Kenya in chaos

It's Sunday night, just had dinner with great friends. Went to church this morning met Officer Tim and Liz for breakfast, enjoyed time with them in their apartment. It's snowing here, which it seems to have done almost every day since I got home! All is peaceful here, it's hard to believe that Kenya seems like it's imploding. The presidential elections were on Thursday and they had a record turn out. Everyone was so proud, it was democracy at it's best. Then when it appeared that the incumbent, President Kibaki, was losing, suddenly the results were late in coming. People quickly decided that the election was being stolen, (who knows the truth) and all hell broke loose. I have been receiving phone calls and texts from friends there, there are riots everywhere, killings, fires. Today they declared Kibaki the winner and he was sworn in, that escalated everything. There is talk about evacuating Americans. This is the text I received from my friend Warren in Kericho: This has been total war. I've been putting our fires, carrying babies to safety. It's so sad. I don't know what to say Kenya is up in flames.
As usual my heart is in two places. I don't want to be in danger but it's so hard to be away from my friends there and the kids. Many of the Nyumbani kids are out of Nyumbani staying with extended family, I pray they are safe. All over they are running out of water and food. Many people have been killed. The violence is all over, heavy in Nairobi.
This is a country and a people I came to love. A part of me is home there. This is why things are so hard and complicated in Africa, the rampant corruption, the lack of leadership, the peoples' lack of hope and confidence. As I struggle to find the latest news I see too the world's indifference, it's what we expect so we don't find it too newsworthy. But for me it will never be the same because for me there are faces and names.
No matter what you might think of George Bush we should all be grateful that come Inauguration Day he will get on a plane and fly away. And we don't have to be afraid.

Merry Christmas!

I hope that some of you are still reading! Lots of news to tell you. First, the Nyumbani news. The kids all had a good Christmas. President Kibaki and First Lady Lucy came and spent time, of course they were late and the kids had to wait all day. Some things never change!

John in Cottage D had surgery on his leg 2 days after I left. Neither he nor I had any idea it was going to happen. A visiting surgeon from Italy arranged for it. It went well but he is confined to a wheel chair and the cottage for 5 weeks. Not easy for a very active boy. We called him Christmas night and all got to say hello. It was so good to hear his voice and I know he loved the sense of a family to call and talk with. I miss all of the kids so much, and being back with y family makes it even more clear to me how painful it is for all of them to not have family.

My niece had sent me fleece blankets for the new kids, Paul, Eunice and Fidelis. They loved them, those blankets have made a huge difference in the lives of the kids. It's not just that they keep them warm, it's that they are theirs. They can point to something and say mine, they don't have to share. And it's proof that someone in the world cares about them. If you would like to get some for yourselves or family the website is

my2grandmas.com Best blankets ever!~

Other family news: Elizabeth is pregnant with baby number 2!!!!!!!! She is due June 17th, 11 days before Tim and Liz's wedding. Ali was accepted at George Washington University Medical School! She is living proof that if you want something enough you can find a way to make it happen, dream big and never give up.

My news is that I might be heading back to Kenya in a few months! PEPFAR (the president's emergency plan for aids relief) has asked me to come back and set up my project as an organization that we will turn over to the Kenyans in January 2009!! It is a huge honor and a hard decision, hardest ever. But, it's a way to see that my work goes on. I will post more details soon I promise! I know you've heard that before I guess I am turning Kenyan!

Being home

Sorry it has taken so long to do this, it's been busy and hard. I needed time to let things settle down here and there and figure out what I thought about everything. So, I'm sitting here with my really FAST computer, listening to Christmas carols, eating a morning bun, drinking hot real coffee, life is good! To the beginning:
Leaving Nyumbani was so hard. The last few days were a whirlwind of goodbyes, Sunday morning was the 1 year memorial mass for Fr. D'Ag. Protus asked me to speak, got through it without tears. Spent the day packing, how did I get so much stuff? My favorite taxi driver, Mike, came to say goodbye, bringing gifts and his girlfriend, he said that I was his most favorite mzungu customer, but I was very serious about time! We both cried. Leaving the kids was heart wrenching, we gathered in the cottage, tears flowing, I gave each a hug and a kiss in their hand to keep forever and use if they needed it. The boys, all crying, John, Sammy, Brian and George walked me to the pick up truck, John holding on tight. George said he couldn't sleep without a back rub, I told him I'd left instructions for the new volunteer, Sammy wanted to know what would happen if he got sick again, I reassured him that his new medicine was working, Brian was so quiet, John looked up and whispered "Susan please don't go" My heart was breaking. I promised over and over I would be back.
And I was gone.
I cried when the plane took off and flew over Nyumbani. Slept for awhile, woke up feeling sad but excited to be heading home and seeing my family. The Amsterdam airport was overwhelming, lots of white people and of all things Christmas decorations! Every leg of the trip I felt a little better and felt my head turning towards home.
Got to fly first class from Minneapolis to Madison, the 45" leg, where were they for the 9 hour legs! and was so happy to look down the stairs and see my family and friends waiting for me. The biggest surprise was Ali was there! She had flown in from DC so we were actually all together, it was wonderful. They all said I looked like a dirty hippie, which I admit I did. Jack looked and looked at me then took my hand and walked to baggage claim with me. I really think he remembered me. He's such a little boy! Officer Tim was there safe and sound. But it was so cold! I've been shivering since I got off the plane.
Thanksgiving dinner was wonderful, especially because Liz and Brandon announced that baby #2 is due in June! They've known for a while but wanted to wait until I got home, a wonderful homecoming gift.
Then I got the news about the boys in the village..... it had rained, which it only does a few times a year there and a group of kids had gone, unbeknown to the adults, to swim in a sand dam. One of the boys got in trouble, nobody knows how to swim, the other boy jumped in to save him and they both drowned. Their names are Mutisya and Mwoki, it's important to me that these kids always have a name for the rest of the world.
I'm back at work, now working in the allergy clinic. The staff has been incredibly welcoming and gracious to me. I told them they could tell me to cut the Kenya whenever! It's a lot of new to learn but it's good for me. A fresh start, but lots of changes in my life these past few weeks.
What I love: I see my family and friends all the time, I'm clean! all the time! I walk on sidewalks, I drive my car on the right side of the road, I watch the news on TV, I feel safe all the time, even when I'm out after dark. amazing bathrooms everywhere, snow almost everyday! we have 15" here. the newspaper and coffee in the morning.
What I miss: all the kids and my friends, the sun! voice of America and the global news, the work I did there, the sense that time is a suggestion not an absolute, how nobody whines-no matter how desperate their situation is, the sound of Swahili and African music. and yes, the matatus.
What is hard to deal with here: There are a lot of white people here! you have to be on time, you have to move fast, you have to listen to people complain about the most insignificant things like they really matter, the houses are so big and the cars so fancy, the lack of gratitude and the constant need for more, that Kenya is so so far away. That 10 months could go by so quickly.
I will keep up the blog with news of the kids etc. It's good to be home.

