Clinics Day 4 – New Site! – Thursday, February 17, 2011

We spent Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday at Kangetta. We drove the 75 – 90 minutes to the site each morning, and it seemed to take forever because we were so excited to start the clinics. The days were great but long. We helped many people: 350 in Medical, 120 in Dental, and 530 in Vision. The medical team was divided into Ear Nose and Throat, Elderly, and General. There was also a separate pediatrics clinic, dental clinic, and vision clinic. The ride home every evening was filled with laughter and so enjoyable! One night, two of the combi’s even saw wild elephants along the road, stopped and took pictures! How fortunate!



Adair and David



Adair shares a story from Kengatta: there was a 13 year old boy that had fallen and badly damaged his knee in December, and had been hobbling on it since then. The x-ray of the knees showed the bones turned out nearly 30 degrees and hurt so much! The boy walked to school every day on it without a stick and never took so much as a tylenol. He will be staying at the mission hospital until his leg can work again, which may require surgery. Ida came over and did physiotherapy on his leg. He looks after his grandmother who is a laborer with elephantiasis, where the legs look as large as elephant trunks. When he and grandma work in the summer, they have money for food, but when he’s in school and due to the grandma’s condition, they eat what they can the rest of the year out of the small local garden. When Adair saw him, he hadn’t eaten in 2 days. Someone dropped their pen and he hobbled over, picked it up, and gave it back. What a sweet boy! His mother died in childbirth and the father left.  His tribe tells them to follow their paternal side, so he is kicked out of his family at 8^th grade when he leaves school to go and live on his father’s land, a man he has never met. But, if he is sponsored and can stay in school, he will be able to stay at the home he knows. Anne Josiah, who works for Chalice, was explaining how unlikely it will be that he gets sponsored since he’s old. Adair immediately jumped in to sponsor him. She said “yea! For $30 a month, of course!” The grandma was most happy that he would get to eat every day. When the boy and grandmother realized that the sponsorship was coming from Adair, he hobbled over to thank her. She said they acted like they won the lottery! What a special story for a boy who is the top of his class and before today, had no hope to continue in school! When he was going to get an x-ray, he was so patient and nice, and explained that first he had to go tell the principal that he would miss school and needed to get his homework. Adair told the grandmother that she had to sponsor him because he was so nice and the grandmother raised him so well. When asked if the grandma cried, Adair said , “Yea we both cried!”  How very special!

Today, we held medical and dental clinics in Mikinduri at the Dispensary. Here in Kenya, the country is divided into markets, towns, and bigger divisions. Mikinduri has been a market and as such only has a medical dispensary: an L shaped building with 6 rooms, a lab, a pharmacy, and a brand new maternity ward. There is a nurse and a clinical officer at the dispensary (which is a nurse who can prescribe medication). When the Prime Minister came, he declared Mikinduri a town, which requires a district hospital. This could mean a lot for this small area, including bringing doctors and specialists permanently to the hopefully upgraded hospital.



Jenn and Nancy doing a sealant



The dental team is set up in a tent and has the advantage of the bright sun and nice breeze, without the heat or sunburn. They served 70 people, starting the day with a large group of school children. Heather and Penny worked sterilizing the equipment with Nancy, who spent Tuesday doing sealants until the power surge broke her machine! She had planned to seal children’s teeth the entire trip but since the machine broke, she is back to assisting in dental. Bill said they had a good day but hope there will be more people the next day. That’s the spirit!



Rosa in the Lab



The medical team is situated in the L-shaped building. They had 2 Canadian doctors, one Kenyan doctor, 6 Canadian nurses, 6 Kenyan nurses, an occupational therapist, a Canadian lab tech, a Canadian and Kenyan social worker, a Canadian pharmacist, and a Canadian physiotherapist! They saw 100 patients, including a little 11 month old that was rushed to the hospital with malaria, which can be deadly for infants.



Karen and Virgil



The vision team stayed in Kangetta one more day because they had 300 people lined up! The Vision team has been averaging 250 people per day, so they were thrilled for the challenge, and ended up exceeding it! They saw 325 people in between 9 and 4! That is a lot of people who can walk away with glasses now with the ability to see. Cheri said there was one man who was not happy with any pair, and she finally fitted him with a -5.00 in one eye, and -0.25 in the other eye! His face lit up and he looked thrilled to be able to finally see! She also recalls one woman who had -7.00 glasses for distance and -4.00 for reading. Most people use a +2.00 for reading and it’s rare to give anything bigger than -2.00! Cheri said the woman looked at her face once she put the glasses on and had a grin creep across her face until her whole face was one great big smile! Everyone who came back from the vision team had the same expression: exhaustion and exhilaration!

