A Fond Farewell !

Wow! I can't believe 3 months are already over....
I want to thank each and every one of you for following my blog, and for your encouraging and caring comments/e-mails. As of right now, I have had 661 visits to my site!! During my time here in Kenya, I have experienced times of elation, sadness, awe, fear, helplessness, excitement, laughter and hope. I have marveled at the scenery, as well as shuddered at some of the sights. I feel that you have been with me through it all, and I hope that my stories have touched you in some way.
Although the experiences and adventures I have had are unforgettable, I must admit this was not the trip I was expecting. I had hoped to be working in a rural area, but have spent the majority of my time in the hustle-and-bustle of the city and the slums. My time in Zambia 2 years ago was so serene and beautiful - I was returning to Africa hoping to find answers; a purpose; a passion...my destiny. I am very proud of myself (if I may say so!) for spending these 3 months here, living in a third-world country, thousands of miles away from my family and friends. From the breathtaking savannah's, to the devasting slums; from the "earring assault" and pickpocketing experience, to the warm, kind friends I have made - these are images, people and memories that I will always cherish. Kwaheri Africa! Mimi tarudi ('Goodbye Africa. I shall come back.').

My Farewell Party!!

As I prepare for my return to Canada, I realize that my journey is not ending. Every day in 2010 has been an exciting mystery, and will continue to be, for I am still in search of my purpose, passion and destiny - oh ya! And a JOB!!
What will happen tomorrow...next week? What's around the next corner? Who knows...but I can't wait to find out!!

Big hugs and love to all!  :o)
See you soon,
Yvonne

John Kimani - a dear friend

John Kimani is a kind, gentle and compassionate man who has dedicated his life to community service. He runs MAKWK clinic in Korogocho slum and truly cares for all the residents there. We have spent much of my 3 months here talking, discussing ideas...and becoming friends. John has never once asked for money (unlike most others), but only seeks ways on how he can improve services, funding and recognition of the needs of Korogocho.When walking through the slum with John, it is so evident how well known and respected he is there!
When I said my final goodbyes to everyone at MAKWK, John wasn't there that day. Afterwards, I got a call from him asking if we could meet somewhere. We met at a nearby restaurant and spent a few hours, once again, talking. Before I left, he said he had "one humble request". He said that because we were such good friends, and although I knew him well as the person he was now, he wanted me to understand where he came from. His wish was that I go with him to the village where he grew up; see his old school; meet his mother and see the grave where his wife was buried. What an honour!! My answer was of course - yes! Kevin and Danny came along too.
The 4 of us took an hour matutu trip to Ikumba village (near Gatundu town) and spent Sunday with John's family. Ikumba is a beautiful rural area on the edge of a huge valley. John's mother has everything you can imagine growing in her "garden" - tomatoes, cabbage, avocados, macadamian nuts, sugar cane, maize.... all of this planted on a steep incline!! The homestead was basic and traditional with many little buildings.
John's sisters and mother had spent over 5 hours cooking and prepared us a delicious lunch!

After lunch we then walked 40 minutes down the road to meet John's Great Aunt. The look of shock on her face when 3 white folks walked into her yard was priceless and delightful!! She could not stop giggling!

John (41) grew up in Ikumba and when finished school decided to move to Nairobi. He ended up in Korogocho doing "recycling" at the Dandora garbage dump. After some time there, a local Catholic church recognized his potential and got him involved with World Vision. He took courses with them and volunteers with World Vision still to this day.
In his early days in Korogocho, he was married and had 2 sons and a daughter. His wife thought that because he was involved with World Vision that he would have a lot of money. Once she realized that John would never become rich volunteering, she left him and the 3 children. She still lives in Korogocho.
A few years later, John married Anastasia who was 14 years his junior. They had a daughter and after 5 years of marriage, John's wife was diagnosed with breast cancer and passed away 2 weeks later (Sept. 26, 2009). John has moved out of the slum and is now raising 4 children on his own. He travels almost 2 hours (each way) to return to Korogocho every day to run MAKWK clinic.

                                                                                          John, Elizabeth and me

John (3rd from left) with his mother, brother and sister (Elizabeth)

                                                         

Words cannot express the respect and admiration that I have for John. His life has not been easy, but he is always optimistic, cheerful and spends all his days caring for others. His passion and his unselfish drive to help his friends and past-neighbors of Korogocho is inspiring. His hope is that he will become known around the world and that his dream of uplifting people and changing Korogocho will one day come true. This blog is for John - my promise to him to introduce him to my part of the world!