Tragedy in the Village

This morning I received word that 2 of the children in the Village drowned. It had finally been raining there and they were playing in a sand dam and drowned. I talked to Nicholas but the connection was poor and I didn't get any details. He sounds terrible, and since he always takes responsibility for everything I know this is hitting him very hard. It's a lonely job being the chief. This makes me so sad, I can't imagine the pain and the grief of all the families there. The kids are all very close. I'm happy to be home but my heart is there.
I will put more details on the blog when I get them, and more details of my homecoming soon. It's just hard now, as happy as I am being with my family it also feels a little like I'm in the wrong place.

I'm Coming Home

This has been the hardest best thing I've ever done.

Saturday Night

Just had a great good bye dinner at the Rusty Nail,(only here would they celebrate the cause of tetanus) back in time to tuck the D kids into bed. The boys are having a hard time, there were some tears. I reminded them that I promised before I would come back and I did and I will again.
Spent the day in town, last matatu rides, stopped by and said goodbye to Heather and Augustus, the people at the post office, the cyber cafe, the taxi drivers.... everyone who is part of my life here.
Here's 2 funny things: one day my old roommate Keirsten and I were on the matatu to town when I had to tell her that I thought I was hallucinating could she look out the window and confirm what I thought I was seeing. It was real, 4 camels walking down the middle of the road.
When we were leaving the cemetery the other day we saw a big warthog roaming around and eating the flowers off the graves.
24 hours to go.
Stay safe Officer Tim x0x0x0 Little Boy

The Philosophical Entry

Amongst all the frantic running around saying goodbye I’ve actually had time to sit and think about all the things I’ve learned these past 10 months. I learned I could do it. 10 months ago I didn’t know how I could bear to be away from my family and my life. The culture shock of being here again, getting used to how things are, the sheer distance, seemed insurmountable. But I did it. And it wasn’t always easy and fun. I can be on my own. I have the life skills to live independently, even competently, phone issues notwithstanding. But a big part of who I am is the people I love. That’s what makes coming here and leaving here so wrenching. Sunday nights are the hardest, everyone is home with their family and I’m here in my room alone. Then I mention it to a friend here and suddenly I have an invitation every Sunday night for dinner. The kindness of people is to be cherished.
Time offers you all sorts of opportunities. I think of all the relationships I’ve developed, some quite unexpected, and the conversations and things I’ve learned that have resulted. All because the Fulbright gave me time to live here, not just visit here.
I can take being hungry, and dirty, and a curiosity, but it all goes down better if you remember to laugh. And you always need to remember that what is “an experience” for me is their life. I get to get off the matatu and on a plane, they don’t.
The expertise I came with and that I developed is best shared, that is the value of me being here. I can’t live my life knowing I have skills that I keep to myself or for myself. That just seems wrong for me, I don’t want to be the one that does it all, I want to be the one that gives back so they do it all. That’s where the meaning of my education and my opportunities is found for me. Everyday I am thankful for the chance to live what I believe.
I’ve learned that restaurants and cabs are expensive but sometimes you just need them, that they play the Kenyan national anthem at the start of every movie and you all have to stand up, that a hot shower and electricity is a gift not a right, that when you pay by the minute you talk faster, that a backrub lets a child have a more peaceful night sleep, that the American Embassy is home, that 23 year old roommantes are quite fun, that Lamu is like no place on earth, that we are all more alike than different and we all want the same thing: to be safe healthy and happy and to know the truth.
That it’s a thousand times worse to watch a child suffer than to watch a child die.
48 hours to go.
Stay safe Officer Tim xoxoxo Little boy

The Last Little Details

I have been heading all over town, meetings, finishing things up, saying goodbye. It's physically and emotionally exhausting but it also feels good to put an end to some things. Today a friend took me to Ken's grave and I said goodbye. I needed to do that, and it somehow makes leaving easier having done that. We then went to a lovely outdoor restaurant where she treated me to lunch., don't think I'll be eating outside for vere much longer. My favorite taxi driver took me to Kangemi to meet with Nicholas, my great friend and the head of the village and lea toto programs. As usual I arrived before he did so my driver Mike and I went to get a coke and visit for awhile. had to drive forever thorugh the slum down dirt rutted streets crowded with animals and people and music, finally arrived at a place with cold Coke but we had to drink it in the car, no safe place for me to be. Still, we had a lot of laughs and talked about all sorts of stuff. I told him how in the US we could find a Starbucks or a McDonalds just minutes away. He thought that was pretty cool.
Ended the evening with backrubs for all my D boys.
Stay safe Officer Tim xoxoxo Little Boy