What an exciting day! We have one more day of clinics, then the weekend to relax and experience Kenya and Mikinduri before starting all over!



Karen and Libby "busy" at the vision clinic



Clinic Day 1 - Monday, February 14th 2011

Grania and Ken with a translator and patient in Vision

Clinics have finally arrived! I’ve been in Kenya for two weeks waiting for this exciting day! Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday will be in Kengetta, a town about an hour from Mikinduri. Since it’s such a small town, we commute to it every day and stay in Mikinduri. Monday was a half day to get set up in the  morning and have a clinic in the afternoon for the elderly and children. The site is the Blessed Heart School, run by a group of nuns and sponsored by Chalice. We have a medical building which houses the medical, dental and pharmacy crews, and a school room for vision clinics.

A very happy patient!

In Vision, there was quite a large team. We had 60 patients, which is pretty good for a brand new team and in a 4 hour period! We love to help the elderly as they see such an obvious improvement with glasses.  

Adair, Adrian, and Marian were the nurses in Pediatrics. They saw 40 children over 4 hours, ages 2 - 17. There were malnourished children that were referred for sponsorship. A child that was having seizures once a week that could have been a number of things, and she will receive further treatment. They saw a twelve-year-old girl in a dilapidated wheel chair that was referred for sponsorship. The wheelchair pads were all gone, the tires were flat. She had clearly been using it for years and needed a new. She had cerebral palsy and thought the medication (Vitamin A and de-worming) was poisonous. She refused to take it, but they got her younger brother to take the medication first to prove it wasn’t. He wouldn’t leave her side. It was adorable! She was referred for physiotherapy. Adair wanted to add that in the morning people handed out suckers and gummi bears for Valentine’s Day, and lunch was decorated with hearts and pink spoons!

There were ten children sent for Malaria treatment and testing. There was a girl that was burned in a fire at 4 months old. She was six years old and was missing part of her nose, most of the skin on her face was scarred, and she had parts of her hair permanently burned off. They gave her and her sister a knitted doll and took her picture. Typically in Kenya, we immediately show the children their picture because many of them rarely get to see themselves on the camera. We hesitated showing her the picture, because her scars were so prominent, but the smile on her face was so huge when she saw what she looked like, that we knew that it was us that had the problem, not her.

There was a girl who had very big sweet eyes and complained of a headache. When asked more details, they found out that her head hurt in the afternoon and evening because she only got one meal per day. She was severely malnourished and was referred for sponsorship through Chalice. Her problems were so much bigger than a headache, but that’s what she found to complain about, not her hunger!

Oh and Rosa finally got her bag! She had been borrowing clothes since she arrived since the airlines left her bag in Charlottetown! What a Valentine’s treat!

We had a really big day and were excited to see so many patients! We had meetings in the evening discussing the day and finding ways we could refine the clinics to improve efficiency. At one point Ted slipped and asked about the ‘hypocritical oath’….ooops! He meant hypocratic! We’re looking forward to the next day of clinics.

Seeing Kenyan homes – Sunday, February 13, 2011

On Sunday, we went to church and enjoyed the amazing Kenyan singers. The service is so much more alive here with singing and dancing. A single song could last 20 minutes for the offertory as people dance the gifts up the aisle in a shuffling, yet excited motion. This also means that the service can be 2 hours long, and with the typically Kenyan 30 minute delayed start time, the service can be quite long because us silly wazungos (Kiswahili for white people) show up at the scheduled time. Still it’s beautiful!

