March 28th, 2010

What a week! Things are really moving here in Mbita and it is very exciting….we have met with many volunteers that want to help in the clinic, we have hired community health workers and they had a really impacting first week in the field. It was empowering meeting with them, we discussed the stigma that still exists around HIV and how people need to utmost privacy if they are going to seek services. To be a part of changing this stigma is so important.

There was a lot of stress trying to get everything organized in the clinic, with construction, cleaning, supplies, ect, but the health inspection happened on Friday, and we passed! About two hours of questioning about everything, and still a lot of work to do to improve our services, but they are happy with us opening. Everyone here is so excited that we are reaching out to a community that as of now must walk 1-2 hours to reach the district hospital for treatment. People are pleased that there is a new facility close to them, and we are pleased to offer them services! The week was crazy and anything but smooth, but it was a huge relief to pass the inspection and get the go ahead to start providing services. Opening ceremony on the 3^rd, and first day of treatment on April 5^th. My brain is constantly spinning here as I try to complete every task, organize our procedures, and coordinate activities. But I truly love being a part of this project, being a part of MED25, which will impact this community in such a large manner.

            Personally, I am really working on keeping my stress under control and making time to sit and reflect on the work we are doing in this community. At times things are complicated and overwhelming, but taking time to reflect is so important.

            I am really looking forward to working in the clinic and continuing to develop programs. My passion for this work only continues to develop everyday! I am also so excited because Becca will be back this week to share in the celebration, amazing what she has accomplished already as a young women! Also, my dad will be here in one week and will have an opportunity to see the work I do and the life I love, I absolutely cannot wait! I will update again soon! I love you all and miss you everyday!

3/16/10

It was amazing having my mother and Loch here, a unique time for them to really experience Kenya, a developing country at heart, and a place filled with love. We were able to end our trip with an incredible three-day safari to Masai Mara! Just ten feet away from 3 lions and their eight little cubs. I think my mom and Loch made a list, and we saw about 28 different types of animals, not bad in three short days. The land was beautiful it just stretched on and on. You could look in all directions and not see a single sign of civilization. It was hard to say goodbye to them, especially knowing they are each going home to a father (my grandpas) who are unwell, but I feel absolutely blessed they were able to come and experience a glimpse of my life here, why I do the work that I do, why I fight through the frustrations, and enjoy all of the delights.

As well today Marissa departs, she has been an absolutely unique part of my time in Kenya, a women with so much to offer the world, and a friend with so much to offer to relationships. All three of their presences will be missed in Kenya.

As I said my goodbyes, I somehow was convinced by Simon, that he should drive me on a motor bike all the way to Mbita, WOW, lets just say I could not feel my bottom for quite awhile after I got off that bike! But of course we made it safe and sound to Mbita. This is another busy week as we countdown, three weeks until the clinic is open. This week we will be meeting with and hiring community health workers to help with mobilization, we are interviewing clinical officers, meeting with perspective volunteers, and continuing to work on getting our facility ready to roll, by our kick off on April 3^rd! It’s all very exciting, lots of work, but that’s what I love most!

3/12/10 They Made it!

After a lot of confusion, work, prayers, and a little luck my mother and Loch flew into Kenya this week! Loch’s father is improving, he is spending this week in a nursing home recovering, it was difficult for my family to leave his bedside, but in the end I think it was the right decision.

It is wonderful having them here in Kenya, and in Mbita! We have done a few dental camps this week with my mother, its amazing to watch her teach these children. We gave out toothbrushes and toothpaste to over 100 children in three different schools, for most of those children it was the first toothbrush they have ever received. Most people in Mbita use sticks to brush their teeth, which are actually more effective then one would first think, but are obviously not as effective as real toothbrushes. It was exciting to teach alongside her, and to show her and Loch this incredible community.

Our first clinical Officer, Soti Goddfrey, reported this week, which is very exciting. He is very passionate about community mobilization, and will contribute a great deal to this clinic as we move forward. It is wonderful being able to work alongside a local clinician and blend our visions together as we prepare to open this facility. We even met with one of the local chiefs and climbed a mountainside with him to go to a community “baraza” meeting, to share the news of the clinic. Outreach is always challenging, but it’s exciting to see the community coming together in such a unique way.

ITS OFFICIAL WE OPEN ON APRIL 5^TH, WITH A COMMUNITY CLELBRATION ON APRIL 3^RD.  KEEP YOUR FINGERS CROSSED THAT ALL GOES WELL THIS MONTH! 

