Soccer and Sunning

I am lacking the energy for a full blog post, but thought you might like to see a little of the view from where I am. This is what we have been up to for the last few days. My students arrive soon and we will be going to the rainforest in Kakamega before Adam and Lauren leave for their safari.

Me and Lauren basking in the sunrise.

More Basking.......

The hand shaking begins.....I kinda like it, makes me feel like the president :)

Lauren did a fabulous job with the pad/puberty talk :)

It has become common to find a troup of boys waiting by our door when we get home, requesting "Adams" to play with them. They don't even seem to mind when he uses his height/weight advantage to steal the ball :)

Our front lawn has become the new designated soccer(excuse me, futbol) field. This is a pic of Lauren gaining some street cred with the neighborhood boys. They find it fascinating and hilarious that this mzungu lady not only plays soccer, but does it barefoot :) She may go down in history here as the coolest girl ever.

Jessie

 

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Sunrises and the Sex-talk

Our adventures continued as we trekked up the mountain behind our house for a little sunrise action. The mountain, which those without an imagination might call a large hill, is scattered with massive boulders. Tucked in between the rocks are little tin-roof houses with mud walls and bright blue doors.

We finally reached the top of the mountain to see an amazing sunrise. Lauren called her family to greet them from the mountaintop.

Right behind the "sunrise rock" is a school called Emmatsi, where we were greeted by a mass of students whispering, "mzungu, how are you?, how are you?"

After shaking about 50 little hands, we parted the sea of children to greet John, the principal. To make a long story shorter, we arranged to come back the next day to give the dreaded period talk with the teenage girls at the school. It is a common problem here that girls cannot get sanitary supplies during their periods. They either use rags or stay home from school. The boys in their classes are aware of their dilemma, and offer them pads in exchange for sex. Our talk included basic female anatomy, hygiene, and the dangers of unprotected sex. At the end the girls all stood and took an oath that they would respect themselves and their bodies, that they would not accept pads for sex, and that they would finish secondary school (high school).

Since Lauren is such a stellar seamstress, we also gave all the girls cloth, reusable maxi pads she had sewn. The pads have a waterproof back and removable inserts. They should last the girls 3ish years. To add a little rainbow to that sunshine, the pads are also pink and green and fun colors like that :)

Another great day in this land I love!

Jessie

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Mzungu on Matatu

We have arrived! And when I say "we", i am referring to Adam and Lauren Hill, for those of you who do not know my travel companions. Adam is one of the doctors I work with at Duke, and this is their first time to Africa. Adam and Lauren are settling right into life in Maseno and have jumped right in to the lovely chaos that is Kenya.

Our travels here were relatively uneventful compared to my usual travel shenanigans that usually involve airplane barf bags :). The highlights: Adam almost lost a kneecap to an overzealous beverage cart on seceral occasions, and I discovered Lauren also shares my love for tiny, useless things-like miniature wooden Dutch shoes in the Amsterdam airport. After 14ish hours on an airplane, we arrived in Nairobi. Our driver quickly introduced my travel companions to Kenyan driving when we got stuck in a line to get out of the parking area. Noticing their was no line at the entrance to the lot, he promptly turned us around, expertly jumped the curb, and straddling the sidewalk-he got us out through the "in" lane. The next morning we got up at the crack of dawn to catch our easy coach bus to Maseno, during which I introdcued them to drinking yogurt (exactly what it sounds like), and a short 8 hours later we arrived safe and sound.

The hospital is quite delighted to have Adam here (or Adams, as they have decided to call him). On our first day during ward rounds, he diagnosed a kid with a significant VSD about 12 seconds after assessing him. Nice Work. Since then we've seen some interesting cases of cryptococcal meningitis, TB, malaria, postpartum hemorrhage, and GC arthritis (for all the other dorky medical people out there who were wondering what we're seeing over here).

On our first full day in Maseno we took a little journey to Luanda, the nearby village, to visit the Phoebe House. Their first experience riding a matatu (bus), was entertaining. Lauren got the awful aisle seat, which literally means they precariously balance a small board across the aisle for you to sit on. When a matatu is as full as you think it can get, they usually take one more person who has to lean half their body over the lap of the person sitting in the seat closest to the door to allow the door to shut, which holds them in this awkward position of personal space invasion. And the lucky duck sitting in that seat was Adam (aka "Adams").

For those of you who are unaware of the P.H., its a home for women and children who have either been orphaned or abandoned due to HIV. And that is where my precious children live, and Adam and Lauren also found them delightful. To welcome us they sang us songs and gave us "flowers" which are best described as garlands of tinsel. Although they can get a little itchy and hot in the equatorial sun, they are really quite an honor as they are only used for special occasions, like weddings.

 

Stay tuned for more thrilling updates to come!

Jessie

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Triatix and Tilapia

So sorry for my lack of posting. My delightful students have been running me ragged :)

Let me catch you all up a bit on what we have been up to. Here we are at an orphan program doing a little a little deworming. For those of you who are not ascariasis savvy, this is not a very technical manueuver- it basically involves giving them a pill:).