A couple of days in Nakuru

I was going to spend my last few days in Diani and visiting Lamu (an exotic coastal area) to rest up before heading home. Instead I decided to spend a couple of days in Nakuru. Mama Lydia has another property there which she said needed a lot of work, so I told her I would go and work the property. I then recruited Danny, so the 3 of us headed there Thursday and Friday.

Mama Lydia and Danny and Great Rift Valley                Great Rift Valley

Lake Nakuru                                                               

Nakuru is about 3 hours away - a beautiful drive with a beautiful view of the Great Rift Valley and Lake Nakuru. Unfortunately, it was a bit overcast, so the pictures don't truly reflect the beauty.

Mama Lydia rented a lawnmower for a day, so Danny and I took turns "slashing" the long grass and mowing. Not sure which was more tiring - the lawnmower died every 6 feet!! Even Mama Lydia tried out the lawnmower!

The one bonus with the slashing is that I think I may have mastered the perfect golf  swing!!

 

I also built a small stone-bordered path up to the front entrance. Mama Lydia was thrilled, now seeing the potential of her property. She has 10 acres with about 6 buildings on it.

To give you perspective on labour rates, Mama Lydia hired a young man to continue slashing the long grass after we left. It would take him 6 days; 9 hours per day and got paid....$12.00!!

All that hard work outdoors meant a good night's sleep for all 3 of us - plus it got me ready for my garden when I get home!

Wrapping up at MAKWK clinic

Saying goodbye is always so tough, especially when you’re not sure if you’ll ever see people again. I have spent the majority of my time working at/with MAKWK clinic and have met such great people!

I held the last “Young mothers’/Young women’s” group about a week ago. It is amazing how the group grew! When Louise and I first started this meeting 12 weeks ago, we had 7 attendees. The group grew to a constant attendance of 20-25 women! We discussed topics such as: HIV/AIDS: opportunistic infections; family planning; breast and cervical cancer; self-screening practices; pre-natal care of mother and child; STI’s; nutrition; and first aid. Experiencing the women open up and discuss issues was exciting. This comfort to speak openly allowed many questions to be raised and shocking “myths” to be dispelled. A definite step in the right direction!!

I am happy with the other projects I have worked on at the clinic. Although small in comparison to all that the clinic needs, I know that I have at least made their work a bit easier. I have created 6 different forms/spreadsheets that will drastically reduce the workload at the clinic:

1 – I created 4 spreadsheets for quarterly reporting to the Ministry of Health (MoH). Originally, one of the men (Micah) would draw, with pen and ruler, various charts for reporting patient data; disease occurrences; inventory; and financial balance sheets. This would take him about 1-1/2 days to “draw”, plus then inputting the data. Now with the spreadsheets I have created, this quarterly task will take him about 90 minutes.

2 – I also created a daily tracking sheet of all the common diagnoses. With everything detailed on one sheet, their weekly, monthly and quarterly reports to the MoH will be much simpler.

3 – Finally, I developed a Patient Information Form (Louise helped with the original draft). After many meetings/discussions with the staff and several versions, we came up with a form that all employees are satisfied with. This form will be completed by all stages of a patient’s visit (i.e. registration; Nurse assessment; lab testing and results; Nurse diagnosis and medications from the Pharmacy.

Much of the above information was being recorded by 2-3 different individuals. Now, the information will be recorded once (using a checklist) and will move with the patient through the various stages of the clinic visit. These forms will be kept on file and become the patient’s record(s).

NOTE: To my past co-workers…yes, I have continued the LEAN journey here in Africa!!

                                                                                          John and Agri

The employees at the clinic are all Korogocho residents (past and present), and are the example of true human kindness and dedication. They work 6 days a week to help their fellow “slum inhabitants” and earn at most $30 a month. Although lacking in most equipment; medication; and training in some cases, they do their very best to provide whatever service they can to the sick that visit MAKWK clinic. They are led by a man, John Kimani, who is truly an inspiration. I believe he is my new lifetime friend!!

                                                       Rose

Goodbye to John, Agri, Micah, Kenyatti, Mary, Rose, Scola, Kombo, Maxmilla, Sandra, Mercy and Purity.

Micah                                                                                 

Purity, Mercy and Sandra

Last day at Future Hope

With 10 days left, the tough task of saying goodbye has begun. I spent my last day at Future Hope orphanage, ironing and washing dishes, and holding little Neema.

I will catch you up on her story....                                   

