So time is just flying! I can’t believe I’ve been here almost three weeks! I apologize for not writing sooner! Last week was very busy with many people headed back to the states for the Thanksgiving holiday so we spent some extra time enjoying our last few days together. It is going to be much quieter around here for the next few weeks…
Last weekend we (Naomi and I) traveled to Nakuru (the 4th largest city in Kenya) which is about 2-3 hours away from Eldoret. Nearby is Lake Nakuru National Park, known for its extensive wildlife. We spotted many animals including flamingos, water buffalo, baboons, lions, hyenas, warthogs, giraffes, rhinos… And we got some amazing pictures, especially of the giraffes and the hyenas. One of my favorite pictures is of these two hyenas that we spotted hanging out near a small watering hole. It seemed at first that they were just keeping cool in the water but as we approached, one of the hyenas stood up and actually had a dead bird of some sort in its mouth. He and his buddy just stared us down as if to say “Yeah, just try to come get this delicious treat from me. I dare you.” So needless to say, I didn’t try to get the bird… but I did get a great picture! I also really liked watching the baby baboons play and the giraffes run. We also had this amazing moment where we spotted a momma rhino and her baby running through a somewhat wooded area. We were kind of in a hurry because we had just heard where the lions were hiding out so we were driving kind of fast. The momma rhino was kind of corralling her baby to stay out of the way of our car as they were running. Now when else in my life am I going to get to see rhinos running beside my car?!?! I continue to be amazed by this place...
Besides safari, I also learned a lot more about Kenyan people and culture, thanks to our driver for the weekend Francis. During the long drive I was able to ask him a lot of questions about recent events here in Kenya, including the violence that occurred here earlier this year. There are 42 different tribes here in Kenya, all with their own cultural practices and languages (though most also speak Kswahili and English). Not surprisingly, there is often mistrust and suspicion between members of differing tribes, especially in the political arena. This makes politics here a little more complicated… Earlier this year, violence broke out mainly targeting members of the largest ethnic tribe, the Kikuyu, after many believe that the presidency was obtained unfairly. Many homes belonging to Kikuyus were burned and hundreds of people were killed, 35 of which (17 children) were killed while seeking refuge in a church here in Eldoret when it was burned to the ground. Francis told us that nearly 150 people sought refuge in the IU House, where I am currently living, during the violence. And still driving through the beautiful countryside almost a year later you see evidence of this tragedy. We have passed through towns where many of the buildings have been burned. On our trip to Lake Baringo several weeks ago, we passed over a deep gulley where many Kikuyus had been thrown to their death. Already in my three weeks here I have passed several IDP (internally displaced peoples) camps where those whose homes were burned down are staying. They are basically just camps with tents. It breaks my heart to see so many children playing among the tents. And many of these people have so little to begin with… Of course, I can in no way claim to even begin to understand the complexities of Kenyan politics and culture, but being here has made me want to learn more and to increase my own awareness of things occurring outside of my own safe little niche.
Work at the hospital over the past few weeks has also been eye-opening and quite depressing at times. I thought at first that maybe I would get used to the way the hospital system works and then wouldn’t be so frustrated by it… but I’m still waiting to get there. Often time tests that we order don’t get done for any number of reasons. Most surprisingly for me, if a family cannot afford for a test to be run or a treatment to be given, it is not given. This just seems so WRONG to me, especially as the kids have no say in how much or how little money their parents make and they are the ones suffering. We had a 9 year old little girl who came in with kidney failure. By the time she came to the hospital, her kidneys were scarred and nonfunctional. She was also blind because her blood pressure was so high (240/180 when she came in!) secondary to her kidney disease. In the US, this child would have been placed on the kidney transplant list… Here you can only get a transplant if you can afford it. And who can afford a kidney transplant??? So this little girl died last week… It was just a completely foreign idea to me that there are things that could be done to help this little girl… just not available in her case because her family is not wealthy. It is just so frustrating… and I know that this is just one story among so many similar.
Lastly, I did want to let you all know that the Indiana University/Kenya program that I am now involved in was featured on the Indianapolis evening news every night last week. You all can watch the news stories and see where I am working (look for the bright yellow walls… that is the peds ward where I work!). The little boy Owen that they talk about on one of the pieces (the one entitled “IU Kenya med students”) is one of the abandoned kids I take care of and absolutely adore. Also, interestingly Joe Mamlin, the one who started the program, has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. And I had lunch with him today! Pretty impressive!