The Jukumu Letu Tour Stop

Spent yesterday at the daycare center. My cousin Pete donated enough money to pay for food for the kids for a month! They all shouted a loud Asante Sana to him. They've had 5 new admissions so I was able to do admission exams on them, there are now 52 children under the age of 4 enrolled. 2 of the new kids are sibling girls, 3 1/2 and 1/1/2. Their mother had kept them locked alone in their hut everyday while she looked for work. When she found work it paid about $1 for hours of hard labor. The older child cared for the younger one. Being connected to the daycare will very likely save their lives. Examining them was one of those personal and professional experiences that will alter my heart forever, words can't describe it.
Caroline has done such a fantastic job there, her center is now a cornerstone of the Ngong slum. It has been an honor to have been a part of it.
Today it's a big meeting with PEPFAR staff, picture taking with the D kids. They're clinging tight.
I hope you enjoyed the video, the correct website though is nyumbani.org
More tomorrow.
Stay safe Offficer Tim xoxoxo Little Boy

Kind Moments

Over the weekend we had some very special guests here at Nyumbani. There was a volunteer here in 2002, a young American nurse named Mia. A few days before she was supposed to go home she got malaria. The medicine she took interacted with medicine she was already on and she had a cardiac reaction and died. This past weekend her mom and dad, sister, brother, sister in law and aunt came to visit. They were seeing Nyumbani for the first time, where she lived, the children she cared for, the hospital she was taken to and where she died. They met Protus, who called them at 2 in the morning with the awful news. It was my job to welcome them here and start the visit. It was actually a tearful healing weekend for them, they loved it here and could see why she did. So many of the children remembered her, and shared their memories. We had a very special Sunday Mass where everyone prayed together and felt her spirit here. Sunday night they took all the volunteers and senior staff out to dinner. They left Monday morning more whole they said than when they arrived.
Sunday afternoon I spent with Warren, the former PEPFAR staff from Kericho. He is 32, arrived 5 years ago as a Peace Corp volunteer and is now a well respected member of the international aid force here. He is now with CDC and is in Karen taking a course on international diplomacy and emergency humanitarian relief. (I want to take that course!) Anyway, we have become great friends and he has been a tremendous resource for me. We matatued to the Sunday outdoor Masai market so I could finish up some shopping. He is fluent in Swahili. While we were walking to the market we were approached by 2 young street boys. There are many begging street children by there and it's always so difficult. If you give money to one you are quickly overwhelmed by many. Then there's the questions about whether you should even give money, or should you give food? (I will be relieved to be where just going to the store doesn't involve an ethical dilemma.) Most people, including me,just don't make eye contact and walk on by. It was so touching to watch how Warren dealt with them. They were fitlhy dirty, looked about 8-10 and were brothers. They had walked all the way from Kibera, many miles. He drew them aside, put his arm around them,talked softly to them in Swahili. He told them to watch for us to come out of the market. When we did he again spent time talking to them, and arranged for them to meet us after we had lunch. We went across the street and ate, then he called them over to the parking lot, out of sight of everyone on the street. Again, he spent time talking to them, his arms around them drawing them close. You could see them respond to the attention, to being treated like human children. He then handed them a bag of food he had bought for them and told them to go home and eat it, so they wouldn't have to share it with the other street kids, they could share it with the rest of their family. As we walked back to Ngong Rd to get the matatu they walked ahead of us, their arms around each other.
One thing I have seen here is that the children take care of each other, better than their families or the world take care of them. 5 days to go
Stay safe Officer Tim xoxoxo Little Boy

Video of Village Library Dedication

The Farewell Tour

It’s Sunday night and I’m sitting outside my room in capris and a t shirt. I can only imagine how cold I will be next week. A week from right now I will on the plane waiting to take off. The flight leaves at 10:20 and every night I hear it fly over Nyumbani. I will tell the kids that, and they will know that’s me saying one last goodbye.
It’s been a great week, the start of the farewell tour. I went to the village on Thursday morning, we saw about a dozen giraffe in the wild! Nicholas, the director of the village and a great friend had arranged the official opening of the library. I shelved the last 2 boxes, it looks great, then the kids came in and sang and danced. They all thanked me and the kids from America. The good news is there was a photographer there who took a video and is putting it on my blog, should be up in the next day or 2. Enjoy! I won’t be able to see it until I get home. Later that day we distributed the clothes that Elvehejm School in Madison and Alpha Omega Epsilon had collected and sent. A big asante sana to Ashley who did all the work and got them here. We put them out and let the kids pick, they had never seen such an array and had great fun trying them all on. Later as I walked through the village they were already wearing them. It was hard to say goodbye the next morning, I love walking through there and hearing people call out my name. It is another place I get to call home.
Michael the photographer and Jen the journalist and I matatued back to Nairobi. That was quite an adventure. The Nyumbani driver took us to the road from the village, with numerous stops along the way. He then waited until the matatu came, and negotiated with the driver. After reaching a fair price and assurance that the matatu was indeed going all the way to Nairobi we went to get on. As we crossed the road they opened the tail gate and from a space no bigger than 6” wide out came a goat! At least it got out before we got in. We traveled to the town of Machakos picking up all sorts of people on the way, where we were informed that it was no longer going to Nairobi, we would have to take a bus the rest of the way. We were parked in a crowded open market area, lots of people, music playing, lots of vehicles. The driver led us to a bus and then proceeded to get into a fist fight with another bus driver who wanted us to go on his bus. After it was settled, and we chose the bus without the 70 live chickens tied to the top we were finally on our way. Only to realize that one of the passengers was a preacher who proceeded to preach in a very loud voice for the next hour. We finally made it to Nairobi 3 hours later only to sit in traffic. I pretty much crawled back into Nyumbani! To be greeted with a big hug and kiss from Sammy K. All the Kenyans here were very impressed that I had done it, they tell me that I am a true Kenyan now. All it takes is a long matatu ride and having at least one phone stolen!
More tomorrow, there is a lot more to say.Watch for the video.
Stay safe Officer Tim xoxoxo Little boy

Pictures

For some reason I can't get the text to line up by the pictures... so here is what you are looking at:
Me and Mary's mom
Making mukimu (potatoes, green maize, peas)
Fidelis
Eunice and me on the day she arrived. First mizungu she's ever seen!
Eunice and her new big brother, John