Cheri went to visit her sponsor child, Justa, accompanied by Shawna and some of the Chalice staff. They drove the combi as far as they could down a secluded dirt road 15 minutes from Mikinduri, and had to get out and walk the rest of the way. Justa met them and walked 5 minutes further to their house. The house was a typical Kenyan house: wooden round frame that is packed with dung and dirt for the wall. The ceiling is sheet metal and the whole house is 20 ft x 10 ft. Justa was nervous but happy to see Cheri. They met her mother who was only 25 years old, very young to have an 11 year old. She has a sister Josephine who is six. Cheri brought them food rather than brining money: rice, salt, sugar, cooking oil, biscuits, and ugali mix. The girls were given brand new backpacks, school supplies, books, stickers, and a nice brown shirt with purple flowers.  Then they gave balloons to the girls and every nearby child. By this time, the nervousness was gone and both girls were smiling. They then came with us in the combi to go to church and sat with Cheri at church. Though not an uncommon sight, Cheri has tears in her eyes recalling it. For probably the first time in their lives, they went up to give 10 shillings each in the offering (which is a big deal in Kenya as it’s in the front of the church, and is worth only 12 cents). It was a very special morning. Touching, and reiterated how important sponsorship is in this country.

After mass and breakfast, 15 of us went to see Ted’s sponsor child’s house, to see a typical Kenyan house surrounded by a myriad of crops that the boys grow themselves. This was the home of the twins that were entertaining us from the night before. The twins proudly showed off their house. Their mother has spells of insanity, and in those moments, she forgets the boys are her children, so they have been forced to build their own house on the property. As a result they have two houses in an area that most people only have one. Their sister lives with their mother and during the rainy season, the mother’s house is infiltrated by snakes.  The boys were telling me this as I crouched into the mother’s house, having to duck to enter, and taking many pictures of every wall, using my camera as a flashlight since it was so dark I didn’t want to step on a snake. Quite a sad story, and so obvious why the boys were so thrilled to stay with us for the evening. It is inspiring though, because the boys are so smart, polite, and educated for young boys, that they are so wise beyond their years. One of the boys wants to be a priest when he grows up, and would be fantastic!

Julius and Emilioh and the house they built

Adrian and Charlie went to visit their sponsor child, Elithas, a nine year old child half an hour from Mikinduri. He was so nervous at the beginning to let them in the gate, but was so happy by the end. Adrian said it was so overwhelming, and try as you might you try not to cry, it was hard. His mom served them chai tea. The place was immaculate. It was not the typical Kenyan house at all. They had chickens, a pig, and a cow and great crops.  Adrian and Charlie hope to get them a pair of goats. Part of the Chalice program includes a social network with teaching, and his mother attends every teaching clinic! Charlie said they had the biggest corn he had seen in his life, and this corn has to be 10 ½ feet high. Everything was lush and green and you’d think they had irrigation. On a sad note though, they had just diagnosed Elithas with HIV, which is what the father died from and the mother also contracted. She has 6 kids, and he’s the youngest.

Adrian and Charlie brought two baseball gloves and a baseball, assuming Elithas would know the sport. He was good at catch but put the glove on the wrong hand, so he had clearly never heard of it! His twenty year old brother was there and they showed him how to play as well since he had never seen a baseball. He tried to use the glove to throw the ball and later as a bat after it was explained that you hit the ball. It is one of the things you take for granted. They brought 10 pictures of their kids, dogs, the snow, and horses. He went through the pictures and when it was offered that he could pick his favorite, he wanted all of them! She said it was a fabulous experience. While they were there, as mentioned in Sat’s blog, a child who was very sick was able to seek treatment because they were there! It was a fabulous visit!

We spent the evening preparing for the clinics with meetings at the sites and loading the combis. It was a nice evening but the air was tense with excitement and anticipation for the next day’s clinic.

Part of the Kencan 2011 team

Prime Ministers, sponsor children, and dancing - Saturday, February 12, 2011

Compiled with Denise, Heather, Alana, Bea, Charlie, and Libby

Canadian and Kenyan flag at Kimwe

We went to Kiguwru agricultural farm and they talked about. They met with 20 local farmers who shared how MCOH assistance has improved their lives with education on more drought resistance crops. They were telling us about the maringa trees that are a miracle tree because it’s so high in vitamins and protein and is drought resistant. Having the water in the tank for irrigation and drinking allowed the families to have more time, kids were healthier, and families were happier. Bea recalls seeing women washing clothes in the water. The farm was amazing. It was a paradise. One of our more daring team members tried the ‘Kate’ which is a drug that’s illegal for women, so the dare was on. Apparently though you need 15 twigs to get the effects and she who will not be named only chewed on one.

