikinduri if there was need, and due to the overwhelming response, there will be clinics the second Friday of every month. This is a great success that will continue even after Kathy and Ed head back to Canada. The number of people who arrived for the clinic was overwhelming, due so much to the local Mikinduri community. They found out the clinic was going to occur in less than 5 days, and the community banded together, Antony, Fr B, Chief Alex, Cynthia, and the community did a great job passing on the word! A fine example of the effectiveness of community based health care.





Stakeholders Meeting - Monday Feb 7, 2011

Today was a great day! We woke up and immediately made last minute preparations to the presentation and agenda. Keeping in line with the true Kenyan schedule, we planned for the meeting to start at 9am, and when people began to arrive at 10am, we finally started at 1030am. We totally took over Fr B’s church, St Massimo, as it’s the biggest room in Mikinduri, and we were expecting 40 guests consisting of chiefs, the local member of parliament, doctors and nurses from Meru, Embu, and Mikinduri clinic, people in the Mikinduri and surrounding communities, Fr B, and us wazungos (the plural for muzungo – white person). We had a great meeting once it finally started, discussing the current deficiencies with the health care system in Kenya, and introducing the idea of Community Based Health Care.

Stakeholders meeting participants

We discussed in small groups and brought our main ideas back to discuss as a large group. Some things are the same everywhere: in small groups, people are happy to talk, but once you get the whole room together, no one wants to be the first to speak. It was neat seeing everyone that we had spent in meetings with on their turf over the last few days, as I felt like I knew nearly everyone in the room! Some of the differences in cultures are significant though, as in Kenya, it is not considered rude to have your fingers in your nose. These dignified people with professional careers were sitting in the meeting itching the inside of their nose, something that we would be shocked to see in a Canadian office. It’s also interesting to note that we were the most casually dressed in the room, as everyone else dressed very nicely for the occasion, as seems to be the case in most situations. Additionally our meeting room had a concrete floor covered in dirt, and there was no air conditioning. One of the muzungos said ‘Long meetings in Canada are hard, but without A/C they’re much harder!’ The meeting was quite successful as we had hoped for networking, the introduction of Community Based Health Care, and awareness of services for local groups. It was fantastic to have a meeting come together so last minute, with a structure, charts, statistics, and yes...even graphs. We had farmers from our feeding project sitting at a table with their leaders and doctors, discussing concerns they had with health care, and more significantly, both were issuing the same concerns. One of the women who has three children and lives in Kaguwru told Ted that the meeting was great, and when pressed why, she said ‘So she is more aware and has something to take back to her community’, which is the whole point of Community Based Health Care!

Playing spoons with Kenyan Partners APDK

After a successful meeting that ended with traditional Kenyan tea, water that is boiled with tea bags and added to a cup of whole milk, so it is more milk than tea, we headed back to our hotel. The people from APDK (Association for Physically Disabled Kenyans) were staying in our compound and we had a fantastic evening playing spoons and dominos as a big group. Ted won, but Bongoman (and everyone else) insists that is because he cheated. We are tired tonight. Tired as a whole, but not just because we’re busy, but because every moment is networking. Even when we’re in the hotel compound, there are honored guests that come by and you have to be on your social ‘game’. It’s exhausting but so rewarding after a day like today!

Summary: A successful meeting with 40 varied participants! Today Kenyans and Canadians came together to have a great discussion!

Heavenly Service and Successful Farm - Sunday Feb 6, 2011

Sunday morning started quite early at 5:17 in the morning. Yes that time exactly! Our compound is surrounded by three different churches, and I guess they compete for the earliest service via loudspeaker. The rest of the morning, I aggressively tried to sleep, quite futilely, and got up at 6:30am as I was under the impression we were going to 7am mass. Those of you who know me, know that this was a minor miracle that I was ready to go at 6:30am, and even worse, no one else was awake! I couldn’t walk to mass by myself as although there haven’t been any real issues, it isn’t completely smart to walk through town alone. I saw our security guard Job pacing the compound with a hammer; I have mixed feelings about this as I feel safer that someone is patrolling, but with a hammer?!? I spent the morning reading until everyone else woke up and we headed to church for the 11am service. Ted and I walked through the town and received the celebrity status that eventually becomes blasé, but is so much fun in the beginning.  