Dwindling Days

Every time I look at the ticker at the top of the blog and see the numbers getting smaller it gives me a jolt. I can’t believe how little time is left but how good it will feel to sit down to Thanksgiving dinner with my family.
I am continuing to wind things up, lots of meetings. Went to the US Embassy for a town hall meeting with the ambassador. It was pretty interesting, he discussed security ( no real improvement,) street crime is still very common but doesn't seemed to be directed at Americans or other foreigners. It's more if you have a nice car, mobile phone etc., the upcoming Kenyan presidential elections (expect sporadic tribal violence but generally free and fair) Americans get an 85% approval rating from Kenyans, but that doesn’t include the current American govt. (no surprise there), American aid accounts for 16% of Kenya’s GDP. He also said about one American a week dies in an MVA here, considering the state of the roads that is really not a surprise either.
My roommate, Kiersten, left at 6 this morning. It was hard to see her go, as crowded as the room gets all my roommates have become great friends. It’s one of the best things about volunteering at Nyumbani, you meet all kinds of people you never would have the opportunity to befriend at home. All the young ones provide invaluable computer help.
I spent 3 days watching 16 month old Augustus, it was great fun. He is a great kid and reminds me a lot of Jack.
On a sadder note we have lost 13 children in the past 3 weeks in the Lea Toto clinics. HIV continues to take a terrible toll on the children in the slums. We have almost 3000 children we care for but only about 800 are on ARVS. TB is also a big problem and adds to the mortality rate, especially for + kids. Sometimes the unfairness of life is unbearable.
A few weeks ago I went upcountry with a friend and her husband. I met Mary, a retired counselor, on the city bus. They took me to meet her mother, who is in her 80’s and still lives alone in a little farm on the side of a really big hill. From the top of the hill I could see Mt. Kenya! All her neighbors came to greet me and they made me a wonderful lunch. They killed a chicken and cooked it, taught me how to make mukimo, and oohed over the pictures of my family that I brought. I had brought her some lotions and fancy soap which she proudly displayed for everyone They spoke very little English but with Mary translating and lots of sign language we had quite a great time. I asked her mom how she got water, food etc because it’s really a long hike up. She said that she depends on neighbors because she has pain in her knees and can no longer go down the hill. So she’s pretty much confined to her farm which is very isolating. I asked if she had seen a doctor and they all laughed and said the nearest doctor is many many hours away and nobody can afford to go. I also had some Advil with me and figuring she had arthritis I gave it to her and told her how to take it. I spoke with Mary the other day and she said her mom was delighted, the pain in her knees was gone and she could now go up and down the hill!! A simple cheap intervention and it changed a life. Mary said if I ever go back there the line to see me will be up and down the hill!
I am going to the Village on Wednesday for 3 days to finish up there, officially open the library and bring 2 big boxes of clothes donated by one of the Madison schools and a UW sorority. The kids are going to love those. They wear their school uniforms all the time because they don’t really have anything else. There are now 208 children living there, 130 on a waiting list. They are getting ready to build 50 more houses. It’s a hard drive to get there but Nyumbani has the best drivers, no worries.
Elizabeth is going to post pictures for me tomorrow, you'll see new D girls!
Counting down.
Stay safe Officer Tim xoxoxo Little Boy

The Home Stretch

My friend Barb left last night after a great 10 days here. We went to the daycare center where I took care of the kids and because she is a gynecologist she saw all the women. They were so grateful to have a woman physician to see, they don't have access to those kinds of doctors. (good and female and free). We spent some time in the slums, always an eye opening experience for people new to Africa. It is so good to look around the center and see pictures on the walls, the kids in clean clothes, toys all over, medical charts and supplies and know it's from my family and friends. Asante sana everyone.
After safari we went to Lamu, truly my most favorite place on earth, for 4 days. The ocean was warm and beautiful, the hotel was perfect. I can't describe how quiet and peaceful but so much fun it is. The website for the hotel is www.peponi-lamu check it out! The house next door to the hotel is owned by Princess Caroline of Monaco, she and her family are frequent visitors. I totally understand why, the hard part is leaving there!
Yesterday before she left we went on a tour of the Nairobi Women's Hospital. It was opened in 2001 has 57 beds, specializes in sexual assault and gender violence victims. They treat about 15 new victims per day, the very sad thing is that many of them are very young children. Quite a contrast from Lamu, Kenya is such a contrast between good and evil.
Now I'm starting to wind things up. Thinking about how to pack, how to leave. I still have meetings to go to, have to do my final Fulbright report, need to spend time in the village officially opening the library, (they left me 2 boxes to shelve) I'm babysitting Augustus, the other Fulbrighter's baby for 3 days. That will get me ready to see Jack! I'm spending lots of time with the D kids, just being here.
Stay safe Officer Tim, xoxoxo Little Boy

Saw everything but rhinos and leopards.

Sorry for the silence. I have been very busy as time is really getting short now. Lots of loose ends to tie up. My friend Barb is here, so we are doing some traveling. We just got back today from the Masai Mara where we had a great safari. I have meetings tomorrow then on Saturday we take off for Lamu for 4 days. She leaves next Wednesday. I will catch up then. Kids in D are great, Eunice is shrieking with laughter, sitting up on her own, and babbles all day long. Fidelis is loving going to school every morning and spends hours everynight coloring and doing "homework." the other night when I was tucking her in she looked up and said "good night" in English!!!! Amazing what loving care does for a child.
Stay safe Officer Tim xoxoxo Little boy

Yet Another Girl!

