Tag: Kenya

We said our goodbyes and left Kisii about 9:30 am, driving as far as Norok, where we met our safari guides/drivers. They then took us to the safari camp, about a two hour drive, mostly off road.

It was much different than what we expected. We are sleeping in permanent tents on concrete slabs, each with a regular bathroom attached. These are the upgraded accommodations. There are other tents on the ground with out door bathrooms, and still other tent sites. Not fancy, but softer beds, better showers, and better food than the hotel in Kisii.

We've already seen some animals on the way here: gazelle, zebras, giraffes, wildebeests, and cebus. This part of Africa looks like what you would expect. Dry, expansive plains, Masai huts here and there, acacia trees and mountains off in the distance.

Supper was beef stew, mashed potatoes, green beans and carrots, pasta, cabbage and fruit. The fruit wasn't as good as Kisii, but there's hardly any agriculture where we are. Oh, and most importantly, half liter bottles of Tusker beer, which tasted great.

Rule number one here: zip up your tent. We already saw monkeys stealing stuff from a tent that someone hadn't zipped up all the way.

We are out of here bright and early tomorrow morning for an all day outing. Others we talked to today said they saw a herd of over 80 elephants and countless wildebeest, which are running right now.

 

The day started in an unusual way, to the sound of someone power washing the outside walls and the noisy talk and clattering tubs of the laundry people, all about 5:30 am. When we went down to the dining room, it was dark, and no one was around. I guess the staff was pretty tired this morning, too. Our team was dragging.

It was a pleasant ride to the church because the road had been graded. The people waiting with numbers from last night were orderly, at least to start. I could tell we were in trouble, though. Even though we worked hard to cap today's number, there were just too many there already. And people started calling in favors. The bishop's friends from Tanzania. Students from the boarding school next door. A mother with a sick child. And of course, all of them are “not well.”

Forgive my cynicism, but most of the people were perfectly fine, suffering a few aches and pains that I would consider normal. But because white American “doctors” had come, everyone was ill and needed to see them. So much so that they started arriving at 5 am to get in line.

The people in line quickly devised ways to hack the system. Single adults from the day before suddenly had four children in tow. Others forged numbers to try and get a place in line. A promise of only ten students grew to sixteen. Yes, my compassion lagged and my annoyance grew.

Members of the team had brought toothbrushes and toothpaste, with the hopes of doing a little dental education. Didn't happen. As the day drew to a close, I decided to just give them away to those watching. The first batch I gave out went fine. The second bag of toothbrushes was torn from my hand as a mob literally fought to get their hands on them. I doubt if some even knew what they were grabbing. The dental clinic was over. No way I was going back in there.

We got to see some ver interesting conditions again today. I prayed with several moms whose children were very, very sick. I wish we could have filtered out the ” not feeling well” people to spend time with those who really needed some extraordinary care. But how do you do that?

At the end of the day, we saw those from the church who had helped us during the week, so we didn't get done and packed up till nearly 7 pm. After supper, we saw the hotel staff before we finally called the clinic “closed.”

Tomorrow we head to Nairobi, and some of us will split off for a safari, while a few head home. Time to relax a little now and decompress.

 

Yet another clinic day. We saw another 200 people. As we arrived, a huge mob of people was pressing against the front gates of the church. More than a few Kenyans had to do some yelling restore order and get people in line.

Once that was over, the day went smoothly. We saw a person with a traumatic amputation of a finger, a man with elephantiasis, a four year old who only weighed 14 pounds and had to be taken to the hospital, and a whole boatload of people with joint pain, stomach aches and headaches. The usually menu of complaints for a third world community.

For me it was a day of compassion fatigue, that is, when you feel more annoys than caring. It comes mostly from seeing an increase in people taking advantage of us and our resources. It's hard to say no to so many who feel like they and they family and friends must be seen without waiting in line, from the cook to the bishop. But it's necessary.

Lunch was just some banana potato soup and avocado. Supper included some really good fish along with the usual ungala, greens and rice.

We tried to limit our visits for tomorrow, but must now also see our support staff and the hotel staff. Tomorrow could be a long day.

 

Day three of the clinic was a lot like day two, except for the mob scene at registration. Pushing, shoving, yelling and complete chaos made it impossible to sign people in, delaying the start of the clinical day about 45 minutes. The local leaders had to kick everyone out of the church and start all over again. Hopefully we can avoid this scene tomorrow.

Kim got all of her testing done and started some needed medications, back at her triage desk by noon. We finally got our missing bag of supplies, but we suspect that someone took the batteries out of it. I helped a little in the pharmacy, didn't have a chance to play with the kids, and preached to a group of people outside the church who wouldn't be seen today.

Many church leaders come to me asking for favors. I have to consistently say no, and offer instead to just pray with them. Each has come a long way, is very ill, and needs to be seen immediately (just like everyone else). That's a tough thing to do.

