Medical Camp

My time in Africa started out slow.. Some days I found myself just hanging out and talking with the people, like many typical Kenyans do. It’s normal as you go through town or down the road to see people just hanging around chatting—it’s one of my favorite things about Africa.

But, the past few weeks have been crazy! A team of 23 people came from the US and the UK. It was fun to have more Mazungus around. We set up a medical camp at a slum in Eldoret called Kambi Teso. White tents and ropes to direct traffic and an open field was our medical clinic. The medical camp was five days long and we treated nearly 2,000 people.

I was mainly stationed in the pharmacy distributing drugs to patients. I learned a lot about the drugs and common diseases in Kenya. One of the highlights for me was getting a chance to give injections. OK.. Knowing me and how much I hate getting injections this might sound a little funny. But- it was a good experience because I’m trying to figure out what I want to do in the medical field and this definitely opened my eyes.

Rachel came over and said, “Have you ever given an injection before?” I told her I hadn’t and she said, “Wanna learn?” So of course I said yes! I’m thinking this is crazy, she’s just going to let me give someone an injection when I’ve never done it before?? Now, at home no one would allow this until medical school and what not.. mainly for liability purposes and everyone in America loves suing someone for their troubles.. but, T.I.A (this is Africa)! I turned the corner out of the pharmacy into the next room (not exactly a room, but a curtained off area of the tent) and met my first patient. He was a middle aged man and he had a deep wound from what I think he said was barbed wire and needed a tetanus shot. So, here I am! Haha! Rachel introduced me to him and told him that I’m a student and I’m learning how to give injections.

Now I’m thinking— great, thanks Rachel now I can’t pretend like I know what I’m doing.. but he didn’t even blink and said ok. She showed me how to prepare the injection and to “aspirate back” after I put the needle in before administering the tetanus.. (all very official terminology). Then she showed me where to give the injection and said, “ok, whenever you’re ready.” I’m thinking uhhh.. ok? Am I ready? Wait a second… am I ready?! How selfish of me.. is HE ready??! I looked at him and said, “Ok on the count of three…one.. two.. three…AHHH (and I literally gave a little scream before giving him the injection) hahaha! How pathetic of me! He didn’t even flinch and after thanked me. Ok.. first injection! And I was more nervous than my patient! Haha!

The rest of the medical camp I spent running around the tent giving a few injections here and there and in the pharmacy. It was so hectic, and there was no time to rest. I literally don’t think I sat down once the entire medical clinic. I rarely ate my lunch each day because it was so busy and I didn’t want to miss out. But, by the end of the day the heat and craziness started to get to me and I was happy to pack up by the end of each day.

The next story I have is about an older woman, about 80 years old (I think) who came complaining of joint pain. One of the doctors noticed her eyes were completely clouded with cataracts. The doctor asked her if she could see and she said everything was dark but she could make out shapes. Now, one thing that commonly happens in Africa, unlike the US, is that doctors will treat a patient with medicine, but they will also sometimes pray for the patient. So, this doctor pointed out her cataracts to me and said he was going to treat her for her joint pain, but that there wasn’t much they could do about her vision, but he would pray for her. I just nodded, unsure what he really wanted me to do.

He prayed for her and gave her the prescription for pain relief and sent her on her way. One of the other team members had also been in the room with us. Later, I was back in the pharmacy filling prescriptions and I recognized her name while I was filling her meds. Then the other team member Tara came over and said, “Anna, look at her eyes.” I looked at them and they were clear. Okkkk… what?? I honestly didn’t believe it and I thought it was some kind of joke so I kept looking away and then looking back and then trying to remember what the woman was wearing to make sure it wasn’t someone else.. but no, it was the same woman. I can’t tell you how her cataracts disappeared or if I went a bit delusional from the heat but this was definitely a first for me. It kinda weirded me out…

Babu

When the team of 23 people arrived from the US and UK they brought with them a trombone my family (mainly my mom) had sent for Babu Meshak. “Babu” means grandfather in Kiswahili. Which is very fitting for this man. He is our chief welfare officer at the village. He is the man at the gate and after several of my morning runs and talking with him as I came and went through the gate, it became clear to me that I could learn a lot from him and I slowly began to learn about his life.

Babu spent about 30 years working at a prison in Kenya as a guard. He also told me one day that he had a great love for music. And after that, I realized his was constantly humming to himself or singing to me or whatever other visitor was there. So, it wasn’t long before I looked forward to my morning runs (even though they aren’t close to enjoyable because the altitude makes it impossible to breathe).