We had another admission to Cottage D, 4 year old Fidelis. She arrived last week, her parents are dead, she and her brother had been living with their grandparents. However, they are quite elderly and her grandmother has what sounds like Alzheimers and the burden was way too great for the grandfather. She speaks only her mother tongue, Kikuyu, and is very shy. She seems pretty healthy and has been on ARVS. What a difference those medications make. We had her welcome to Cottage D party yesterday afternoon, she seems to be settling in. When I think of all the resources available to kids in the Western world and what these kids manage to deal with on their own it's very humbling. Every bed in the cottage is now full so that should be it for awhile for us. The sad thing is there seems to be a never ending supply of HIV+ orphans to fill the beds. One night a group of us
sat around and talked about what it will take to change that. There is a real push by institutions and the government to reintegrate orphans with their extended families. It's a huge struggle because the families are often destitute, can barely take care of their own, and the stigma is still so prevalent. For many of these kids it's a children's home or death.
Election year politics are all the news here. President Kibaki is running for his second 5 year term. He has done some good things, the economy is growing though half the population live in extreme poverty. Primary education is free though the standards and resources are generally dismal. The big complaint is that the rich have gotten richer, the poorer are poorer (sound familiar?) and corruption is still rampant. The opposition is currently in the lead. People are actually very well informed here and follow it very closely. There has been some violence, we stay away when we know there are demonstrations, you can feel the tension rise as election day draws near. It is scheduled for sometime in December, Kibaki hasn't announced the date yet, one of the incumbent perks! This democracy is only 43 years old, it's interesting to see it evolve.
My big complaint with the government, besides the state of the roads,is the lack of leadership in regards to HIV/AIDS. If they publicly addressed the issues and set better examples I think it would go a long way in fostering some much needed change.
Wednesday is a public holiday here, Moi day. He was their second president, he ruled for 24 years and totally raped the country. But,he did leave peacefully so maybe that's what they're celebrating.
Stay safe Officer Tim and xoxoxo little boy

It's A Girl!!!

I have the honor of announcing a new addition to Cottage D! On Friday a 6 month old baby girl, Eunice, came to us from Kenyatta National Hospital. Her mother died in childbirth, (like 150,000 African women a year) and she was abandoned there. She laid naked in a crib for 6 months, they don't have diapers or clothes for all the babies there. She was alone in the crib because she is HIV+, the negative ones share. She has been on ARVS and is very healthy, actually a little chubby! She smiles, looks around a lot,she doesn't babble, sit up or roll over but we're already working on that. She sucks her thumb.
I was taking care of the D kids on Friday afternoon while Mum Terry was at a meeting when the social worker brought her. The kids were sleeping and as each one woke up I laid her next to them and said "meet your new baby sister." They all cried. They have had so much loss in their life, D has lost 3 boys in 3 years. This baby was a gift to us.
On Saturday night we had a welcome to D party for her, we made brownies from a mix Beck had brought, had fanta soda!!! and officially introduced her to all her new siblings and mums. It was a wonderful joyous night, we sang and danced and cuddled her. Who knows what's going on in her head, she probably thinks she landed in Disneyworld! But she is so loved.
Pictures as soon as I can.

Moving On

We have had horrendous internet issues here, so frustrating. No more uploading pictures for a while, it really did crash the system! We've had no access for days on end and intermittent when it does appear. I have had to make numerous trips to karen with my computer in my backpack to try and hook up at the internet cafe there, which is even slower than here. One of the things I definitely won't miss.
I've had a good couple of weeks, 2 of my cousins came for a one day visit,a safari stopover. It was great fun, they showed me the luxury side of Kenya, I took them to the slums! They stayed at the Giraffe Manor, a hotel not far from here. It was in this British estate house, with giraffes all over. They stuck their heads in the window and took food right off of our plates! The food and ambience was amazing, a welcome break that I will be forever grateful to Carol and Pete for giving me. Carol is going to do a blog entry from the US so you will get the whole story and pictures from her.
The cottage is recovering from ken's death. We talk about it a lot and look at his picture. The night of his funeral we had a private cottage meeting., just the kids, me and mum terry. We prayed, sang, remembered. We decided that ken always wanted us to be a happy cottage so we will be one. They're working hard at it, but they need to see me every night, stick close and hug hard. They have lived through more than most people do in a lifetime.
This past weekend another volunteer beth and I spent the weekend at the home of the parents of one of Ali's coworkers who is Kenyan. It was a wonderful break, they were such gracious hosts. He was a Fulbright scholar to the US in 1966,it was an honor to be in his company. We had great food, interesting conversations, long walks,and hot showers! Fulbright is all about cultural interchange and that was the best.
A few things I will miss, the birds that fly right into my room and walk around, voice of America on the radio, (especially the show Border Crossings at night, great music), Al Jazeera news on TV when we are actually around a tv, the best samosas in the world.
Thank you for all your blog comments, brook in virgina welcome to the blog! Lauren thank you for sending healthy baby updates, they are food for my soul.
Stay safe Officer Tim, xoxoxo little boy

A Sad Farewell

For two days it has been rainy, damp and gray here. Everyone has been wondering around kind of sad and lost. I could hear the big girls singing, preparing for the service. I have never seen such mud, and this is the time of year it's supposed to be warm and sunny. There's no hot water, I feel dirty, emotionally drained and just plain missing Ken. Just about everyday for 8 months I have checked on him and cared for him. There is a huge hole in my heart and in my day.
Today was his funeral, woke up to rain again. They brought his body back to Nyumbani in a plain little wooden coffin about 9:15 this morning. Mum Terry, Sr. Julie, myself and cottage D escorted it into the school room. The kids came from all over the compound and took their seats, with us closest to Ken. The music was haunting and sad, the tears flowed down their faces. These kids have been through so much loss, have so much uncertainty in their lives. The older kids have seen so many children die, they all fear they will be next. Fr. Ludwig did a great service, he cried too. The D kids did the readings, you would have been proud of how they did. Some of us said prayers, I prayed for all the volunteers all over the world who came to know and love Ken's spirit and light, that they continue to feel it and spread it, so that he is remembered and never forgotten around the world.
At the end of the service they opened this little door on top of the coffin and you could look through a little pane of glass at his face. That was weird. The kids all filed by, looking, rubbing their hands on the wood. When it was just the adults in the room Protus opened the coffin, (closed only by a hook and eye lock.) and I put in his DC hat, a letter I wrote him and a picture of his DC aunties.
Then we headed to the cemetery, about a 20 minute drive away. He got another ride in the new truck! When we arrived there we saw his open grave, in a children's section, 4 more empty ones waiting. It is row upon row of wooden crosses with children's names, sometimes only first names, often only the year of birth because they have been abandoned and nobody knew their birthday.
We sang and prayed, then everyone shoveled dirt. Most touching was the men of Nyumbani, the drivers, staff, how lovingly they filled in the grave,smoothed out the top, we placed all our flowers on it and then we left. How hard to leave him behind.
I gave Ignatius, his best friend, his watch from Susanne. He was so proud and touched, I don't think he will ever take it off either.
And now, life goes on. Thank you for all your support, it's meant a lot.