This service is quite spectacular, and we were expecting nothing less. It was supposed to start at 11am, and with everyone in place and the rosary being said in swahili, Father B came in at 1120 to put on his cassock. We promptly started at 1130am (well it’s prompt for Kenya), and the entrance was a group of twenty adults singing and dancing up the aisle. The whole mass was more than two hours long, but that’s because there were two hours of singing. It was beautiful to see how joyful everyone was, compared to our more solemn services we are used to. Someone brought a chicken as part of the collection because they wanted to show the presence of life in the church; how beautiful! The chicken was not happy to sit in one place however and collided with Shawna’s legs more than once! (It even left a present we had to avoid on the floor for the entirety of mass). We had children coming up to use throughout mass and shaking hands, smiling, and sitting on our laps. It was such a nice distraction from a primarily Swahili celebration. Fr B introduced all of us Canadians during the homily, as if anyone could miss our pale presence.



Ted speaking during the homily at St Massimo's at Fr B's parish



We left church early (after communion and 2 hours in, but before the 30 minutes of announcements and more dancing) to go to the Kaguwru school and farm. We met some of the teachers and farmers out there and had a great tour of the upgraded school facilities. Before, the school was a small hut that was slowly discintigrating, and now there was a nursery building, a store room with food to feed the children, and 10 classes! There is a feeding program where the children get two meals a day, which allows them to stay in school the whole day instead of leaving to walk the hour home for food and missing half the school day. As a result enrollment has doubled! We were also shown the farm that feeds the children where the parents work to learn farming methods and allow their children to be in the program. The farm is nearly self-sustaining as some of the crops are sold to buy the necessary supplies that are not grown there. They grow ground nuts that taste different than peanuts, but similar in color and shape, maize, corn, a new crop which grows quite well in the drought season, pineapples, and much more! It was quite fascinating to see how the MCOH staff member Francis has used his knowledge to make the farm so successful when all neighboring farms are dry and quite fruitless. He attributes the success to choosing the correct crop for the correct area. Sounds so simple but something he has down to an art!

Kaguwru schoolroom (Brand new!)

Pineapple at Kaguwru farm

We also wandered around the area looking for springs and water sources that Jack can use to compile his report. We saw a stream with children jumping into the river and acting just like children should. It was very nice to see as we see hungry or bored children more often than the silly laid back kids we saw in the water. On the way to one water source, there was a child with bowed legs on the side of the road. We stopped to invite him to the clinic on Tuesday and realized he was a child who came to a previous clinic and received surgery for what were his much more seriously bowed legs. He has had some healing problems, but looks very good overall. As Cheri said, ‘this is how you know you’re in the right place. You run into someone you know just when they need your help’.



Stream where children play



Patient with Bowlegs and a roadside evaluation



We spent the evening having a barbeque at Fr B’s. Many of us were working up in his conference room, but we also got to enjoy the friendly atmosphere. I also found out that the chicken I had received as a gift last year (actually for my Aunt Coreen from her sponsor child) that Fr B promised to take care of for me, had been eaten! Fr B ate her! Phineas Sabina is no more, and I threatened Fr B that I would tell Alana (one of the teenagers on last year’s trip) on him, as she really named him. Fr B just laughed and said maybe she was still alive but just changed colors. Then he said ‘just kidding’, because I started to chide him for being a priest and lying! It was a fun evening and we were quite excited for the big meeting on Monday.

Summary: A heavenly service and visit to the school in Kaguwru and surrounding successful farm.

Finally in Mikinduri - Saturday Feb 5, 2011

Written by Shawna Quinn: On Thursday, Cheri and I arrived in Mikinduri. On the way to Mikinduri we met Fr Bernard’s father, brother, and sister-in-law. We’re staying at Fr. B’s compound. On Thursday night we had a great dinner with Fr. B. It was so good. It’s comfortable and like a second home to us. It’s funny though, when you’re looking out your bedroom window, it’s really odd to look out the window and see the church in the same place you’re staying. It’s even weirder to look out the window and realize you’re in Kenya, in Mikinduri, for the third time. We went and we met some people from the community that would help us find disabled individuals for the clinic on Tuesday. Then we went over to see the nursery and read to the kids as they aren’t fluent in English.