He told me about his days as a musician and the various bands he was in and how he used to play his trombone in the prison on occasion. Then one day as I approached the gate he told me he had found something very special that he needed to share with me. He pulled out an old program and he was so excited to tell me that he had found this is town the other day and the reason it was so special was because it dated back to the 1950s and it was a book of several Oregon bands.

After asking him if he still played he told me that he didn’t have the money for an instrument and the instruments he had used in the past were loaned to him by either the band he was in or the prison.

Long story short, I thought it was necessary to find a way to get Babu his trombone. So, I talked with my family about it and my mom somehow found him a trombone. (after what was a LONG -and if you know my mom, RIDICULOUS escapade to find Babu a suitable trombone—because my mom wouldn’t just give any trombone. That would be too simple) So—after several years with no instrument, Babu finally received his trombone.

When he opened the box his hands were shaking and he couldn’t seem to get it put together fast enough to play it. And the first song he played was Amazing Grace and if you looked closely you could see he was crying. Which, had lots of people crying- and I was crying too (obviously—because if you know me you know I can cry during nearly any sad movie or whatever). But, it has been so fun to see him with something he loves so much! He has played it for us on several occasions and when the team left we had a camp fire on their last night and he played almost the whole night. Thanks mom for all your hard work! I wish you had been there to see him and hear him play Amazing Grace for the first time.

A Night On The Streets

This is Morris>>>
After hearing from Morris that the street kids had asked him to bring me with him to see them at night, I didn’t know whether that was the best idea. I’m thinking hmmm.. they want me to come to the street?? For those of you who don’t know, street kids in Eldoret live a terrible life. Not just because they live on the street, but because of how the police treat them. Many of the kids are orphans, kids who lost their families in the post election violence in 2007, kids who have run away from abusive homes, and kids who are simply thrown out by their families… and they have nowhere to go.

So, thousands of kids walk around the streets begging for money or whatever people are willing to give them. They have no shelter. Many of them sleep and live in the dump on the edge of town. They sleep in the piles of garbage for warmth. To many, street kids are seen as a nuisance. Authorities have been ordered to find a solution to the problem. So, they were given an old warehouse in the center of town where the kids could go for shelter at night and sleep. But that didn’t last long. The police here are miserable men. They are so corrupt. Many of them are drunks with terrible tempers. So- instead of protecting street kids and the people in Eldoret, they make their lives a living hell and everyone fears them.

At night, many of the policemen are drunk so they torment the street children. Now, all the policemen carry guns. Not guns that they have holstered- massive guns that they carry loaded and ready at all times. They chase the kids away from the shelter and beat them. The other day, a young boy was shot on Sunday at around 10am- in broad daylight. Apparently, he was selling phones and the police accused him on selling fake ones and so they started beating him. As he tried to run away, one of the police shot him in the back of the head. I’ve met the young guy and he had left the streets and had newly married and a newborn baby. Hearing about this was really difficult. How can a police officer shoot a young man in the back of the head and get away with it??!—That’s just a glimpse of what the street kids have to deal with.

I was a bit nervous, but I decided that I should go. So, Morris and I went to town last night and I was blown away by what I saw. I had heard about the terrible things that happened and I thought I was prepared. But, seeing it made me sick to my stomach. As we pulled into town, kids immediately spotted us and ran up to his car before he could park it. It was as if they wanted to climb through the windows. Morris told me that they were afraid of the police who were chasing them and they didn’t know where to go. At first, I tried to shrug it off and blame it on the glue –I thought to myself, they’re not thinking clearly and they’re just paranoid. But, as soon as I looked behind me, I realized I was wrong. Here came a group of kids running through the street with four police chasing after them with their guns pointed. I froze.

Morris and I got in the car and drove to another street and talked with kids and tried to help them find places to hide from the police. As we were walking Morris pointed to a place in the alley and said, “I used to sleep there to hide from the police when I was a young boy”. I looked over and realized that what he was pointing to was a bathroom stall. Can you imagine? He laughed because I had no idea what to say and said, “it’s ok because it kept me safe”.

We found a few more kids. Several knew me and told me how happy they were to see me and asked me why I hadn’t been to see them in a while. They’re fun, sweet kids and they can make you laugh so easily. But Morris told me that he couldn’t figure out where everyone was.. he said there was usually hundreds more. So, he asked two little boys where everyone was. That’s when the whole night changed. They told him the police had arrested them all. After we gave the kids some bread and milk Morris asked me if it was ok with me if we went to the police station.

