I'm so excited to leave at the crack of dawn tomorrow with my fellow med students and pharmacy friends to head to the Masai Mara for Safari!
http://www.game-reserve.com/kenya_masai-mara.html
We will be going on an afternoon ride Friday evening, followed by an all-day Saturday tour, and one final Sunday morning drive. In between our rides, we'll be staying at Fig Tree Camp:
http://www.madahotels.com/figtree/index.php
I'll post my pics (and video if internet allows) ASAP upon my return :)
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Monday, September 7, 2009
Transportation around Kenya
I've been wanting to post this on my blog for a while, but needed the pictures to supplement! (I will be adding them in as I can capture them with my camera!) The ways people find to get around never cease to amaze me, and in Kenya, where resources are so low, people have been especially creative (and brave!) with their transportation.
Let's start with walking. Have a load to carry, why not put it on your head and walk gracefully through crowds? I tried this down the hallway at the hostel, and it didn't go well . . .
If you're lucky to still be a kiddo, your mom might snuggle you close to her back and carry you around with her.
Now we've come to the many splendored activity of bicycling. You can ride by yourself, with a lady sitting sideways on your back cushion, 3-deep, or carrying wood, generators, hundred-pound bags of feed, whatever you fancy!
Add a motor to your two-wheeled friend and you've got an even speedier, and more dangerous, mode of transport. The scariest thing I've seen is a man driving a motorcycle with a lady holding on behind him and a toddler smushed in between them on the seat - all with no helmets! (I'm not sure how they got this motorcycle on top of the bus!)
I'm not sure what they call this next step up from a motorbike, a motor-trike? These things are mostly out in the country, and they get pretty good speed on those dirt roads.Now we're getting to the boring but necessary for completeness simple automobiles. You can drive one of these if you are lucky enough to own one, or just decide to drive others around as a taxi. The names of cars over here are great, the Toyota "Corona" is my personal fave.
Finally we come to the Kenyan classic, matatu's. These are in-between a taxi and a greyhound. They are personally-owned small vans that seat anywhere from 1-30 passengers (11 actual seats) and have great names like, " " or " ". Some are tricked out with neon flashing lights and decals, while others keep it simple. We are not allowed to ride matatus by rule from IU because their drivers are notoriously awful, but some students have snuck onto a few here and there. The rule is, it isn't a matatu ride if (1) there isn't at least one chicken in one person's lap and (2) there aren't at least 15 people squeezed into 10 seats. Bonus if you're on the matatu so full that the extra passengers hang on with the sliding door open (see above picture closely).
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Emerging Trends for Reproductive Health in Africa Student Conference
Please excuse this non-chronologically correct journal entry: in my haste to publish my giraffe pictures, I forgot to first to talk about my activities earlier in the week! The Moi University School of Medicine students hosted and planned a wonderful conference titled, "Emerging Trends for Reproductive Health in Africa" and invited students from Kenya and beyond to attend.
The event began with a grand opening ceremony on Wednesday night, which I attended and enjoyed. All of the keynote speakers gave a small, welcoming speech and the students also participated through song, poetry, and dance before the eating and dancing began! I greatly enjoy the Kenyan tradition of opening an event with a dance (see video), and found I really like East African band music, too.
The conference consisted of many great discussions and presentations, all related to reproductive health issues facing the continent, especially Kenyans. I wish I wouldn't have gotten sick during the middle of it, as I found the sessions I did attend very interesting and informative. Congrats go out to all of my Kenyan medical student friends who worked so hard orchestrating the entire event - well done!
The event began with a grand opening ceremony on Wednesday night, which I attended and enjoyed. All of the keynote speakers gave a small, welcoming speech and the students also participated through song, poetry, and dance before the eating and dancing began! I greatly enjoy the Kenyan tradition of opening an event with a dance (see video), and found I really like East African band music, too.
I even got to hang out with my new Kenyan friend, Leon, who is close acquaintances with the chair of the ENT department at Indiana University, Dr. Miyamoto. Leon was sponsored by an American family to come to IU to see Dr. Miyamoto to receive cochlear implants a few years ago.