Kennady

The words I always knew I would have to say. Ken died this morning. These last few weeks have been such a struggle for him as it became obvious he was losing the battle. His lungs were worse and worse, he was losing weight and losing the will to fight. Everything from eating to finding a comfortable position to breathing was getting harder and harder. One night he vomited all over his sweatshirt, but his IV was threaded through the sleeve. In order to take the sweatshirt off I had to disconnect the IV. Just as I got the IV apart the power went out. Had to do the rest by flashlight. He looked at me and said this is all too hard. Last Thursday night he was moved to the sick room with round the clock nursing care. On Friday they put another NG (down the nose to the stomach) tube in, over his very strenuous objections. The kids called it his pipe. Over the weekend the doctor that was covering for Nyumbani was from the UK. On Saturday she and I developed a tube feeding schedule so he was finally getting consistent nourishment. On Sunday she looked at his last 3 chest xrays and determined that he was suffering from TB. He was being treated for it when he came last January, completed treatment in June, but his August x-ray was clear that the TB had not been succesfully treated. While on the one hand it was bad news, the treatment would now have to be second line and he would need an injection everyday and where on his poor body would we put it? But, now we had the reason for the failure to thrive and the horrendous lung status. We felt he finally had a chance. Until this morning.
He was awake all night and very restless. I left Nyumbani early in the pouring rain to go help at one of the slum clinics. Shortly after arriving I got a call that he was worse, talking about dying, about his family, hallucinating and his breathing was deteriorating. I left the clinic and tried to get back as soon as I could, not an easy task in the pouring rain and traffic jams. He told Mercy, the Kenyan nurse, that he wanted to go back to his home, that nobody was there, he had seen both his parents and his brother die, but he wanted to be put in his bed and we shouldn't worry, he wouldn't be afraid. Mercy told him that we didn't have transport so then he asked Mum Terry to take him back to the cottage. While she was carrying him back he said "I'm not going to make it, I'm too sick. But John and George will make it." She brought him into the cottage and he looked all around, she laid him down, he was wrapped in the fleece blanket my niece Elizabeth made, his favorite one, wearing his watch from Susanne that he never took off with his DC sweatshirt next to him, and within a few minutes he died.
I arrived about a half hour later. Sr. Julie saw me coming down the driveway and came to meet me and I knew. I spent the rest of the day in the sickroom with his body. Some of the kids came in to say good bye. His best friend, Ignatius, is really struggling. One of the sweetest moments I have had here is one day we took the kids to a movie. Ken and Ignatius were walking down the hallway talking when Ken stopped because he was too tired to go on. Without breaking stride Ignatius bent down picked him up, put him on his hip and carried him, all the time they kept talking. They're the same age. This is what friends do. Ignatius would bring a bike over to the cottage and put Ken on the seat and ride him around the compound.
Ken loved the Nyumbani drivers, he told me once when he grew up he was going to be a driver and drive to Mombasa. He loved going for rides in the cars. This week we received 2 new trucks from USAID and Rotary Club. When it came time to take him to the mortuary we wrapped him up and laid him in the back seat of the new extended cab pick up truck. We all thought it was fitting his last ride was in the new truck he was so excited about. With one of his favorite drivers.
The kindness to me today from the staff was so touching. They would say sorry when they saw me and thank me for the care I gave him. Mum Gladys, who is in charge of laundry, saw how my only pair of khaki pants were covered to the knees in red mud from my frantic trip back. She took them and washed them and got all the mud out. The kids see so much loss, we are reassuring them that they are strong and healthy. I am so glad I'm here for the Cottage D kids. I told many of them, we've all been sad today. I have spent so much time with Ken these last few weeks, hours with him wrapped in his fleece blanket on my lap, how truly lucky I am.
His whole family is gone, I can't even fathom that. He didn't know his birthday,always said he was "tweleve." (pronounced just like that). He weighed 11kg when he died.
When I first arrived I gave Ken his Cottage D We are Family t-shirt, he had just arrived a few days before. He had never gotten a present before, his whole body was trembling with excitement. It was huge on him so he tucked it all in his pants. he had a smile that knocked your socks off, could be crabbier than anyone I ever met, could dance like you wouldn't believe. And he felt all of your love.
One of his DC aunties, (Ali and her 2 friends, Liz and Farya who he loved) Farya, said he died on the first day of Ramadan, a very blessed day, and that means he has a direct path to God.
Godspeed Ken (in the new truck)

Lamu

This is the airport at Lamu. They wheel your luggage from the plane in a big wooden cart, unload it onto a concrete ledge. The greeter from the hotel is barefoot, carries your luggage in a small wooden cart and walks you down a sand path to an old jetty where his wooden boat (dhow) is waiting. They then take you across the water to the hotel. You can feel your blood pressure and stress level dropping with every minute.
This is the airport waiting room. sand floor, thatched roof. To weigh your luggage they hang it on a hook on a scale. Mostly mizungos fly there.
One of only 2 vehicles on the island, the other ways to get around are by foot, boat (dhow) or donkey. There's a district hospital on the island. one ATM, and occasional internet. It truly is entering into a different world. I think it is one of the most favorite places in the world that I've been

view from outside my room
Our hotel my room is on the second floor in the front corner. Down below is a restaurant, we would order and then they would bring the food up to us
Looking out from the common/dining area between our rooms
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Night time on the vernadah of our hotel.