I said yes without hesitation. I wanted to see the awful people who had arrested the kids and tell them a few things. We got there and most of the police knew Morris and so we were told we could feed the kids. Now, this is because the police don’t feed them and they can hold them for however long they want and there’s no real reason for arresting them in the first place—Absolutely ridiculous!! I’m like- YOU CANT DO THAT!! But they don’t care..

Morris requested to go in the cell to see the kids and surprisingly they let him. At first I didn’t want to go in, but for some reason I just followed him in. As you turn the corner, I expected to find a hallway and cells on either side. Not exactly what I found. A long, thin hallway and one main room at the end and it was packed and I mean packed of kids. I literally could hardly squeeze my way through. I stood there and the smell of urine and the state these kids were in was overwhelming. There’s no bathroom so they just go on the floor. Morris quickly pulled me out but as we walked out the young deaf boy, Brian grabbed my pant leg and gave me the thumbs up. Morris told me that he always asks about me. But I asked him how he knew because the boy is deaf and cant speak.. he said that he moves his hand along his face indicating long hair and then a thumbs up and that his motion for me. I turned to the guard and asked him why this boy had been arrested. The guard gave me an empty look and I knew there was no reason.

The truth of what was happening is a policemen recently shot a street boy in the back of the head. They know the street kids have the ability to cause a problem and kill a policemen in return… so they are locking them all up. I feel completely hopeless in how to help these kids..

Elgonview

There have been a lot of changes at the village I’m staying at lately. One of the women at the office, Renee, left and has moved to Mexico to get married. Because she just left, they currently don’t have anyone to do the work she was doing. This is probably the busiest I’ve seen things since I’ve arrived. There are currently three children homes at the village, and an office (that the office in town will move to once the village has electricity). They are building three visitor homes, and a baby home. The three visitor homes and the baby home are still under construction and I’ve seen them go up from the very beginning- brick by brick. They look amazing! But, in Kenya nothing and I mean nothing runs on time or on much of a schedule- no matter how hard you push. So, they were supposed to be completed in the beginning of June- but now they are hoping that only one will be completed by the time the medical team arrives in the beginning of July. Yup- that’s about two weeks. So… because of everything that has to be done by then and with Renee gone and all other things that happen Rachel has asked me to move out of the village to the office and stay in Renee’s old room. So I’ve partially moved my things to Renee’s room and I’ve been working in the office and babysitting the babies here and doing medical inventory to prepare for the medical teams.

I miss everyone at the village and all the time I spend with the children. But, I love the work I’m doing in the office, a proper meal (I had ham, mashed potatoes, and cucumber salad the other night- which if you had been eating ugali & green grams for the past 2 months you’d understand my appreciation). I’ve really enjoyed getting to know the office staff and Rachel & Ruth. We have a good time. We played spoons the other night- it got so competitive that Rachel dove across the table to snatch the spoon out of my crotch…yeah… seriously. And we had guests there as well. (Guests= donors- a few older aged British men- who didn’t exactly have the same idea of “fun” as we did) And the next hand Ruth threw me to the ground trying to get a spoon—I was afraid for my life and so were the donors -they had a look of horror on their faces… But I came out victorious both times =)

Anyways- I’ve started the medical inventory so that Rachel can order more supplies for the up coming medical clinics. I’m really excited for the clinics. The little medical work I’ve done so far has been really good for me. I know I’ll learn so much and I’ll feel like I’ve helped a few people. Rachel also helped me discover I had worms and gave me the right medication to get rid of them. Ohh I’m so happy I don’t have worms anymore. I really got uncomfortable the last few days I had them. I can’t imagine how so many people in this country can live with them for years without help. So I felt guilty complaining. But trust me, no one wants worms. EVER.

driving in kenya

Morris taught me how to drive the truck today!! =))

So.. no rules, wrong side of the road, manual transmision with my left hand, big truck,
haven't driven in about 2 months, in kenya, dirt bumpy roads= ok GO!

you rarely ever see women driving in kenya- let alone a mazungu like me.
Morris really enjoyed watching people's reactions as i drove around.

P.S. NEVER DRIVE IN KENYA. i did fine and we lived.. but i honestly nearly had a heart attack. (honest- at one point Morris said, "Anna remember to breathe!"

And then the Engrique Iglesias song "Hero" came on as i pulled over and he jumped in the drivers seat. = we were in "stitches" ( a knew phase Morris used to describe our time) means we laughed really hard...