The conference consisted of many great discussions and presentations, all related to reproductive health issues facing the continent, especially Kenyans. I wish I wouldn't have gotten sick during the middle of it, as I found the sessions I did attend very interesting and informative. Congrats go out to all of my Kenyan medical student friends who worked so hard orchestrating the entire event - well done!
Kruger Farms
So last week was a pretty low-key week for me, since I was knocked-down from Wednesday until Saturday with a nasty-bout of gastroenteritis/flu symptoms that I was told is inevitable when coming to Kenya. Thank goodness my turn is over with!
On Saturday, I was feeling MUCH better and decided to re-enter the world with a trip to Kruger farms with my good friends, the Purdue pharmacy bunch and my new medical school peers, Abe, Kaitlin, and Chris. The farm is an 8,000 acre piece of land in the Rift Valley province of Kenya, which is absolutely stunning as we found out! The farm is owned and operated by white Kenyans (which I didn't know existed) - the current owners were 3rd generation farmers of this land. Adopted giraffes have 1,000 of those 8,000 dedicated to them, and they are left free to wander and graze with occasional curious tourists like ourselves visiting for a peek at them :) We also caught some glimpses of a couple oryx's (small antelope/deer-like animals) as they sprinted away from us. Supposedly this farm has the largest single population of oryx's in the world, but I don't know how anyone figured that out since they move so fast and are so frightened by humans getting anywhere in visual range of them.
We first hiked up a very large hill to gain an awesome vantage point over the entire farm and much more! From our eagle-eyed view we could spot the giraffes in a field below grazing next to cows - that's right, regular old dairy cows! Just another realization that though this scene of agriculture could possibly come from somewhere in the Midwest, the addition of a giraffe or two reminds you you're not in Indiana anymore :)
After enjoying the fruit of our labor by cooling off and taking pictures in the breeze at the top of the hill, we began our descent down towards the giraffes. In no time, we were walking up the dirt trail towards these graceful and gentle animals, that simply stared at us as we approached. I really wish I could know what they were thinking as our group of students stood there staring at those giraffes staring right back at us! No sooner had we finished our photos with the group of giraffes we'd spotted from the hill did we spot a few extra giraffes behind us, peeking from between the trees to see who was making all of that noise (can you see the giraffe in this picture?)
After this lovely hike on such a beautiful African day, we began our journey back to the car to Eldoret. This was perfect for me, because in this short afternoon I'd moved more than I had in the last 3 days prior!
Monday, August 31, 2009
Orphans and Vulnerable Children Program
One of my most rewarding days here in Kenya presented itself through an opportunity to go into the field with Elizabeth Chester, the case manager for the Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC)Program last Friday (August 28th). **Note: I did not take any photos of this trip, because this was the most personal of the experiences I had in Kenya, where I was being allowed to enter the private homes of these families. Thus, I did not want to ostricize them by snapping pictures of their poverty.
The program began as a branch of AMPATH, for many children were being orphaned by parents who died from AIDS-related illnesses. The program does not, as the name seems to indicate, involve any orphanages, rather they strive to keep children with extended family in their communities. The OVC case workers at each of the 5 AMPATH outreach centers are closely in-tune with their district, and hear if children have been abandoned, orphaned, or are living in poor conditions. They investigate these claims and also regularly visit their juvenile clients and their caretakers at home to check-in.
I accompanied two case workers, Susan and Edna, along with Elizabeth to Mosoriot, an area about 30 minutes drive from Eldoret. We drove and hiked around the district all morning, on muddy roads, through fields, past grazing cattle and smoldering pits of wood being made into charcoal to the places these children live.
Most of the time, we would find two small buildings would comprise the homestead. One mud-walled, thatched roof hut was the kitchen, with a home-made clay stove in one corner. A shelf above that side of the room housed firewood, kept off the ground to remain dry and burnable. Often, Elizabeth told me, the woman (or women) of the household would sleep in this smoke-scented room because they would then be the closest to the area they worked the most in. Indeed, most of the stops we made had small blanket bundles in one corner which the female used for her bed.