Rabbits (dinner) at Kimwe School

After the farm we went to the Kiguwru school. People were pleased to see a Canada flag in the window. It was astounding to see that 600 students were supposed to fit in the school and the primary school walls were made of sheet metal. The school has so many children because MCOH (Mikinduri Children of Hope) provides a feeding program. There’s also a water well to provide drinking water for the children.

Children at Kimwe

Around lunch, we drove to Kimwe feeding center, MCOH’s first feeding project. They met us at the road singing and enveloped us into their group. They did skits, songs, poems, and dances and entertained us all afternoon. Some of the poems were about AIDS and how to respect the environment. There was even interactive dancing where we taught them and they taught us some dances. We could not dance in nearly as many directions at the same time that they could. They were amazing and their singing was beautiful. They were so perfectly in time with each other but looked like they didn’t have to rehearse at all. The feeding center originally fed the children a meal 6 days a week but once MCOH partnered with Chalice, the children became sponsored so they only need a meal once a week that includes education. There is a farm onsite that the parents work out so the feeding center is actually self-sustaining with the farm.

Feeding Children at Kimwe

Before we left, we fed them rice, stew, and bananas. It was more chaotic that we fed them because they clearly had a pattern we were not used to, but it was fun.

While at Kimwe, a man we had treated in the past joined us. His name is Josephat and he had leprosy. We treated him years ago, but unfortunately his disease progressed to the point where his feet were only stumps. He has been walking around using crutches and since he was able to attend the disability clinic on Tuesday, he was fitted with better shoes that are almost prosthetics to help mobilize him more and protect his legs. It was great to see him as he is a great friend of MCOH.

We had to hurry back to our hotel because we were expecting the Prime Minister of Kenya. He is campaigning for 2012 and was making a stop in Mikinduri. Father Bernard had his church St Massimo turned completely inside out for the PM’s arrival and all of Mikinduri was there to see it. They served a meal which we were invited to as well as 200 other people. It was hot but very interesting, and unlike typical Kenyans events, the speeches were very short. The prime minister recognized the 24 white faces in the crowd and thanked us for coming to work in Mikinduri. Quite an honor to be asked for the meal and even more of an honor to be singled out.

5 of the people in our group (Grania, Charlie, Adrian, Shirley, and Virgil) went out to Tumayani to visit two sponsor children that they or friends sponsor through Chalice. They brought book bags, books, clothes, and candy for the children. One of the children was abandoned by their mother and father. The other child was diagnosed with HIV. Such sad news, but with a happy lining: Charlie recalls that while they were there, they realized the baby brother of one of the siblings was diagnosed with malaria on the spot, and he had such a high fever that the social worker immediately distributed asprin for the child until the doctor could come on Monday. It was a very sad day for news, but this baby's life was saved all because they visited that day, rather than waiting a few days.

Ruth and Libby at Kimwe. 2nd year in a row.

We spent the evening doing more sorting, dinner at NoName, and lounging in the Tusker room. Ted’s sponsor children Julius and Emilioh joined us during the evening and serenaded us with many local tunes. The twins are 14 and are hilarious! When asked if they went to see the prime minister today, these jokesters replied ‘Kenyans love themselves. I am not interested’. Today has been lots of fun but a lot of work!

Summary: Was called out by the prime minister, danced with children, and saw the sweet ones we sponsor.

Travel day and settling in – Friday 2/11/2011

On Friday, we left they idyllic Castle Forest Lodge, climbed into four combies for the 3 hour drive, and arrived in Mikinduri. Along the way we passed the equator and stopped a few times to get necessary supplies from the equivalent of Walmart here called ‘Nakematt’. Necessary supplies include a pillow (as the pillows at our accommodations are very similar to the green foam that is used to help arrange flowers), sodas, other beverages, and snacks.