Shawna and Cheri with local children

On Friday we went back to the school and I taught class 4 (4^th Grade) Spelling and Reading (Language Arts). I felt comfortable, although when I looked around the classroom, it was very different to me, but they were fluent in English reading. The students are so well behaved, that some of the teachers left the classroom to check some work in the staffroom and the students stayed sitting in silence, doing their work. I was amazed. During recess we were able to teach the students the game Hot Potato, with a rock, they were so excited. Then we went back to the nursery and the teacher went for a break and we were able to stay with them without them being nervous and us being Mzungos (white persons); the children were comfortable as they met us before. We got to color with them, they call it drawing, and we were having so much fun. They go to school from 7:30am-5pm, but they have a ½ break in the morning, 1hr for lunch, ½ hour break in the afternoon. Each day we feed the students snack (porridge), lunch (beans, corn and rice) and afternoon snack (mangos or bananas). They are growing so much, Fr.B has a farm and is able to grow all the crops to feed the students, that is why we love Fr.B so much as he has helped so many. The nursery age 3-5yrs have a nap in the afternoon around 2pm. I just love what I am doing and I know I will enjoy the clinics as well. On Monday I was able to teach Social Studies, the students are in Gr.6 and they were learning about lakes and rivers. They want to play Hot Potato everyday now, and I was even able to go running with them today at the end of the day for Phys Ed.

We love this country as much as we love to live in Canada.

From Libby: On Saturday morning, we got to sleep in and had breakfast with Peter Munya, the MP (Member of Parliament) for the Mikinduri area. It was only a chance meeting that Peter was staying at the same hotel as we were. We had a great meeting telling Peter about all the projects MCOH has completed and in the works, and also what our needs are for the community. He was very receptive and vowed to complete the school in Kaguwru. That was a great thing to hear that we weren’t necessarily expecting. Following this, we headed back to Nakematt for last minute supplies and over to downtown Meru at the market to go to the bank and the Safaricom to get an internet stick. Apparently at the Meru market there are very sad things going on, such as child prostitution, but I was only told of this, I didn’t witness it. I did witness a thousand people walking around in a very small area. In the Safaricom office, there were fifty people in the average mini-strip Subway sandwich restaurant. I joined one crowd and tried to wiggle to the front, but as I am not really a fan of crowds and a big fan of lines, this was a nightmare! After 5 minutes someone shouted out that they needed a modem and I added my request for the same. I don’t know how long I would have been there otherwise! I paid only $24 for the stick and went over to the bank where Ted was waiting in line to exchange money. There was nothing different about the Kenyan bank, nothing at all.



Dr Ed and Dr Beppe at receipt of Gastroscope



Then we headed off for Chaaria hospital to deliver medical equipment to Dr Beppe that was donated by the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Charlottetown PEI. It was a lovely drive where we were finally getting to the rural area near Mikinduri. Children and adults alike excitedly waved at our combi whenever we initiated the wave. Some adults hesitantly waved, though the majority were as friendly as the children. Chaaria hospital is an Italian charity hospital that turns no one away. They have many people living at the facility as they are too sick and poor to go anywhere else. It has been in operation for the last 10 years and is sponsored by an Italian order. It is clear that they are very compassionate and were quite excited to receive the gastro scope. Unfortunately, we somehow got one of the suitcases jammed, so Ted tried his best to break into the suitcase using only a pocket wrench. 



Ted breaking into the suitcase for Chaaria



Ed and Kathy visited a patient that they had referred to Chaaria from a previous mission, and were able to check on his progress. Sadly, he was not doing well, but that doesn’t discourage Dr Beppe in the slightest. We had lunch at the fruit stand next to the hospital, and I enjoyed the juciest, most flavor-filled mango I have ever tasted. It was peeled on the spot and incredible!



Paul and Jack enjoying fresh Mango

We drove on to Mikinduri and finally arrived at our destination! We went to the new hotel that was built on the North side of Mikinduri market (which we would call a town). The rooms are very similar the Francis Inn that we stayed in last year, but the rooms are arranged in long lines of bunks instead of three stories high. The best part of the compound is that we are surrounded by a large exterior wall, so we can wander within the compound with no problems. There are always children gathered outside the wall, so it can be a sad reminder at the Francis Inn, and much easier to relax here. Luckily we will be enjoying meals here during the clinics but staying again at the Francis as it can accommodate a group as large as will be at the clinics. The new hotel (which is yet to be named) can only hold 24 people at the most, and we will have 32 people during the clinics. Fr B and Chief Alex joined us for dinner, as did Shawna and Cheri. We had a fantastic meal prepared by Bongoman, our chef extraordinaire, and spent the evening socializing and drinking beer. Well, we were also preparing for our meeting on Monday, but I prefer to say we were enjoying ourselves for the whole evening. We also did laps in the compound. There’s a slight hill so we did 10 or so laps and felt like we were finally able to stretch our legs. Fr B also brought Chief Alex’s bosses’ boss to stay with us for the evening. He was a delightful man that reports directly to the President of Kenya! We have been surrounded by some highly impressive political figures, which can only tell me people are taking notice of the work MCOH has done in the area.