The next building just normally a few feet away from the kitchen was the home, and most of these mud-walled, thatched- or metal-roofed buildings had 2 rooms. One room would either have a wood-framed bed with a mattress, if the family was better off, or simply blankets piled on the floor with or without a mosquito net. The other room would either have another bed, or would have chairs and serve as what we would call a family room. Elizabeth told me at the beginning of the trip to look for cushions on any chairs we might see at the houses - for whatever reason, she said, they indicate that the family is doing well. Other signs that the family is more financially stable include having a "store" on their property, which is a building raised off of the ground on stilts that houses grains or whatever the family harvests from crops. The bigger the "store" the more productive or large the family's crop. Also, if the family has any livestock, like chickens, goats, cattle, or sheep, this is also a sign that they at least have some capital.
Besides checking out the living conditions of the children, and reminding the families to use their mosquito netting appropriately and encourage them to have beds off of the dirt floor, we would talk to them about the current family members in the household. How many children were there in addition to the OVC clients? Who slept where? Who did what around the house/farm? How did they make their income? How much land did they own? We would check all of these things, Elizabeth said, because the program is designed to help the families help themselves. Their goal is to start the family off with the right tools, whether that be the skills to make crafts, fertilizer and seeds to cultivate crops on unused land, etc, so that the families do not become dependent on outside help and can survive on their own. I was really impressed with the OVC's approach to assisting these families, and their system seemed to be very effective. I was able to visit homes that were just having their initial consultation and also those that were works-in-progress and successes.
Besides the above support I mentioned, OVC clients are provided with school uniforms and have their school fees paid, but are required to show their report cards to the case workers to prove they have been achieving in school, and if not, to try and determine why the child is struggling. The last resort for OVC clients is admission to an orphanage, which in some circumstances, Elizabeth admitted, is the best option for some children. She works closely with many orphanages in the area to find the best place for each child.
I found myself feeling so sad for these children, living in such primitive conditions. Most of them were pretty dirty, in clothing that was either too large or too small and very well-worn. Most of the younger ones ran around bare-bottomed, I believe because diapers are impossibly expensive and they would soil whatever bottoms they might have, and had crusty noses. But they were all so happy and so interested in seeing a white person! They would run after our car as we would pull near the home and follow us around everywhere we went, bashfully peaking around trees and corners to get a good look at us. Once they'd given us a good once over, they would proudly come up and stick out there hand to shake ours. I couldn't figure out why, after shaking my hand, all the kids would look at their palms and then back at mine. "They're trying to see if your white rubs off on them, " she told me, and then she gestured to them by rubbing her hand in front of them, " See, it doesn't come off!" We both laughed.
I had brought a bag of candy with me, and handed out a piece to each child and adult, which they devoured instantly. I hoped in a small way I'd made their day a bit better, because seeing how happy they were despite such poverty certainly made me feel less sad.
After visiting 5 homes in the morning (a small number it may seem, but all of the off-roading and hiking we had to do to get to each home really added up on the minutes!), we headed back to Eldoret. I felt like I had finally seen the real Kenya, where my indigent patients on the wards at MTRH come from and why it may take them so long to present to the hospital.
The program began as a branch of AMPATH, for many children were being orphaned by parents who died from AIDS-related illnesses. The program does not, as the name seems to indicate, involve any orphanages, rather they strive to keep children with extended family in their communities. The OVC case workers at each of the 5 AMPATH outreach centers are closely in-tune with their district, and hear if children have been abandoned, orphaned, or are living in poor conditions. They investigate these claims and also regularly visit their juvenile clients and their caretakers at home to check-in.
I accompanied two case workers, Susan and Edna, along with Elizabeth to Mosoriot, an area about 30 minutes drive from Eldoret. We drove and hiked around the district all morning, on muddy roads, through fields, past grazing cattle and smoldering pits of wood being made into charcoal to the places these children live.
Most of the time, we would find two small buildings would comprise the homestead. One mud-walled, thatched roof hut was the kitchen, with a home-made clay stove in one corner. A shelf above that side of the room housed firewood, kept off the ground to remain dry and burnable. Often, Elizabeth told me, the woman (or women) of the household would sleep in this smoke-scented room because they would then be the closest to the area they worked the most in. Indeed, most of the stops we made had small blanket bundles in one corner which the female used for her bed.