The Longdrop and shower

We then went on to Mikinduri to check into the Limo Guest House. It is a 3 story building with 6 rooms on each floor. There is no Canadian chain equivalent and it can only be called Kenyan! The rooms are square 10 ft by 10 ft concrete, with a giant steel blue door. There is a small square of a shower and toilet that both fit in a 3 ft by 3 ft area. Some of the rooms do not have toilets and instead have a hole in the floor called a ‘longdrop’. It’s a ceramic hole in the floor and it’s interesting because you have to avoid stepping in it while trying to take your shower, because the shower head is directly above the drain. The rooms with long drops unfortunately don’t have heated showers either. This means that you don’t stand under the drain for long periods as the water is cold cold! You just put an arm in to get wet, soap it up, then rinse it off. To do your hair is a bit trickier and it requires yoga backbends to prevent getting anything wet but your hair while avoiding the hole. I dropped my soap down the hole today. That’s gone. Most of the rooms have a heated showerhead though, so it’s only a few that are learning this dance.

The rooms, mosquito  nets, & Shawna

The beds are a double and I’m not sure what’s in the mattress, it might be hay as it is pretty solid. The beds are covered with a mosquito net for sleeping, to help us avoid malaria, and have the resemblance of a princess bed. (The men might think differently). Luckily, we are all so tired we sleep very hard so I’m pretty sure we could sleep on the floor! There are no tables or closets and instead a few nails in the wall. Oh, and did I mention it’s only $6 a night? Maybe that explains it.

We spent the evening moving all the supplies to some storage rooms across the street from the hotel at a church called St Massimo’s. Father Bernard is the priest there and is very kind to us while we’re here, offering anything we need. This time, it was three rooms to separate the medical, dental, and vision supplies. We split up into our groups, took inventory of the supplies, and started sorting them into different bags for the clinic sites.

Karen McKenna and the Bags!

We drove up in the combis to NoName Hotel. It is a brand new hotel near the Mikinduri clinic site where we will have our meals, and has yet to be named so we coined it ‘NoName’ and this seems to have stuck. There’s a tent put up where we all sit and socialize while eating and  unfortunately there are not enough rooms here for the whole team, otherwise we would have stayed here at NoName. The tent is on a slope and we all sit in plastic chairs. Some people fall when they lean just a little too far one way. We use the phrase ‘TIA’ – ‘This is Africa’ to describe a situation like that where it’s really perfect…except.

In the evening, we can hang out on the third floor in a room we designate ‘the Tusker Room’, which is named after the Kenyan beer Tusker. We can relax, talk, and unwind. This is a great way to end a very busy day and now that we’re all settled in we’re ready to work!

Summary: A very busy day getting settled and ready for the clinics!

The team arrived! – Wednesday, February 9, 2011 part 2

Ted met the team of 24 Canadians at the airport in Nairobi and I’m pleased to say they all arrived! Only 4 bags were missing, which is about average, but they will be delivered to Mikinduri by Monday. Everyone was very excited and overwhelmed by all the new Kenyan noises and sights. Kenya was a British colony, so everyone drives on the left here. In addition, the traffic is crazy! Cars drive so closely together, pass when there’s oncoming traffic, and drive quite aggressively. It’s scary to sit in the front seat! Our team will drive around in Combi’s,which are 9 passenger van that have a top that opens up once it comes time for the safari. Our vans say ‘Voyage Afrique’ on the side as that’s the company that drives us around. The drivers as part of Voyage Afrique are very professional, and are a big part of the team. They go to school for two years to get a diploma to be drivers, so they’re learned about Kenya, foliage, landscape, and animals. Plus they never have to ask directions. They know where everything is!

The team spent the night at the Methodist Inn, a nice hotel in Nairobi, but were only there from 2am until 8:30am. Ted met the final team member at the airport, and all were on their way to Castle Forest Lodge, an idyllic spot outside of Embu. It’s on a mountain, near a waterfall, at a spot where herds of elephants come by. The rooms are cute little huts with thatched roofs and have fantastic names like ‘purple rain’, ‘jungle’, etc. The drive was 3 hours and about the last twenty minutes is on a dirt road, a very bumpy dirt road that you have to go slowly on. Even the hardest stomachs can get a bit queasy on this road! The dirt also gets in the combi so you either shut the windows and bake, or cough from the dust and dirt. It’s an interesting feeling that makes you so very happy to arrive at the beauty of Castle Forest Lodge. Once at the lodge, everyone had lunch and they met up with the people that have been in Kenya during the ‘pre-week’. There was a team meeting and people had the evening to relax. 