                                                                                          Jane and Neema

A week after her arrival at the orphanage, the mother contacted Jane at Future Hope, asking to have her back. It turns out that the whole story of Neema being abandoned, found by a dog, left on someone's doorstep...was a lie! The woman who brought her to the police was actually an aunt who didn't think the mother could take care of Neema. Jane had to (reluctantly) return her and found out that the mother was HIV+, was prostituting herself, and really had no means (nor wish) to care for the baby. The maternal grandmother was trying to encourage her daughter to take responsibility. After about 3 days, the grandmother called Jane, concerned that Neema was very sick, and asked if she would take her back - permanently.

So Neema is "home", recovering from a severe chest cold, but is eating well. She will be cared for and raised with 16 "brothers and sisters". The biggest bridge to cross now is to have her tested - is she also HIV+?

I will only find out after I return home, but hope that her past can be left behind, and she can live a happy, healthy life. I am comforted knowing that no matter what, she will be loved by all at Future Hope.

Tabatha

I said goodbye to my friend Tabatha, who is the woman I was helping with the dishes and ironing. She always laughed when I arrived - she couldn't believe that I would come to help her do her work! I bought her some pot scrubbers, dish sponges and soap, which I hope will make her work a bit easier. She cooks and cleans for 16 children, plus 8 adults!! But she was always singing!

                                  Teddy

I also said goodbye to my "helper", Teddy. Teddy used to come with me when I ironed. He would sit on the pile of clothes, watch me iron and hand me the next item when needed. What a sweetheart!!

Some sketchy characters I have met along the way...

                                                                                          Mary the moth
     Susan the snail                                          

                                                                                        Melanie the millipede

Colin the cockroach

Goderich the gecko

   

                                                             Sammy the snake

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

Some horribly huge beetle/grasshopper

thing... - I didn't stop to ask its name!!                                                              

                     

  

Kevin the roommate - HA! Just kidding  :o)                            

We also have a couple of "mystery" animals in the neighborhood which have so far eluded the camera. Every night, the dogs in the neighborhood start growling and barking - right around bedtime (of course!). Then a deep, constant, growl/purr sound starts. After a while the dogs start yelping and crying until suddenly all is quiet. I believe the growling sound is a lion, lying in wait, then suddenly attacks the dogs. To me it's the only explanation! Although one rainy night, we were walking home and passed a big sewage drain filled with massive bullfrogs. They were making the same deep, constant, growl/purr sound, but I can't see them attacking dogs! Kevin feels this mystery is solved, but I am not convinced - why are the dogs so upset? I'm sure bullfrogs are not attacking them (although the were HUGE). Plus if it were bullfrogs, well that would make for a terribly boring blog!!  :o)

The second "mystery" lives down the street. Louise, Kevin and I heard it most days on our walk to work. A loud trumpeting sound which we were convinced was an elephant. We have since been told that having an elephant in your backyard is totally against the law! (Then what is the sound??). One day, I thought it sounded a bit like a very sick cow, but then it TRUMPETED!! I ran home yelling: "It IS an elephant!!". Because of the "law" issue, Kevin thinks it would be a bit far-fetched for a neighbor to be keeping an elephant...he believes it must be a dinosaur!! A pterodactyl to be exact! This would explain how a herd of grazing goats has gone missing. Hmmmmm!

We have been having a lot of fun with this story when new roommates arrive. We walk down the street and when this "creature" makes its noise, the new volunteers look wide-eyed at us and ask: "What the heck was that?!". Kevin and I give each other a little mischievous wink, and nonchalantly respond: "No worries! It's just a dinosaur!!"... leaving them standing stunned in the middle of the road!!  :o)  

Home Sweet Home (at least for now)

Thought I would show you where I've been living. As I had mentioned before, we are quite spoiled here - we have access to the main house and we are one of the only placements that have hot showers!! A nice (and deserved) contrast to working in the slums!!

Main house                                                                                                       Kitchen

There's a big kitchen, living room and sun room where we can relax and use the computer.






One day Kevin and I got caught it a 3 hour torrential rain storm and were trapped at one of the matatu stops. When we got home, soaked to the skin, Mama Lydia had a roaring fire going in the living room - HEAVEN!!
 Living room                                                                    Sun room

Dinner is served on the kitchen counter where we help ourselves. An example of a standard meal is pictured below: sucuma wiki (fried kale) and ugali (Yes folks! For those of you who were in Zambia with me...it is SHIMA! The cornmeal "blob"). We also ate a lot of rice, githeri (a bean and maize mixture) and cabbage. I shall not describe the effect this diet initially had on my digestive system - I'm sure you can imagine!