Summary: Libby is happy to have finally arrived in Mikinduri and Shawna had a fantastic experience teaching the children in school

Many Meru Meetings – Friday February 4, 2011

Friday morning started later, thank goodness. We had an 8am meeting with Jane, a woman from DCC (a German acronym). She explained to us all of the services that her group offers people in the Mikinduri area, specifically for disabled people. Most of the services are medical, but one that is different than I’ve ever heard is that they form women’s empowerment groups. These groups are made up of women in a community that all invest a small amount of money (less than a dollar maybe), and give a microloan to someone who needs it. Once that is paid back with interest, they reinvest in someone else. This program is so successful because it is entirely based in the community. The money comes from the community. Jane was delightful and a strong command of the internal workings of the Kenyan medical system, something that no one else that we had talked to seemed to possess. In addition, she was funny. She told Dr. Ed that he looked like a doctor because he had ‘serious specs’.

Later we took a tour of the Meru hospital. It looked more like an army camp with small barracks in rows that served for different departments. The hospital in general just seemed odd, and it was hard to put my finger on why. After much reflection (as our tour was a few hours long), I realized it was because even though the building was shabby, with dirt all over the painted concrete floor, something brown leaking from the ceiling down the walls, blue steel bars covering the windows, the smell of marijuana in one particular room, and nothing giving the impression of clean, the doctors are dressed immaculately. They are wearing nice full suits with pristine white overcoats. It just seems out of place. In addition, an interesting aspect of their clothing is that it’s quite oversized. No one has tailored clothes on so it’s rare to find someone wearing a suit that actually fits them. The crisp button up shirts and nice suits have the effect that many men look like they’re playing dress-up with their father’s clothes. The hospital has many services, especially for the disabled, and we fostered a partnership to refer people to their hospital from our medical clinics. The doctors we met that day would also be attending the clinic the following Tuesday to evaluate the need for help for disabled people in the Mikinduri area. While at the hospital, we happened to run into Chief Alex, the main representative of the President of Kenya in Mikinduri. He was there working on a practicum for his Master’s in counseling. We had an impromptu meeting with him concerning the upcoming medical clinics. On the outside of the counseling office, there were educational paintings on the building. One was describing how to avoid rape for women. It said ‘Avoid provocative dressing and avoid secluded areas’. Gosh. This was such a blunt, skewed message, that it was nothing less than shocking in so many ways. 

Shocking wall painting near conselling center



We grabbed a quick lunch back at the Three Steers, and went back out. This particular afternoon, Ted and I joined Jack in his water services meeting. While Kathy and Ed were in meetings trying to learn more about local medical facilities in order to benefit our new Community Based Health Care program, Jack has been meeting with the different water departments in the different towns. Oh, there’s more than one you ask? Well yes. Apparently there was a new department created when extra funds were made available for water. Rather than increase the budget of the existing permit division, the Kenyan government created a new division to fund new water projects. As an expert in water resource management, Jack was the right one for the job to cut through the bureaucracy and find out what was going on. In this meeting there was a man with very long finger nails who couldn’t have been 5 feet tall. His job was to give out water permits. He was very kind, helpful, and knowledgeable, but I couldn’t tear my eyes from his long, dirty fingernails. Many options on how to get water to some of the schools MCOH sponsors were discussed. We left the meeting with the resolve to meet the man up by the schools to determine good solution to supply the school with water. This was the best possible outcome. Hopefully the meeting will occur.

Meanwhile, Kathy and Ed were at Sparks, a group that helps disabled people. There’s weren’t many people in the office so although it was a partnership we formally held, it was not advanced at all. We then drove as a large group to a hospital called ‘Ripples International’. They are a privately sponsored hospital that takes in children for outpatient care, and will eventually be able to accept them for inpatient care as well. Their organization has many other services, and hopefully we will be able to send people their way once their hospital is completed.

We finally arrived back at the Three Steers after a long day of meetings, only to have one more over dinner with an acquaintance of Ted’s. He was a really interesting man and we had wonderful conversation. The Three Steers is an interesting place. There are flat screen tv’s in the rooms, but no internet, the window overlooks a dump, and the laundry is all hung out on the line. Just interesting. Today was quite a successful day, though surprisingly exhausting to spend so much time talking and listening. Tomorrow we head for Mikinduri, with a few stops on the way!



Laundry line at hotel. Yup...sheets and all!