Kibera and Rosalia and her family

We took these the day Dr. Jim and I visited Kibera to meet Rosalia and her family. That's her mom and her twin brother Titus. He is HIV-

Junior ambassadors

On Wednesday I took 8 kids from Nyumbani and Rosalia to the US Embassy for the day. The kids were the ones with the highest academic scores for the last term, they ranged in age from 8-13. We picked Rosalia up the afternoon before in Kibera and she spent the night here at Nyumbani. We briefed them all the night before aboout what to expect. Some of them, when they heard American Embassy thought they were going to America!
They all had a great time starting with the security clearance procedure. They had never been wanded before or searched! I don't have pictures because you can't take cameras there. Their eyes were so big, we went first to the main lobby of the embassy where we were greeted by the cultural affairs and educational affairs attaches. They're the ones I report to, and have been so supportive of me. They loved the idea of bringing my Fulbright work right to the embassy. The kids were of course most enamoured by the bathroom, automatic flush toilets and motion sensor water! There were lots of bathroom visits, even had to send Justus the cultural attache after the boys when we heard they were playing with the spray in the boys room! Kids are the same all over.
The ambassador came down and spent about a half hour with the kids, he really enjoyed meeting them. The kids were charming and inquisitive and very well behaved. They took a picture of all of us, hopefully they will email it to me and I will post it. We had tea, watched a video about PEPFAR which the kids actually enjoyed and learned from. Then they played outside for awhile, needed to run off some energy. People were coming down and talking to us, commenting how you never see children there and how wonderful it was. Everyone was warm and welcoming. We then headed across the compound to the USAID building where we met the PEPFAR staff and people from USAID. The kids each said their name, age, what they want to be when they grow up and "thanks for the medicine." This is where all their ARVS come from. (We had talked here about how important it is for the kids to realize how hard people work to get them their meds, they don't just magically show up.) The staff was so touched, saying how they are so buried in paperwork and budgets, it meant so much to see children whose lives they had literally saved by their work. Soon the boys were wearing the mens' suitcoats, kids were sitting at desks playing with computers, making copies of their hands on the copiers. It was actually great fun. Then, the head of PEPFAR, Buck Buckingham, sat down with all of them sitting on the floor at his feet, and told them that he too is HIV+ and has taken "dawa" (medicine) for 18 years. He told them if they always take their dawa, take care of themselves, do well in school and work hard they can live a long healthy life. You could see in their faces what his words meant. I don't think they will ever forget it.
For lunch we had chicken and mashed potatoes!!! How did they know that's my favorite?! We all headed home with lots to think about, well fed, and for me very proud to be American.
On a sadder more frustrating note: Kennady is not doing well. He has been here for 8 months, has been on ARVS for all that time and his CD4 count is 35 and his weight is actually going down. He's withdrawn, has a bad pneumonia. We couldn't get an IV in so his meds are by injections. he has no fat or muscle, the needle hits bone. It makes me want to throw up when I do it, and he's screaming in pain. He is losing his will to live because he knows he is losing the battle. I think his body was just so damaged by the years of unchecked virus and severe malnutrition. I don't know what the answer is here. I fight for him when I can but it's the Kenyans call. Margaret all over again.
Stay safe Officer Tim, xoxoxo Little boy

link to more village pictures

Here is a link to the pictures that the husband of my fellow fulbrighter took a few weeks ago at the village. He's a professional photographer so they're great pics of the kids. http://www.flickr.com/photos/christopherelam/sets/72157601524563373/show/
thanks for the offer of donation, it was a blow to my bank account but worth every shilling! you can give it to tim and he can put it in my account. Thank you for thinking of me and your generosity.

Left Behind

Before I left Wisconsin last January the mom of one of my patients asked what they could send for the kids here. After thinking about it I suggested kids' books because they all love to be read to. Imagine my surprise when she told me that the Prairie View Middle School in Sun Prairie Wi had collected 4000 books for the kids!!!! Yes, 4000! They fund raised and sorted and boxed up and shipped them here to me in early August. I had discussed their impending arrival with the Nyumbani management and after giving it a lot of thought I decided they should all go to the Nyumbani Village. The school is open there now, there are 177 orphans living there, with a target in the next 5 years of 1000. They had textbooks, many for the first time in their lives, but no real fun books to read. These are kids who have all been through the trauma of losing their parents, have been desperately poor, no food, no water, no bed , no house. Many have been raising siblings. They are so happy to be in the village, for many it's the first safety they've ever felt. And they want to learn, they are in the school even when it's not school time! I needed the books to go there, and they had a room they could turn into a library.
We had been told there were no customs fees on books, so when they arrived at the airport I was a little shocked that it would cost 39,000 shillings ($585.00) to pick them up. (bargained down from 44,000). Turns out there is an exemption but you can't apply for it until the cargo arrives, takes 3-4 months to get it and they charge exorbitant storage fees. So, it took 2 days but I was able to withdraw enough to pay the bill. We took the Nyumbani school bus to the airport where after an hour of searching we found the building with the 32 boxes of books. I paid the bill, and we hauled them back here to Nyumbani, the kids helped us unload them.
This past Wednesday Nicholas Makau, the manager of the Village,took 25 of the boxes up to the village. I came up the next morning with one of the doctors and the rest of them. When I arrived Nicholas said he had a surprise for me, but I had to wait. This is Africa, we always wait. Finally we headed over to the school.
When I arrived I saw some of the boys carrying some of the boxes into the school room, I walked in and saw all 32 of the boxes. and all the children in the village. They broke into song and dance, just for me. They were so excited, they were all wearing their new school uniforms even though it was vacation! I stood in the front of the room with Nicholas, the husband of the doctor, the representative of the Ministry of Education, on the side stood all the teachers.
Some of the kids took turns telling me how excited they were to have real books, how they would read them all and "deeply." They promised to always take care of them. Then the teachers and the representative spoke, all thanking the Prairie View Middle School kids, and wishing blessings for all of us. Then it was my turn to speak. I tried hard not to cry, but this is what I said:
I have learned many things in my life, but the most important is how to read. Because if you learn to read you can learn anything in the world. I have always loved to read because when you open a book you can be anywhere in the world. From the children of Prairie View Middle School in the United States of America to the children of Nyumbani Village Kitui Kenya: welcome to the world.
Then the kids were each handed a book and they held them up and said "asante sana Prairie View Middle School and Susan gold."
Another time in my life here I will never forget. Thank you Cheryl, Michelle and Jennifer of Sun Prairie for making this happen.
I truly am blessed to leave behind the now named Prairie View/ Susan Gold Library.
Stay safe Officer Tim xoxoxo Little boy

We have books!!!!