The next building just normally a few feet away from the kitchen was the home, and most of these mud-walled, thatched- or metal-roofed buildings had 2 rooms. One room would either have a wood-framed bed with a mattress, if the family was better off, or simply blankets piled on the floor with or without a mosquito net. The other room would either have another bed, or would have chairs and serve as what we would call a family room. Elizabeth told me at the beginning of the trip to look for cushions on any chairs we might see at the houses - for whatever reason, she said, they indicate that the family is doing well. Other signs that the family is more financially stable include having a "store" on their property, which is a building raised off of the ground on stilts that houses grains or whatever the family harvests from crops. The bigger the "store" the more productive or large the family's crop. Also, if the family has any livestock, like chickens, goats, cattle, or sheep, this is also a sign that they at least have some capital.
Besides checking out the living conditions of the children, and reminding the families to use their mosquito netting appropriately and encourage them to have beds off of the dirt floor, we would talk to them about the current family members in the household. How many children were there in addition to the OVC clients? Who slept where? Who did what around the house/farm? How did they make their income? How much land did they own? We would check all of these things, Elizabeth said, because the program is designed to help the families help themselves. Their goal is to start the family off with the right tools, whether that be the skills to make crafts, fertilizer and seeds to cultivate crops on unused land, etc, so that the families do not become dependent on outside help and can survive on their own. I was really impressed with the OVC's approach to assisting these families, and their system seemed to be very effective. I was able to visit homes that were just having their initial consultation and also those that were works-in-progress and successes.
Besides the above support I mentioned, OVC clients are provided with school uniforms and have their school fees paid, but are required to show their report cards to the case workers to prove they have been achieving in school, and if not, to try and determine why the child is struggling. The last resort for OVC clients is admission to an orphanage, which in some circumstances, Elizabeth admitted, is the best option for some children. She works closely with many orphanages in the area to find the best place for each child.
I found myself feeling so sad for these children, living in such primitive conditions. Most of them were pretty dirty, in clothing that was either too large or too small and very well-worn. Most of the younger ones ran around bare-bottomed, I believe because diapers are impossibly expensive and they would soil whatever bottoms they might have, and had crusty noses. But they were all so happy and so interested in seeing a white person! They would run after our car as we would pull near the home and follow us around everywhere we went, bashfully peaking around trees and corners to get a good look at us. Once they'd given us a good once over, they would proudly come up and stick out there hand to shake ours. I couldn't figure out why, after shaking my hand, all the kids would look at their palms and then back at mine. "They're trying to see if your white rubs off on them, " she told me, and then she gestured to them by rubbing her hand in front of them, " See, it doesn't come off!" We both laughed.
I had brought a bag of candy with me, and handed out a piece to each child and adult, which they devoured instantly. I hoped in a small way I'd made their day a bit better, because seeing how happy they were despite such poverty certainly made me feel less sad.
After visiting 5 homes in the morning (a small number it may seem, but all of the off-roading and hiking we had to do to get to each home really added up on the minutes!), we headed back to Eldoret. I felt like I had finally seen the real Kenya, where my indigent patients on the wards at MTRH come from and why it may take them so long to present to the hospital.
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Lamu
Ah, where to start with my extended weekend in Lamu, Kenya!
We arrived by airplane on last Saturday afternoon, landing on a dirt runway at the Manda Island airport which lies right across a small body of portion of the Indian Ocean from Lamu. The airport was my favorite yet – a thatched roof over a concrete slab with plastic lounge chairs composed the terminal and check-in station and stray cats freely roamed the area. We hopped on a dhow boat, a traditional wooden sailboat, and sailed across to Lamu town of the archipelago islands.