Summary: Many many meeting in Meru, fostering partnerships to help the people of Mikinduri

Early to Embu - February 3, 2011 - Thursday

After arriving late the night before, I tiptoed around the room at 6:30 in the morning to avoid waking Shawna and Cheri, who got in much later than I did, and darted down to breakfast. Now, breakfast at the Methodist Inn was fantastic! Knowing what is coming ahead helped me quite a bit to appreciate the amenities that the Methodist Inn offered. For breakfast there was a huge buffet including sausages, fried eggs, cereal, a local porridge (that I later found out you add sugar to. Doh!), and amazing fruit: mango, pineapple, and mango. The mango was straight sugar! I don’t eat mango anywhere but Kenya because there’s so many more flavors and juices in the mangos here. Breakfast was fantastic and I was able to catch up with Kathy, Dr Ed, and Jack, who I had not seen the night before. I was also introduced to Paul, our driver for the week. The drivers are really specatular. They quickly become part of the team and join in with any work or activity we have. In addition, they’re very knowledgeable about the local vegetation, wildlife and landscape. We’ll be driving along and someone will ask ‘Paul, what’s that mountain called’, and he always has an answer! They do so much more than just drive us around.



Kathy, Ed, Antony, Ted, Jack, and Paul at lunch at Issac Walton



We got into the combis and drove about 3 hours to Embu, where we stopped for lunch. On travel days, it seems like there’s only driving and eating, but we were also going to pack in meetings along the way.  On the way to Embu we passed through Mwea, which is the largest rice producing area in Kenya. Apparently their rice is much tastier than anywhere else. Once in Embu we stopped at the Issac Walton Inn and saw these fantastic birds. The males have a great crest on their head. They’re black with white breasts, called the ‘white cheeked hornbill’. Okay for lunch I had the food I had been looking forward to for a year: Chapati, (which is a greasy tortilla but uses a local grain different than the flour we have so it has a flatter quality than the fluffiness of tortillas), Kenyan curry (which tastes different than Indian curry because of what they put the curry on: they use a lot of a potatoes, peas, and carrots), and a Fanta (yes the pure suger yummy British drink).



Prosthetic leg for Amputees made at ADPK in Embu



During lunch we talked with a man from APDK (Association for Physically Disabled Kenyans), which is a government organization that supplies wheelchairs, prosthetic devices, and physiotherapy. After lunch we toured his facility in Embu. Ted, Kathy, Ed, and Jack had toured the Nairobi facility where they manufacture wheelchairs for only $250. The Embu facility was full of very nice occupational therapists, physiotherapists, and other specialists. The most exciting part of this meeting is that APDK will be holding a screening in the town of Mikinduri the following Tuesday for the disabled people’s needs in Mikinduri. If the need is there, they will hold a monthly clinic to assess the disabled, which will allow amputees to get prosthetic devices, referrals for children with club feet and bow legs, those in need to get wheelchairs and much more. Really this is a huge development for Mikinduri whose disabled have been overlooked up until now. We also agreed that a discussion needed to take place between the local community leaders and the organizations that are offering help, so a ‘Shareholders Meeting’ was organized for the Monday before the screening. This was a fantastic meeting where we were able to partner with a group that already has so many services and bring them to the people that we are supporting.

We then drove three hours onto Meru, where we would stay for the night at the Three Steers Hotel. (I slept the whole way so it didn’t seem far at all). We stopped there for lunch on the previous trip and enjoyed the meal immensely. For dinner I enjoyed a beef samosa (ground beef in a deep fried triangular shell), more chapati, curry, and a tusker (a Kenyan beer). If I keep up at this rate, I’ll gain the typical 5 pounds Ted claims he gains on every trip! We had a group discussion concerning all we had learned and how to proceed over dinner.

Meru is the largest town near Mikinduri, and we would consider it a city. Most beneficial: they have Nakumatt, a Kenyan walmart to get all those amenities you forgot or didn’t realize you needed until you got there. We had a quick stop where I tried to grab postcards, nail polish (the only thing I forgot when I left), and a pillow (the pillows in Mikinduri are abysmal: little airplane sized hard foam, which I imagine have bugs in them, though I doubt they do. This year I brought a hypoallergenic pillow cover with the plans of buying a pillow from Nakemat.) I walked out of there with a pillow and some soda as apparently not too many people visit Meru (so they don’t need postcards) and Ted laughed when I mentioned the nail polish. Oh well, I got my pillow! It was a great day!

Summary: We’re within ½ hour of Mikinduri and had a great meeting with ADPK.