 

Now this albendazole was in a container that made the gutsy claim that they were chewable. What I am now pondering, is what qualifies it as chewable? Apparently the only qualification is that it's not hard as a rock. In small print it said "mint aroma". Note: nothing was mentioned about flavor. So, being the great pediatric nurse that I am, I thought we should try it before we give it to kids.

And it was absolutely wretched. I have never chewed on a piece of chalk......but I think it was pretty comparable. To counteract this foulness we got candy to administer immediately after the chalk tabs. No one gagged, so I have counted it a success.

We also treated their feet for jiggers, which are nasty little buggers that like to dig into feet and rip them up. Treatment involves soaking their feet in Triatix, an insecticide, to get rid of the parasites. It's not pretty, bit it works. The tricky thing was all the kids were barefoot, which makes it rather difficult to assess the bottoms of their feet when we can't see them through the mud. Hence the foot washing station was started. This is Sam, washing children's feet.

 

 

For an interesting cultural experience we went down to the hotels (sidenote: restaurants are called hotels here, and hotels are called guest houses) on lake Victoria for some fresh tilapia. As I anticipated, it was slightly alarming to some of the students when they were given the whole fish to eat, especially considering that they were not given any utensils. But true to form, they jumped in and gave it a try. And if we're all really honest, who isnt dying to try eating with their hands anyway?

Xoxo

Jessie

And no, Sam does not know I posted this picture of him :). Let's just keep it our little secret.

Rainforests, Home Health and Hemispheres

News, news. We spent the weekend in Kakamega rainforest hiking up mountains and sneaking photos of unsuspecting monkeys. We started our sunrise trek at 5 am to make it to the top of a mountain (just a small one) before the sun (see picture above). Very pretty and breathtaking of course. Some of us even braved the bat cave and managed not to scream like little girls when we woke them up and they started swirling all around us.

Not only was this a true rainforest, but it is also mid-rainy season right now.....needless to say our rain jackets got to see some action. We arrived in Maseno last night happily exhausted and ready to crawl into our bunk beds (or double-deckers, as they are called here).

We've now spent one day in Maseno and the students have jumped in with both feet. One gave immunizations in the MCH (mother child health) clinic, some went out on home visits with HIV adherence counselors, and others rounded on the wards. We started off our first day with some great experiences. We had planned on sitting in on a surgery to repair a tib-fib fracture (broken leg) but the patient couldn't come up with the money so the surgeon didn't come. He's already been waiting in the wards for 2 weeks, so I'm sure the surgeon thought, what's one more day anyway? We at least replaced the scraptacular cardboard and gauze splint with a somewhat more legitimate one, so he seems a bit more comfortable. We're hoping he'll get in to the OR tomorrow.

We also snuck a little walk in before darkness took us prisoner in the house until tomorrow morning. We walked down to the marker on the equator and did the little north-south hemisphere dance, and all other hemisphere-related activities. It isn't often after all, that one can lean over and have their nose in a different hemisphere as their toes.

We took the long way back to go through the Maseno University campus. I am really enjoying getting to introduce my students to Maseno and show them around, despite the fact that a group of 10 wazungu (white people) looks nothing short of a parade around here, and typically attracts about an equal amount of attention. Tomorrow we will me going on more home health visits, helping with a mobile satellite clinic, rounding on the wards, and meeting with an HIV support group. Should be quite an interesting day.

Jessie

 

Orphanages and Operating Rooms

My students arrived safe and sound and I must say, they are quite fantastic. They are a group of 8 nursing students, some of whom have never really left the country before, and they have embraced everything Kenya whole heartedly. We arrived a few days ago at Mercy Mission Hospital in Nakuru where we will be spending a week. The guest house, where the 10 of us would be sleeping, had 6 available beds. I love Kenya planning:). But they jumped right in and said that's okay, we'll share. These are single beds mind you. Three of the girls pushed the beds together and rigged up a double mosquito net over them. So resourceful. I was so proud. We also do not have anyone to cook for us, so Vivian (the other instructor) and I will be cooking for 10 :). They have a hot water heating system, but it heats the sink water and the shower is frigid.......wiring problem or just ridiculously bad planning?

Last night our drivers, Shadrack and Tony, joined us for dinner and we were regaled with the most fascinating stories of growing up on the Maasai Mara and of the manhood ceremony that involves circumcision and killing a lion. Crazy. Each of us was sitting on the edge of our seat in suspense for about 2 hours. What a lost art story telling is, and how delightful to spend an evening with someone who excels at it. Just fascinating. They gave us gory details of how each animals like to kill their prey. And you all know how nursing students love gory details.

Our first day, to ease them in, we visited an orphanage and mission hospital run by the hatholic church that blew me away (see pic below). It was so pretty and well-kept and well managed. For those of you who know Kenya-this is nothing short of an act of God. It was quite encouraging to me, and gave me hope for the future of the Phoebe House. At least I now believe it can be done.