February 28th, 2010

Simon, Becca, and I traveled to Nairobi yesterday, to spend Becca’s last few days away from everything, to ensure we have the time to meet and make sure everything is on track. To be honest, things have been challenging for me these past few weeks. I am definitely growing up quickly here and learning a lot about business and politics. I met with Dan from Matibabu today and he said it perfectly, with NGO’s you have to learn the organizational politics involved. Some people are truly trying to make a positive impact on the community, and some have lost site of that. My role will continue to be learning which organizations we desire to partner with and which ones do not align with our mission. These lessons are invaluable but they do come at a cost. Sometimes when I travel I try to only talk about the exciting adventures, but one thing I have realized through listening to my own voice while talking to volunteers, is the reason I am here is not to simply have this unforgettable experience. I am here to dive into the culture of Kenya, all of the good and all of the challenging parts. I am here to bring quality access to healthcare to a community that is in desperate need of change. I have aligned myself with an NGO whose mission statement I can stand behind with pride

  As we regroup after a few tough weeks, we make our plan for March, filled with community mobilization, dental camps with my mom, meetings with community elders, and the first week in April we will have a community celebration, celebrating the opening of our clinic! All of this takes time, but things are moving, and in a few weeks we will officially be able to tell the community our date to open, which is very exciting! 

February 26th, 2010, "Rainy Season"

Wow, when they say rainy season they mean it POURS! I thought I could handle the rain, I’m from Seattle, but when you are riding a motorbike, your clothes are soaked, you can’t see the potholes in the road because you can’t see any of the road, the rain feels like hail, you can’t open your eyes because it is raining too hard. I held on to the guy driving my bike and prayed! Of course when we arrived at the ferry, it was broken down, so we decided to take a small motor boat for an hour across the lake! Don’t worry we made it, covered in mud, clothes soaked and smiles on our face. Glad to be back in the city!

This past week we had some really encouraging meetings with our future peer educators, they are so eager to learn and are excited for the opportunity. I can’t wait to spend more time sitting with them!

February 23rd, Magical Get Away

Just got back from a much needed get away, the other volunteers, a few of the YGC Boys, and myself took a boat ride to a beautiful island about an hour from Mbita. We stayed at an old deserted resort in little bungalows, and played on the beach all day. By night we sat around the fire and told stories of night runners and beliefs about the beginnings of the Masai tribe. It was nice to get away for a night, away from business, politics, and the hardships we are seeing in these communities. But you all know me I am excited to be back, we have another session with each school this week, and will be spending our morning once again trekking through the country side going home to home learning about the needs of this community. In the schools we are setting up Peer Educator programs, where we do some intensive education to a group of students that desire to learn about their health, and then they will be equipped to go and teach their peers. My goal is to set them up with other schools, so they can do exchange programs and teach each other through song, dance, skits, and theater! This week we will focus on Malaria, wish us luck! (Malaria is the number one killer of children under five in Kenya).

Keep the comments and emails coming I really do miss everyone and love hearing what everyone is doing!

February 18th, Back to Mbita!

Feels great to be in Mbita! The stress level dissipates, the animal sounds muffle your worries, and the children warm your soul. This is a wonderful community who all seem to be very excited about this new clinic. We have spent the past few mornings in the fishing communities going house to house asking men and women about their specific health concerns. It is incredible that people will welcome us into their homes and allow us to ask very personal health questions about hard topics such as maternal death, HIV/AIDS, and the health of their children. The fishing communities are all right next to the lake, and make shift tin shelters have been constructed all right next to each other. People comment they are surviving on about 30ksh ($0.50) per day. Which is interesting because they also tell us that 30ksh buys only one condom. HIV highly affects these areas, a lack of education, resources, and healthcare facilities all add to this problem. I have been working hard to set up meetings with different NGO’s and people from the Ministry of Health to learn the best way to set up a Comprehensive Care Center (HIV testing and treatment center) at our clinic. The reason we are conducting the surveys is because we are a community-based clinic so we know we must adjust the services we offer in order to treat the true needs of the community. HIV/AIDS is a major priority.

These communities are wonderful, although they endure hardships they do an incredible job of supporting each other and welcome us into their homes like we are family.

The clinic is looking great, but still a lot of “finishing” work to be done. We have hit a few more bumps this week, but they have not knocked us off our feet!