Check out the link at:
http://www.wthr.com/global/Category.asp?c=153647
Go to the right side of the page to watch the several “Compassion for Kenya” segments
Enjoy! TTFN!
Last weekend we (Naomi and I) traveled to Nakuru (the 4th largest city in Kenya) which is about 2-3 hours away from Eldoret. Nearby is Lake Nakuru National Park, known for its extensive wildlife. We spotted many animals including flamingos, water buffalo, baboons, lions, hyenas, warthogs, giraffes, rhinos… And we got some amazing pictures, especially of the giraffes and the hyenas. One of my favorite pictures is of these two hyenas that we spotted hanging out near a small watering hole. It seemed at first that they were just keeping cool in the water but as we approached, one of the hyenas stood up and actually had a dead bird of some sort in its mouth. He and his buddy just stared us down as if to say “Yeah, just try to come get this delicious treat from me. I dare you.” So needless to say, I didn’t try to get the bird… but I did get a great picture! I also really liked watching the baby baboons play and the giraffes run. We also had this amazing moment where we spotted a momma rhino and her baby running through a somewhat wooded area. We were kind of in a hurry because we had just heard where the lions were hiding out so we were driving kind of fast. The momma rhino was kind of corralling her baby to stay out of the way of our car as they were running. Now when else in my life am I going to get to see rhinos running beside my car?!?! I continue to be amazed by this place...
Besides safari, I also learned a lot more about Kenyan people and culture, thanks to our driver for the weekend Francis. During the long drive I was able to ask him a lot of questions about recent events here in Kenya, including the violence that occurred here earlier this year. There are 42 different tribes here in Kenya, all with their own cultural practices and languages (though most also speak Kswahili and English). Not surprisingly, there is often mistrust and suspicion between members of differing tribes, especially in the political arena. This makes politics here a little more complicated… Earlier this year, violence broke out mainly targeting members of the largest ethnic tribe, the Kikuyu, after many believe that the presidency was obtained unfairly. Many homes belonging to Kikuyus were burned and hundreds of people were killed, 35 of which (17 children) were killed while seeking refuge in a church here in Eldoret when it was burned to the ground. Francis told us that nearly 150 people sought refuge in the IU House, where I am currently living, during the violence. And still driving through the beautiful countryside almost a year later you see evidence of this tragedy. We have passed through towns where many of the buildings have been burned. On our trip to Lake Baringo several weeks ago, we passed over a deep gulley where many Kikuyus had been thrown to their death. Already in my three weeks here I have passed several IDP (internally displaced peoples) camps where those whose homes were burned down are staying. They are basically just camps with tents. It breaks my heart to see so many children playing among the tents. And many of these people have so little to begin with… Of course, I can in no way claim to even begin to understand the complexities of Kenyan politics and culture, but being here has made me want to learn more and to increase my own awareness of things occurring outside of my own safe little niche.
Work at the hospital over the past few weeks has also been eye-opening and quite depressing at times. I thought at first that maybe I would get used to the way the hospital system works and then wouldn’t be so frustrated by it… but I’m still waiting to get there. Often time tests that we order don’t get done for any number of reasons. Most surprisingly for me, if a family cannot afford for a test to be run or a treatment to be given, it is not given. This just seems so WRONG to me, especially as the kids have no say in how much or how little money their parents make and they are the ones suffering. We had a 9 year old little girl who came in with kidney failure. By the time she came to the hospital, her kidneys were scarred and nonfunctional. She was also blind because her blood pressure was so high (240/180 when she came in!) secondary to her kidney disease. In the US, this child would have been placed on the kidney transplant list… Here you can only get a transplant if you can afford it. And who can afford a kidney transplant??? So this little girl died last week… It was just a completely foreign idea to me that there are things that could be done to help this little girl… just not available in her case because her family is not wealthy. It is just so frustrating… and I know that this is just one story among so many similar.
Lastly, I did want to let you all know that the Indiana University/Kenya program that I am now involved in was featured on the Indianapolis evening news every night last week. You all can watch the news stories and see where I am working (look for the bright yellow walls… that is the peds ward where I work!). The little boy Owen that they talk about on one of the pieces (the one entitled “IU Kenya med students”) is one of the abandoned kids I take care of and absolutely adore. Also, interestingly Joe Mamlin, the one who started the program, has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. And I had lunch with him today! Pretty impressive!
Check out the link at:
http://www.wthr.com/global/Category.asp?c=153647
Go to the right side of the page to watch the several “Compassion for Kenya” segments
Enjoy! TTFN!
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