Modekai

Sorry it’s been so long since I’ve posted something. I’ve been going into town to visit the street kids with Morris quite a bit. For those of you who don’t know Morris’ story I’ll do my best to tell you. Morris lived on the streets for eight years. He was addicted to glue like all the other 99% of kids on the streets- meaning he had a bottle of glue stuck to his lips and he inhaled the glue to get high for 10 hrs a day- give or take. To many, this sounds like a strange addiction, but after learning about life on the street, it starts to make more sense. The glue masks hunger and the high pulls them away from their reality. Now, to me this makes perfect sense for a street kid. Most have been abandoned and are starving and have nowhere to stay, so they sleep in the dump on the worst side of town. To me, glue seems like a sufficient, but terrible solution for most of them. Anyways, Morris lived on the streets for eight years and then some how someone he met tried to help him and he accepted. He says that person changed his life forever- which is obviously true. He slowly started to make better choices and he stopped sniffing glue, etc and he now works with the Open Arms International group that I’m working with. He has dedicated his life to the street kids and he is an amazing man.
The first time I met Morris is what stands out the most to me. He picked me, Morgen, and Catherine up from the Nakumat (grocery store) one afternoon and was going to take us back to the village. As we drove through town kids started to follow our car and were yelling “Morris” and started tapping on the windows… so he rolled them down and started talking to them. To those watching it was probably a strange sight- a Kenyan and three Mazungu girls driving through town with what seemed to be all the streets kids surrounding and following the car. I asked Morris what was going on and he started laughing and said, “These are all my friends. These are the street kids”. When Morris walks through town everyone seems to know and respect him. The kids start to follow him and talk to him and businessmen stop him and say hello and what not. And here I am, sticking out like a sore thumb completely at a loss of what to do- but completely in awe of how the entire town seemed to respond to this man.
Anyways, back to my story about one of the times I went with him on his daily visit to the street. Morris tells me he’s just come back from taking a few kids off the street back to their families and helping them reconcile their differences so that they hopefully wont end up on the streets again. He tells me how the rains caused flooding in the city and he couldn’t get out for a few days and that he had to drink the water there- so he got typhoid. So, here’s Morris sick as a dog on his way to hang out with the kids on the streets. (just a glimpse of who he is)
Morris tells me a little bit about what I’m about to experience so I try to prepare myself. He says I may feel a bit unsafe but as long as he’s with me I’ll be ok. (I start to wonder how this is going to go) We pull into the worst part of town in what seems to be a few feet from one of the nicest restaurants. Looking out my window as we drive further in I notice a young boy asleep on a mound of garbage. We pull up to a somewhat empty area (literally in the dump) with piles on top of piles of garbage and he parks the car.
As we get out he says, “Oh, Anne by the way I told them you were a doctor.” I’m thinking uh.. Morris why? You know I’m not. He then tells me he thinks a few may need my assistance as a swarm of “kids” (mostly young men and a few younger kids) start grabbing my hands and greeting me. They mumble “Habari”( how are you?) through the bottles of glue they have stuck to their upper lips. Many of them are so high they don’t make any sense.
Morris gets the medical bag out of the truck and the kids start showing me their various wounds. Now- these aren’t your typical cuts and scrapes.. these kids are so filthy and they haven’t been clean in god knows how long that something that could have started out as a simple cut has progressed to infection and for some their legs were literally rotting. At first, I didn’t know what to do first. But Morris told me they wont go to a hospital and all we can do is try to help. So I started cleaning them.. but when each cloth seemed to be dirtier then the one before he told me it was as good as it was gunna get and to just bandage them up. Meanwhile, through all of this they were talking back and forth Mazungu this Mazungu that and Morris told me they were very happy I was there to help them. Some it seemed were almost competing to see who I would help next- it was like they wanted to have a cut or something so that I would help them and so a mazungu would touch them.
But, what happened next is possibly the hardest thing I’ve experienced. A young boy (probably 10 or 11?) walked up to me and tugged on my shirt to get my attention. I thought that was kind of odd at first because all these kids were pretty vocal when getting my attention. But I quickly realized that he was deaf. Morris walked up and said to me quietly, “if you can’t do this, he will understand”. Unaware of what he was referring to I quickly said, “No, no I’m fine I want to help.” He sat down and showed me his foot (he had no shoes on) and it literally made me sick to my stomach.. they call if foot rot in some places. He was so dirty I looked up at Morris and asked him if we could take him somewhere to clean him, but he said we can’t. So I started to clean his foot. As I was cleaning, I noticed he had about an inch deep cut that ran along the crease on the bottom of your foot where your toes meet with the rest of the foot.
I showed Morris and he simply said, “just do the best you can”. So I told him to tell the boy this would probably sting a bit but then I remembered he was deaf and that wouldn’t be possible. I couldn’t help but put my head down and cry while I poured hydrogen peroxide into the cut.. and the next thing I know the boy puts his hand on my leg to get my attention and I look over and he’s giving me a thumbs up. Instead of screaming and pulling away he gave me a thumbs up.
I don’t really know how to explain the feeling that gave me but it changed me forever. I told Morris we were going to get him shoes after. As we were getting ready to leave- the kids all started talking to Morris and motioning to me. We left soon after that. As we were walking down the street looking for shoes for the deaf boy I asked Morris what they said about me. He told me that they said, “This Mazungu (white person) will always be safe. We will watch her when she’s in town, wherever she is and no one will harm her.” Then Morris explained to me how big of a deal that was and that in all the years he’d been doing this and all the Mazungus he’d taken to the streets, and of all the doctors he’d taken, I was the only one they had ever said that about and the only one they accepted.