Elephant watchers

 It wasn’t long until there was a great excitement. An elephant came into the clearing. Then 19 more followed! Everyone gathered to look at all of the elephants and were awed by nature. They were in a clearing maybe 200 feet away, and easily visible from our restaurant. There were babies, some as young as a month old, and some giant elephants! It was so exciting!

21 Elephants came to visit!

They stayed for over an hour and it was hilarious to see how excited we all got and watch all the cameras come out. There couldn’t be a better start to the trip! We had a beautiful dinner with curry, goat, and chapatti ( kind of a fried fattier very delicious tortilla). Plus it was one of the teammember’s birthday so we ended the evening with cake! Everyone was pretty tired so they headed back to their huts where there was a nice fire waiting to keep them warm, as being in the mountain it can get down to 5 deg C.


Summary: We are all feeling very blessed to shave arrived safely and see the wonders of nature welcoming us to Kenya!

Calm before the storm – Wednesday, February 9, 2011 part 1



Mount Kenya at Sunset



We headed off in the morning to Castle Forest Lodge, a three hour drive to an idyllic spot outside of Embu. It’s on a mountain, near a waterfall, at a spot where herds of elephants come by. The rooms are cute little huts with thatched roofs and have fantastic names like ‘purple rain’, ‘jungle’, etc. We got there in time for lunch and found it so odd to switch between community service and being a tourist. I read a book that afternoon while the others went on a hike to the waterfall. We watched the sunset that evening and saw the red and purple rays bouncing off of Mount Kenya, the second highest peak in Kenya, which is not always visible.  It was a beautiful peaceful evening for Kathy, Ed, Jack, Cheri, Shawna, and I, while Ted kept going down to Nairobi to welcome the team.

Sunrise over Castle Forest Lodge

Thursday morning, I woke up early enough to see the sunrise. I quietly snuck out to our porch, and laid under a thick blanket. Believe it or not, it is very cold there at night, probably getting down to 5 degrees C. The sunrise was gorgeous! A soft wakening to the day. Jack and Ed saw an elephant come into the open clearing that the restaurant overlooks. We were told that when one comes, it means many will follow. Sadly this was not the case as when the rest of us got to breakfast, the clearing was empty. We then went on a nice 5 hour hike. We had a guide that was knowledgeable about the local area, route, vegetation, and animals. There were two guards that are part of the parks service that were dressed in camo and carried rifles. This was quite intimidating, especially when they turned and aimed at the sweet giant dogs that were walking along with us (it turns out though that one of the sweet dogs bits the solder on the back of his leg….but no shots were fired so it was okay). We found out the rifles only have blanks, but the guards had to come along to protect us from elephants. Apparently a woman was trampled a few years ago while on a hike. The hike was gorgeous! We walked through an area where people were using chainsaws to harvest eucalyptus trees. These trees were introduced to Kenya by the Australians because they’re fast growing, but they have since learned that they the trees take a huge amount of water that is drawing on local water resources. As a result they’re cutting the eucalyptus trees down. We then walked through a green jungle on a winding path, over a few streams, up and down some hills, with not another soul around for miles. Along the way, we passed huge amounts of elephant dung. We then passed a brand new steaming pile of dung, and our guards went on alert. The elephant was close. The guide and one guard would walk ahead and check the area, then the other guard and us would come join them. It continued like this for about 10 minutes when they located the elephant. It was about 100ft away behind a bunch of trees. It was all alone, and apparently that’s the most dangerous elephant to come across because it’s already nervous. The guards picked up their guns and started firing the blanks. The elephant was on the move and luckily in the opposite direction. Our hearts were thumping and our ears were ringing!

At an oasis waterfall

We then came to a cliff and hiked along the switchbacks to get down, trying to avoid the tree roots, and occasionally jumping a few feet. We were starting to wonder when one point the path was 9 inches wide with a huge drop below, and while clinging onto the dirt wall, we suddenly opened up to a waterfall, just like you’d see in the movies. There was a circular clearing with a waterfall that was at least 10 stories high. It was so gorgeous. We took a million pictures and couldn’t believe how beautiful this was, as we thought we were just going for a nice exercise and were able to see both an elephant and a waterfall! The walk back was much less eventful and we managed to go so quickly that we were back within 4 hours! What an amazing afternoon!

Summary: It was a totally relaxing day getting ready for our team to arrive and hiking to a waterfall, trying not to get trampled.