February 15th, 2010 "The day of Love"

2/15/2010

Happy Late Valentine’s Day! One thing that is amazing about working here is whenever I get too tired of working or my stress level rises and can just go jump around with the children. The girls and I made valentines with the children, and then we passed them out last night with little packs of sweethearts attached! (Thanks to Marissa’s mom!) These children are incredible, the smile, laugh, and teach me more about perspective then I have ever known. I was talking to one the the 13 year old boys last night named Charles about his story. He has been here since he was seven, he told me that his parents “they just died”, I asked if he had any other guardians or family, he said “YGC is my Familia”. It was so simple, so heart felt. There is never a day that these children don’t surprise me. Also, the Liberians Matthew and Moses are here, I feel like I have met my brothers, since MY brother spent three months with them! We were SOOO excited to see each other!

Today we are leaving to spend two weeks in Mbita, it will be a busy couple of weeks, tromping around the mountains, meeting with students, families, and fisherman, conducting a health assessment that we hope will help direct us in the care we give. This is one of the most challenging projects I have been a part of and I am truly growing so much as a person, a business women, and I hope as a healthcare provider and friend.  I am so thankful for these opportunities Being an American, growing up in a middle class white family, is something I have learned is such a blessing. I have so much to give to these people, and even more to learn from them. 

February 10th, Volunteers out to Mbita!

Marissa and Paula arrived this week, so we decided to take them straight to Mbita! The clinic is looking amazing. There are doors, the painting is finishing up, and the fence is being constructed....it all takes time but it is really coming along! Our hope is to open mid-end of March. We spent some time walking around the community, and being the great Field Director that I am, I led these poor volunteers on what we thought would be about an hour walk but turned into a two hour hike up and down the mountainside to arrive at a school. We were dripping with sweat, and when the teachers asked where we were coming from, they were astonished us "Mzungus" had walked all that way. Community mobilization is my passion, and wow did we live that out or what!!!  Paula, is a nurse from VM and is going to get her masters in public health at UW in the fall, so its great to have someone here to bounce ideas off of as we begin to really assess the health needs of this community. The next two weeks we will be hiking through the communities, working on peer educator groups in the schools, and interviewing fish farming families on the beach. Its exciting to continue to learn about the community, however, it is all difficult. Difficult to not be able to create change fast enough. My heart and soul continue to stir, with ideas and vision for the future, as my brain works through functional objectives we can attain right now. This is an exciting process, I can not wait to look back on things after 1 month, 3 months, 2 years. This is a very needy community and MED25 is going to make a large impact as we move forward!
Here are a few pictures, the little house, is a new technology called Pharoh Cement, its a very cute guest house, we hope to build many more so that all of our guests and staff can live there! 

Things are going well, I am learning more then I could have imagined!

I miss you all, keep the emails coming its great to hear about your personal lives!

February 7th, 2010, My new LOVE!

Sorry Noah, but last weekend I fell in love with a new man!!! This is little Michael, he is six weeks old, and is the son of one of my best friends from last year. A Kenyan pharmacist named Susan from Matibabu. This little guy is adorable, I am officially an Auntie! Last weekend was wonderful because I was able to hop on a Matatu and head to Ukwala my old stomping grounds. My host family was absolutely thrilled, our pregnant cow how twin babies while I was away, the boys are both in Secondary school, and we know have about ten times as many chickens. Truthfully, it felt like I was home again, with a family that really love me. It was a nice break and a nice refresher as I move forward into the week. 

The Clinic Construction Continues!

Mbita is such an incredible place! Look at the progress at the clinic...a roof and plaster. I am learning a lot about construction, as we measure the walls for furniture, look at plans for the maternity center, working on dry toilets (which collect urine and stool separate, the urine is sold to farmers, and the stool will be used as fertilizer for the trees we will plant), incinerators for medical supplies, ect. Everyday I am learning more and more. I can't wait to post pictures of our first patient... opening day TBD.

I love these Children!! Life at YGC puts a smile on my face!

After a long trip back from Mbita, we stopped at Talapia Beach and we left more then satisfied! Fish, Ugali, Tusker, Your best friend and her Fiance! I missed eating with my hands...

January 9th, 2010

My first day in Kenya, Becca, Simon, and I set out for Mbita, to take a look at the beautiful clinic the YGC boys vocational school has constructing! Not quite ready to open...but they promise us in a month it will be done! It feels great to be out in the Mbita community a perfect way to start the trip!