 

Yesterday we started rotations in the HIV testing and clinic, the wards, maternity and outpatient surgery. Yesterday on our tour, about 10 minutes in, we walked in on a woman who had come in for a incomplete abortion (spontaneous miscarriage) and had retained products of conception and was bleeding heavily. The medical officer introduced himself and asked them to jump in and assist. Yikes. A little intimidating, but true to form they embraced it and learned a lot. It's been great so far. As much as I miss Maseno right now and my own work I am doing there, I love being an instructor. I love teaching, and most of all I love seeing the students falling in love with this country, and these people. I feel very blessed to have this opportunity.

Today we started the day a little early with an emergency C-section and 2 of my students got to scrub in and receive the baby. Very interesting to be in the OR here, quite a different experience than what we are used to. Yes-we are wearing skirts, gowns, and rubber boots with no socks (except Aaron). We were all impressed with the skill and precision of the medical officer who performed the surgery. The rest were spread out between the delivery room, the outpatient clinic and the wards. I'm waiting to hear all their stories tonight. One got to assist in her first birth!

That's all I have for now. More fascinating updates to come!

Jessie

Easter Sunday and Sanitary Pads

Are you all anxiously awaiting another update?? Well, wait no more. Things are going splendidly here. I am quite pleased. I will admit- I was very, very close to giving up on the Rotary House and passing it off as someone else's job. But I suppose if that is my line of thinking I should just go home now. And as blessings would have it, I had not even finished my renovations on the house when I got word that a new doctor has committed to come to Maseno and needed a place to live in a few weeks. He'll be arriving the day I leave. So as of now, the house has a patched and reprinted roof, a new ceiling inside, the floors are patched and smooth, and the locks are all changed. The house is stocked with sheets, blankets, nets, dishes, pots, buckets, and a water filtration system. The new housekeeper, Truphosa, has been trained on how to manage the house and how to prepare food for visitors. She has committed to work for me for the next year. I've changed the structure of the house slightly to give her more autonomy and business potential, since she will be independently managing the food, sort of like a mini restaurant. She'll make more money and I think it will lower the overall cost for visitors. I don't want to speak too soon, but this could be a win-win situation.

And let me wish you all a very Happy Easter! I spent yesterday morning rounding on the wards as usual. For my medically trained readers, I have a very interesting case of likely elephantiasis right now. I am reading up on treatments (and causes) for it tonight. Something I've certainly never seem before.

I spent the rest of the day at the Phoebe House, which is a home for women and children who have been abandoned or forced out of their homes because of their HIV status. I am in the process of teaching them how to sew washable, reusable maxi-pads (pictured above). An interesting endeavor-I agree, but before you wrinkle your nose at the thought, let me tell you the reason.

Many girls in rural areas like this do not have money or access to maxi-pads. They usually have to miss a week of school each month, or used unsanitary methods, like rags or newspaper. Now that the schoolboys are aware of this issue, some have started to offer the girls pads in exchange for sex. And the girls are accepting. Very sad. There has been a lot of interest in the project at home, and we have had over 100 pads donated that were sewn by groups based in the US. Fantastic. But like any other sustainable project here, it also has to be locally made. So begins my maxi-pad crusade.

The pads are being sewn on machines that run on a foot pump so electricity is not needed. Easy to use, easy to fix. Jacyline is one of the women who lives at Phoebe House with her 2 sons, and she will be heading up the project. We hope to sell them individually in the local market, and also to groups from the US who want to travel to schools to educate the girls and distribute the pads.

As always, I had a wonderful afternoon at the Phoebe House. My littlest darlings, Naomi and Arnold, are getting quite big. If you look back on my older posts Arnold is the chipmunk-cheek baby with ugali all over his face. When I first met Arnold over 2 years ago he was a patient at Maseno hospital. He was very suspicious of me initially and every time I walked in the ward he would shoot me a glare that could frost over the sun. Thankfully this time he warmed up much more quickly, as he felt the need to be constantly touching my hair, swinging on my arms, or patting my cheeks. At one point I was showing the kids pictures of my family-they were all very interested in seeing "Mama Jescah" ( my mom). Arnold could not see very well so he wiggled under my legs from behind the chair, crawled up over my knees and settled himself in my lap for a better view. When his mom told him he needed to let the other kids see too, without taking his eyes off the camera, he reached up and patted my cheek and said, "Hapana, wewe na wangu", meaning, " no, you are mine ". Oh. My. Goodness. He had me at the cheek pat.

I am currently in Nairobi for the night to pick up my students at 3 am tomorrow, and then we head off to Nakuru for the week. I knew I jynxed myself by saying how great easy coach was last time. While I am thankful, as always, for arriving anywhere in Kenya in one piece, I did spend the last 8 hours being thrown about the back of the bus. It isn't often in the US you actually feel yourself going airborne from your seat. My teeth may be still rattling a little :). No matter what the ticket lady says, there is a huge differnce in the amount of josling from the front to the back of the bus. That's a little pearl I am going to tuck away for next time. We stopped halfway through for a bathroom break and I considered making a generous offer to one of the front seaters to switch with me, but I was traveling with my friend Job and I couldn't abandon him to the back of the bus alone.

I'm going to go have some dinner now that you all know I am safe and sound in Nairobi.

Xoxo,

Jessie