One night we ate one of our bunnies (very sad...but quite tasty!), and another night we ate rooster. Kevin, Louise and I savoured the rooster! This little guy used to wake us up at 4 in the morning, cock-a-doodle-doing at the top of his lungs. Although a little tough and chewy, the taste of victory was most satisfying!!

Small bedroom                                                                                                         Larger bedroom

Our "home" has a central space, 2 bedrooms on the right, and we share a shower, toilet and sink. Louise and I shared the small room with one bunkbed, but once Suzy and Lee arrived, we moved to the larger room (with 2 bunkbeds). I have so far shared a room with Louise; then Suzy and Louise; then just Suzy; then Caroline and Suzy; then just Suzy again...now I have the room to myself!! Our newest volunteer is another guy, so Kevin and Danny share the small room (No! Of course I'm not going to give up the big room!!)

 I have realized that I am an "all or nothin'" kinda gal. I lived quite comfortably in Zambia for a month, sleeping on a concrete floor, with no electricity, no running water and squatting over a hole in the ground to do "my business". Now, I am living in the lap of luxury, compared to Zambia, and find myself somewhat troubled at the fact that we do not have a toilet seat.!!

So one day, I asked Mama Lydia where we could buy some patio chairs. "Oh!", she says, "I have some in storage."

After the long, hot walk home from working in the slums, this is where I sit, relax and enjoy my cold Tusker. And as you can see, after a heavy rain, we also have a swimming pool!!  :o)

Elephant chasing...or not!

My friend Maria from Holland (we met in Diani Beach) lives in Maungu (2 hours west of Mombasa). She is here working on a youth soccer (football) program. She is living on a wildlife reserve, so we decided to go and visit her and go on some game drives.
There were 7 of us: Kevin and I; Suzie and Lee (our roommates who were heading to Mombasa anyways for their next placement); Cheryl (the other Canadian volunteer I see often); Danny from Ohio (our new roommate who arrived Thursday night - so we dragged him along!); and this girl Laura we had never met, but I got her number from another friend so invited her - she's living in Voi, which is 20 minutes away from Maungu (it's really fun how us volunteers connect!). Laura is an Italian who has been living in Ireland for the past 5 years - her accent was quite interesting!!
We headed out at 5:30AM Friday morning to catch the 8:30AM bus in Nairobi. It was a 7-1/2 hour bus trip.

 

When we got to Maungu, Maria had what we thought was "pink eye". We headed out on a game drive in the evening and the Land Rover died halfway into the bush! We sat on the roof, had a beer, and watched the sunset.

We did see some impalas and dic dics...but no elephants. The best part was the night sky! It was like being back in Zambia - millions of stars!! We finally got the Land Rover running and headed back to the house

Our "backyard"

On Saturday morning Maria was in a lot of pain and couldn't really see out of her left eye, so she was taken to the hospital. Turned out she had developed a fungal infection (it looked like a mimi-mushroom growing out of her eye! yuk!). We barely saw her after that, as she was given 5 kinds of drops and drugs, so she slept the majority of the weekend. It really was too bad. We never made it out on another game drive, but it didn't stop us from having fun. The 7 of us relaxed, Lee played guitar and we walked into the nearest village for meals (45 minute walk!).


                                                                                                             


                                                                                         View of our house from top of cliff

We stayed in a beautiful guest house on the reserve and our "backyard" faced a cliff. We climbed the cliff (some did it a few times!) and had an awesome view of the landscape. The reserve, which is HUGE, lies between Tsavo East and West. Some of you may have heard the story of the "Tsavo lions" who were responsible for killing and eating many workers who were building the Kenya-Uganda railway in 1898. (1996 movie: The Ghost and the Darkness). That's where we were!!

Cliff view of wildlife reserve


 Another cliff view of reserve

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

 3 Baboons                                                                   Colobus monkey 

Colobus monkey
 On Monday morning, I was up at 5:30AM, and sat alone for a few hours on our back patio sipping Chai tea and watching baboons and colobus monkeys play in our "backyard". How surreal is that!! The colobus monkeys came within 6 feet of me, but the baboons kept their distance (which made me happy 'cause they can be quite vicious!).
On our bus ride home, we passed zebras and giraffes along the road. So all-in-all, we may not have seen any elephants, but certainly enjoyed much wildlife, nature and made new friends.
It was back to the grind on Tuesday morning - working in the slums!!  :o(