Oranges Are Not Orange, They're Green!

First week of work=success! For the first half I attended a program about malnutrition in children and the protocols to diagnose and treat. The last two days, I went with Silas to a forum about the protection and sensitization of Kenyan children. Both are enormous problems. Acute Malnutrition rates are between 15-20% in children under the age of 5 and almost 80% of families in Kenya are below the poverty line. Children are shunned to the streets if born out of wedlock or from incest and are forced to find other means if their parents have died or are unable to adequately provide. They are dirty, turning into thieves, and often die in the streets. Francisca and I will be working to help these children and Andrea and I hope to set up a malnutrition program at the clinic this year.

At my first day in Rota, I was guided around the clinic and given a proper induction. The clinic is housed in two buildings and although small, offers a variety of different services. The dispensary also houses a mother’s ward and HIV counseling. Their resources are incredibly limited, however, and both electricity and running water are absent within the buildings. I assisted Andrea in seeing patients and learned that about 75% of her patients are positive for Malaria. Today, a 4 month old was brought to the clinic with infected mosquito bites and a very severe case of impetigo around the head and ear. Andrea informed me that the proper protocol would be to remove the scabs in order to allow the infection underneath to heal. Unfortunately, because of poor conditions, the risk of further infection is too immense. Tomorrow, the dispensary is sponsoring a discussion session for HIV patients. I am very interested to hear their stories and learn about life with HIV/AIDS. I’m still struggling to finalize the projects I will undertake but am attempting to absorb a wealth of information before I decide.

While the girls traveled to Nairobi for the Chilean Independence Day last weekend, Kenneth took Lilly and I out to eat at a nearby resort. It was a beautiful area overlooking the mountain side while monkeys surrounded us swaying from the tree tops. We stayed and watched the Arsenal soccer game before heading back to the house. At the market that evening, a little boy asked Kenneth if he could touch me. He had never touched a mzungu before and wanted to know what I felt like. I laughed and shook his hand but secretly felt comparable to a zoo animal. Most children here have never laid eyes on a mzungu and see us as a type of novelty.

Because of my continuous solo travel to Kisumu, I have officially mastered the Matatu! I am now accustomed to the stops, the stench of BO, and the everyday price negotiations. Besides the use of the Matatu, I also rode on the back of a motorcycle, cruised around town using a Tuk Tuk, and held on for dear life when balancing on the back of a bike. Each is an experience but I have definitely fine-tuned my transportation skills. On our Matatu to Rota today we were stopped by police controlling the Matatu loads. Regardless of our perfect status, the police wouldn’t let us pass without payment. Corruption in the police force is an extreme problem. Our Matatu turned around and dropped us off far from our final destination. No other Matatus were accepting passengers for fear of the police and thus, we began the treacherous 5 mile walk to work.
Once we hit the beautiful dirt road to the dispensary, we were provided with a sense of relief. The sun blazed down on our backs but the light breeze swaying through our skirts made the heat bearable. The lush green grass and crisp fresh air were enough to make me momentarily forget about all the problems at hand and simply enjoy the scenery. The people along the road are familiar with our faces and call out to us from their fields, taking a break from their work to smile and wave. After a lengthy day of work, Andrea and I took a deep breath, ate our green oranges (yes, oranges here are green), and began the long journey back to the house. Tomorrow we will wake up, head out, and gracefully tackle the challenges of a new day.


Love, Saskia