Meals today included the usual eggs for breakfast, rice, eggs, ugala and peas for lunch, and chicken, greens and rice for supper. It's getting predictable. But it's good and very filling.

So today was our frustrating day – even though we saw 245, more than Tuesday. Tomorrow will be different yet, I am sure.

 

 

 

Day two of the clinic began much like day one, with an early bus ride out to the church and a quick clinic setup. Rev. Shaun Trump gave a morning devotion for us, and we started in. The crowds were much bigger today, with many more children.

One mother brought in her son along with doctor’s reports and a cat scan. Dr. Jon had to let her know that there’s was nothing they could do. In fact, the boy was dying and wouldn’t last long. They found me and I prayed with them and committed them to God’s care. I was very glad to hear that the child had been baptized.

We had to send many of the waiters home after lunch because we gave priority to the mothers with children. Steven, the local project coordinator, found me when the group was getting restless and had me preach a little on waiting.

As the clinic day was coming to a close, a number of local children gathered to watch. I wasn’t too busy, so I hopped the fence and ran around an adjacent field with them. It was so much fun. I’m going to get more of the team involved tomorrow.

At one point in the day, I was talking with the bishop about moms who were insisting their children were very sick to get to the front of the line. He said, “You’re right. This isn’t good. Let’s go have some sugar cane!” His brother had brought some over and he grabbed a machete and chopped off a piece for me.

Alice, the head teacher for the K-8 school adjacent to the church took me on a walking tour of her campus. She was so proud, especially of their much improved test scores last year. Each class is around 45 student, crammed into a 20×14 foot space. The school day goes from 6:30 am to 5:00 pm. Some students come early and stay late to do more reading.

We were up a little earlier this morning and actually on the road by 7:40. After we unloaded and set everything up for the clinic at the church, the Bishop led us is a brief devotion, and we began to see patients. Each person who came signed in, then waited for triage (vitals), saw a provider and then usually stopped by the pharmacy.

I wandered from place to place, left an eye on everyone, ran a few errands and did a little teaching in the main waiting room. I spoke about the devotion I had done the night before. Pastor Joel interpreted for me. The people loved it, and then I gave them a chance to ask me questions about myself and my family and America. It really was the highlight of my day.

We didn’t shut down the clinic until after 5, and had to send quite a few home. I think we saw about 130 patients. Dr. Jon got to see a young boy who may have had polio, one with cerebral palsy and another with meningitis. The hit of the day was the 100 year old woman who amazed and inspired everyone.

We are praying hard for Kimberly, who stuck her finger with a needle after a woman requested an HIV test. It probably nothing, but we need to take precautions anyway. She’ll get tested and may begin some meds.

Rev. Shauen Trump, the executive director for LCMS in Kenya and Tanzania was with us tonight for supper. It was good to meet and be encouraged by him.

We are still learning our lesson that relationships always trump tasks in this culture. Time isn’t an asset like it is in America. But the bonds I build with others always is.

It was a leisurely Sunday morning after a good night's sleep. Breakfast was scrambled eggs, sausage, fruit and some bread. Instant coffee is often made with hot milk rather than hot water, so I tried some. Not too bad.

Botoro Lutheran Church was only a 15 minute drive. We were warmly welcomed by the Bishop elect who was in town, and I got a quick summary of my part in the service. I was handed a Swahili hymnal and could actually find a few parts of the liturgy I recognized. Several churches sent choirs who all sang great pieces for the service. I had been invited to preach, and it was my first time with an interpreter (the bishop). I think I did OK, and afterwards, the bishop said people wished I had gone longer. (With interpretation, I went 45 minutes). They are used to longer worship services here.

After worship, they fed us lunch and we scoped out the buildings we would use for the clinic which begins tomorrow. We are learning to be flexible as the local volunteers have a plan for seeing people, and we are here to work alongside them.

After we came back to the hotel we had time for a quick nap, then starts going through medications to get ready for tomorrow. By the time 9 pm rolls around, everyone is pretty tired. They are all good workers and seem to get along well.

We start early tomorrow, and are expecting a pretty big turnout.

 

After a fair night's sleep, we had a pretty good breakfast at the mission center and headed down the road to Kisii. Some of the road was nicely paved. Other parts were mostly potholes. But we made it in about six hours other a stop for lunch.

Along the way we saw lots of cattle and sheep, gazelle, monkeys and baboons. Most were just siting there looking curiously at us as we stared at them and tried to take a few pictures.

 

Every few miles we came upon a town or village, and it struck me how similar each seemed to those in Haiti. When I asked Jacob it, he told me that Haiti is much more African than other Caribbean nations. One big difference is that Kenya grows a lot of its own food and has a much strong economy. But the roadside stands, brightly colored signs and interestingly constructed buildings in Kenya reminded me a lot of Haiti.

Supper tonight was some really tough-to-chew chicken, rice, French fries and veggies at the Bluu Nile Hotel where we'll be staying. We're all still a little tired, but looking forward to church tomorrow and then getting to work.