I Kill Snake!!

I’ve become much closer with the two farmers. Mainly, because I have increased the number of trips I take to milk the cows and Deewas had her baby calf earlier last week. It was sooo exciting! I missed the birth, which upset me, but I got to see then end of it and the delivery of the placenta. I know-Gross. But, it’s actually really amazing and fun to experience, especially in Kenya! Anywho- I’ve become especially close with Festis because he speaks good English and he actually jokes around and is pretty funny and is always making us laugh. He’s an amazing runner and he was supposed to go to the Beijing Olympics, but he injured his knee running on the road when he stepped in a pot hole—very typical in Kenya! They don’t have much- wait, actually no concern for the shape of the roads. I’m so sad for him to have lost out on the Olympics. But, he and I believe that he will make it there soon. So, I’ve been spending more time with him learning about being a farmer and whatnot.. Annnnddd we end up killing a Black Mamba. Yupp! An incredibly poisonous snake.. Goggle it!

I could see Festis walking up the field to get grass for the mama cow and I was instructed to wait for him with Meshak. So as I watched him his body language completely changed and he quickly froze. I run over to see what’s wrong with him. He’s starring at something and as I approach he very seriously tells me to stop and stand how he is. Festis is rarely serious, so I know he means it and I stand in the ridiculous position—legs crossed over one another and my right hand gripping my left wrist….Ookkk. I stand there for a few seconds and then when I’m about to tell him to stop joking around I see the black mamba snake he’s been starring at!!

Ohh goodie!! Hah ha! Let’s see how this little game turns out. He can tell I’m skeptical of the bizarre positions we are standing in and explains to me that when you stand like that near a snake in Africa, it is said that the snake will not bite… I’m like- Ok Check! I’ll just stand like this, no problem. At this point, two of the welfare officers have shown up. Meanwhile, Festis tells me he’s going to kill the snake… (I’m thinking- ohh great idea, get closer to the deathly poisonous snake… I agree.. hah! NOT!!) While I’m thinking this, I realize the two officers are yelling at Festis because I’m there. They tell him it’s too dangerous and they try to get me to leave. But, I refuse. Of course.

After some “planning” all the men grab sticks and begin to surround the snake preparing to kill it. As I’m still standing in the position Festis put me in. He positions himself between me and snake so the officers can’t keep a good eye on me… perfect! Festis whacks the snake and stabs it with his stick. (not killing it, just making it incredibly angry) And the two officers instead of joining in take a few slight steps back. (what wonderful watchmen) I’m not impressed and tired of standing in the silly position as the snake strikes at them and gets closer and closer to biting them. So— I grab a rock. One of the officers sees me (unfortunate) and grabs me trying to get me away. I tell him I’m going to kill the snake. He is not pleased but I creep up behind Festis and smash the rock over the snakes head! ☺ ☺

I’ve done it!! The snake is dead. Quite the crowd has appeared at this point and they’re all cheering and shocked and they all think I’m crazy for being that close to a snake. But, someone had to. Festis is impressed because he pats me on the back and says, “Sawa sawa”. (means ok, ok ) He disposes of the snake by putting it into the toilet hole.—and I mean hole. It is very common to go to the bathroom by squatting over a hole in Kenya.

The gaurds Still cant seem to understand why I was there with a snake. They kept asking me, “do you not fear?” and I kept trying to explain to them that it was my fear of snakes that helped me kill it. But, they just nodded and looked at me like I was mad.