The city was so unique and thus I will do my best to describe it through words and some pictures. The Lonely Planet guide book states that Lamu town is “the core of everything the archipelago stands for in the hearts and minds of inhabitants and visitors alike, a living throwback to the Swahili culture that once dominated the entire Indian Ocean coast.” Arab settlers created a bustling trading post on Lamu island early in the 16th century, exporting ivory, mangrove poles, tortoiseshell and thousands of African slaves. Though initially regarded as a minor player in the East African power ga
me, after a victory over the competing traders of Pate island in the 19th century, Lamu town became a prominent force and splendidly wealthy off of ivory and slavery trading. Most of the beautiful Swahili homes around today were built during this prosperous time, which ended in 1873 when the British forced Sultan Barghash of Zanzibar to close down the slave markets. Since then, the economy of the island went into rapid decline and the town was forgotten until rediscovered by travelers in the 1970’s. “Lamu existed in a state of humble obscurity, escaping the runaway development that happened elsewhere on the coast,” says Lonely Planet. Thus the town I visited remained true to its architectural heritage and culture, a characteristic recognized in 2001 wh
en Lamu town was named to Unesco’s list of World Heritage sites.The town itself is very compact, with the white stone and coral buildings stacked one on top of another with narrow walkways winding throughout. Many of the buildings had ornately carved wooden doors that were spectacular! Instead of dodging cars like I was used to in Eldoret (no cars are allowed on Lamu) I found myself dodging piles of donkey poo, since these animals are the primary
mode of transport. Marissa and I agreed that Lamu town reminded us of Venice, the way the streets meander in and out between the buildings, minus the canals. We wound our way through the city to our lovely hotel, Jannat House and climbed our way to our top floor, thatched roof, open air room. The only downside to the room, was the loudspeaker from the mosque next door aimed right at us – we noticed this at sundown, when the muslim chanting was broadcast loudly to call people to mosque for the evening. The day we arrived was the beginning of Ramadan, which meant finding lunch during the daytime fasting period would be a challenge!We luckily were able to find food each day, and were by no means scraping by. I enjoyed some of the best tasting juice smoothies and seafood I’ve ever had, for extremely
reasonable prices! Besides the food and beautiful culture of the town, my favorite parts of the trip were (1) the beach, and (2) our dhow boat day trip. 
We walked to Shela (pronounced Shey-la) beach, which is a 40 minute wal
k from Lamu town on our first full day, and found an almost deserted, undeveloped horizon of sand and water awaiting us! The sun was strong, but a lovely constant breeze kept us surprisingly cool. The sand was white and soft, and soaked with enough moisture from the earlier high tide that it didn’t get picked up by the breeze to fly in our faces. We ventured into the ocean, which was the temperature of bathwater and clear, and swam out to sandbars close by for another awesome perspective of the island.
The next day we were again drawn to the ocean, but this time took a dhow boat ride to the eastern shore of Manda island to the site of an old Swahili town ruins. Our ship was powered by wind only via its lone sail, which made for a peaceful and relaxed trip on the water. We took a pit-stop to wet our whistles at the floating bar, and continued on our way. The town ruins were very interesting, thanks to the tour given by our dhow boat captain, and the icing on the cake was climbing to the top of the hill overlooking the Indian Ocean on the east coast of Manda island at sunset. Our ride back to Lamu found us under a blanket of stars so bright and infinite that we all were pinching ourselves to make sure we weren’t dreaming!
The rest of our time we spent meandering through the town, visiting with the locals, shopping (and for Ryan, bartering his headlight for some jewelry with the town’s silversmith). I never would have known of the existence of such a unique town had it not been for my adventurous peers who departed back to the States after this trip, leaving me to hold down the hostel until the next batch of students get here next week. I miss them, but can’t wait to catch up when I’m back in Indy in October :)
**I will be adding additional videos on my youtube channel (username: doubleevers) as soon as the internet speeds up a bit to allow me to!
Friday, August 21, 2009
Weekend #3: Get-away to Lamu
I'm very excited to be going with the other med students on their last trip (sniff, sniff) before they depart back to the US. We are headed to Lamu, Kenya, which is supposed to be a very interesting and beautiful place (http://www.go2africa.com/kenya/lamu-island)!
Can't wait to blog about it when I get back next Wednesday!
Can't wait to blog about it when I get back next Wednesday!
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