The Camera Heist and updates

Again, sorry for the delay. I have been busy with meetings and it has been a challenge finding time and or access to the internet at times. So there is a lot to talk about, sit down and relax and enjoy…

Since last time…I wrote about my camera being lost, well it turns out it was picked from my bag and I know who did it. Luckily there was a pic of my friend William in the camera and someone approached him and told him that he saw his picture in a camera with some wazungu in it. William acted like he didn’t know what the guy was talking about and asked to be taken to the man who had the camera. So William so the camera and the man was asking 15000 shillings for it, like $250 US. So instead, William (oh he is a trained and professional boxer) decided to plan a heist. He got his cousin who is unknown to the man Sam who has my camera, he is going to act like he is interested in buying and as soon as the cousin has the camera in his hand “pretending to look at the product he is about the buy” William and friends will attack. I think it’s all pretty amusing, but its great that I am going to get my camera back (hopefully).

Last Friday, I traveled to a placed called Sagam for a medical camp. KMET is taking over management of a hospital there and this was the official launch of the hospital under new management. It was an interesting day; my role during the camp was to register patients coming for the free medical care. It was free because they are trying to build up the reputation of the hospital again since previously it had been failing in service quality. So, free treatment was offered this day and it was full of entertainment, food, etc. Quite interesting and people flocked from all around for the medical care. On a tour of the hospital we saw the mortuary. Although not as big and brightly lit as the ones in the States it was not that bad. They had a freezer and the place reeked of formaldehyde and I came up close and person with 4 dead bodies, one in which had this horrible “The Ring” movie facial expression. It was crazy; I don’t think I have ever seen dead bodies before they have been doctored with makeup and embalming fluid. UGH. And one was of a lady who was over 100 years old! WOW considering the average life span is 55-60 for women.

So this week has been the Hindu holiday called Diwali, from what I understand its similar to Christmas for the Hindus. They have been shooting fireworks all week long and the other night I stumbled across a field where they were shooting big amounts of fireworks. It reminded me of the 4th of July! And my Kenyan friends had never seen then up close and personal like that so that was fun to see their expressions.

I slaughtered a chicken! One was given to us as a gift so over the weekend we decided to prepare the kuku for dinner. I was very freaked out, it took myself and 4 other people to catch it (those suckers are fast!) but we finally caught it. I held it in my right hand and the knife in the left and worked up the nerve….OK OK I never worked up the nerve so I passed it over to my friend to do the dirty work. I just couldn’t do it. Haha. It was my first time even witnessing a chicken being slaughtered so I couldn’t do it, but I think I can after I get used to the idea. My friends want to slaughter a goat for when my Dad comes so I have to get prepared for that! The chicken was good though, much better than store bought meat. Maybe because it was extremely fresh?!?
A few nights ago I was invited to dinner at a friends house in the slums of Kisumu. No power or running water, and as soon as I arrived on the motorbike, the entire neighborhood came to investigate why the mzungu was in the slums. I drew quite the crowd but it was exciting. That time we had chicken too, but I arrived too late for the slaughtering. And they served my favorite, Chapati which is like tortillas but thicker and flakier. YUM. After dinner we drank Kenya Cane by the candlelight and talked for hours. It was nice. This weekend I have been invited to my friends ancestral home in Maseno. From what I understand it is a huge compound, with each son having built his own mud hut, and the grandma is going to denounce me 3 times telling me I cannot stay in her home, but then she will open her doors with joy and welcome me in her home after the third time of telling me to leave. I am glad I was warned because I would probably cry if she told me to leave and I didn’t know any better. Not sure what that is all about, but us wazungu should have a good time there. I hope to work in the shamba a bit and gather food for dinner. I hope they don’t ask me to slaughter to meat.

I went to Kibuye (the big Sunday market) and went shopping. I got these really awesome shoes made from tires and called Akala. They are awesome although they are very uncomfortable. Apparently I have to break them in and eventually they will form to my foot and last the rest of my life. I am stoked. When I get my camera back I will be sure to send pictures.

I had a project coordinators meeting the past 2 days, which no one informed me about. I was so angry because I was expected to present and have a big report prepared. So now I am scrambling to finish the report and I had to prepare the powerpoint presentation over my lunch break on Monday. And you better believe I put as one of my project challenges the communication barrier I experience all the time. I am always left out of the main communication because I am “just a student” but my role here is of a project coordinator, along with 10 others so I really shouldn’t be left out of things, pretty much my job is equal to everyone else in this office. Oh well, I am flexible and can adapt (thank goodness!)

Well, that’s about it. I am still waiting on the year supply of Misoprostol that is coming from Egypt. It was donated for our project from Planned Parenthood and as soon as it arrives I can make my rounds again and distribute it to all the providers in our network. And planned for the next 2 months (the rest of my internship) this is what I have planned:
1. Create a newsletter for the providers about the MUE project and its successes, motivational tools for them to promote and provide more every month, etc
2. Distribute Miso to providers
3. Find funding and write grants for educational and advocacy campaigns
4. Organize a better way to collect data from each of the providers monthly
5. Create IEC-information, education and communication- materials (one idea was to make t-shirts with positive messages about family planning and safe abortion for the motorbike and bicycle drivers to wear around town)
6. Recruit and train 20 more providers on the MUE method
7. Publish the standards and guidelines I have been writing
8. Print and laminate message posters for clinic use.
9. Provide contraceptive education sessions to our staff and the girls at SFC
10. Travel to ugunja with the girls for a training of the trainers session. Our girls are training new girls to become RH peer educators
11. Create IEC materials in Swahili and Luo for the inhabitants of the slum areas.
12. And write reports and more reports on everything I am doing.
13. Leading a last meeting in January before I leave to update the next person on my project and the progress.
Enough? I think so. UGH busy busy. So that’s it for me. Hopefully it wont be so long before I blog again, and hopefully I will have my camera back to post some pictures.
Email me please!!!!!!