Thanks to the kids from Prairie View Middle School Sun Prairie Wisconsin, and Jennifer, Michelle, Cheryl

Officer Tim and Little boy

I thought you would all like to see who I say goodbye to at the end of the blog. Best son and grandson (Jack) anyone could ever ask for. I miss you both more than you will ever know.
Stay safe Officer Tim and xoxoxo Little boy

Rosalia

Last Thursday I welcomed my friend and colleague Dr. Jim C to Nyumbani. He's one of the pediatric infectious disease doctors I work with at UW Children's Hospital. He's been coming to Kenya for 5 years to teach and work with a vaccine program. It was great to see him, he came bearing gifts sent from home! Thank you to Tim and Sarah K for all their shopping, I'm happily eating chocolate and listening to some new music! The day he arrived we went to Kibera to visit Rosalia. We arrived at the Lea Toto clinic site around 1, despite a week of planning there was still some confusion as to how we were going to connect with her. (as always this is Africa!) Finally around 2:15 we set off with one of the community health workers to find her home. As many times as I've been in the slums I will never get used to it. Which, I think is a good thing. The smell, the garbage dumps up against the shacks, the raw sewage, the cramped pathways, the sheer volume of people. We walked for quite a while, smiling at the children who as always call out "how are you?" Picking our way through Jim and I just looked at each other, thinking of the wonderful clinic back home where we work together. We were a long way from there.
Suddenly on the path there appeared Rosalia! She had seen us approaching and came to greet us. It felt so good to see her again, she kept saying to me "you promised to come and you did!!" She proudly led us back to her house to meet her family. Her house is a 5 x 6 shack made of mud, tin roof, dirt floor, wedged in on 3 sides with others. The mum and all the sibs share a mattress behind a sheet hanging from the ceiling. There was a small table and sofa to sit on. We all crowded in, I gave her mum the ugali flour sugar and bread I had brought for them. I gave Rosalia some books to read, which she quickly wrote her name in, first books she'd ever owned she said, a journal to write in and a pen. She was so grateful and touched. She showed me where her secret place is where she keeps her Movin Shoes backpack, now proudly stuffed with books. (Even in a place like that a child needs a spot all her own). Her mother is very ill with AIDS and malaria but so proud to have us in her home. We met Rosalia's twin brother, Titus. He is the firstborn twin and negative. It's the second twin who often is the unlucky one. She shyly told us that while she is ranked #2 in her class Titus is ranked #1. Obviously very bright kids. She has 3 older sibs, all who are excelling in school. They are sponsored by a local mission. I was reassured that the family seems to be connected, though still desperately poor they at least have hope. If her older sibs can hang in school they may be able to help support the family someday. If her mum dies soon I'm not sure what would happen to Rosalia and Titus, it often means no more education and life on the streets. After her mum invited me to come visit anytime Rosalia walked us back through the labyrinth to the clinic, it was hard to say goodbye. I promised I would find a way to stay in touch with her, for now I will send letters through the social worker.
My heart was reassured but heavy when I left.
Dr. Jim did some teaching and consulting and then on Saturday we left for the island of Lamu on the coast. It was so lovely, warm and sunny. The Indian Ocean is really mesmerizing. We stayed right on the beach, went fishing in a wooden boat they call a dhow. There are no cars only donkeys on the island, people travel by dhow up and down the coast. In the morning I would lay on the bed on the verandah and listen to the fisherman get ready to leave for the day. They are always laughing and singing and calling out to each other in Swahili. The kids who work on the boats are so happy and surefooted. It is so safe there, so far from the chaos of Nairobi. It was 4 days of perfect peace, good food, good times with a good friend.
Jim is off to do his work for 2 weeks before heading back to Madison and tomorrow I head back to the village to do some work there. Back to reality!
Stay safe Officer Tim and xoxoxo little boy

Where to start?

I just finished 4 days of teaching my classes to HIV+ adolescents who are enrolled in the Nyumbani slum outreach program, Lea Toto. (which means raising the child)The children came from all 6 sites, slums all over Nairobi. Kenyan schools are on holiday now so that's why we could get them for 4 days in a row. I co-taught with a Kenyan nurse, Francis, who works at one of the sites. We started with 29, ended up with 27. 2 dropped out because they got sick. It was incredible that as many came for 4 days. The weather was absolutely crappy, cold and rainy. mud everywhere. Some took 2 1/2 hours to get there, every day! We taught the classes at the Kawangwari slum site, it took me over an hour and 2 matatus to get there. The room was unheated, no electricity so it was very gloomy, old cement floor, tine walls and roof. Our table was a piece of wood balanced on USAID boxes. I sued the blankets from KLM and BA as a tablecloth. They still came. They came dirty, hungry, sick. But they also came so eager to learn, so appreciative, so full of questions. They would come through the gates with huge smiles on their faces, go right to the books I put out on the table. They'd gather together and share, talk and laugh and explain to each other.
These kids all live in horrific conditions, with less than nothing. Some are on ARVS, if they can find someone to do the training necessary for them to be able to get them. I would sit there watching them shiver and listen to them cough. One boy left the room and I found him vomiting and crying. He said he didn't want to miss any of the class. We fed them tea and snack when they got there, snack was buttered bread. After the classes ended for the day, about 1, they were given lunch. A whole plateful of warm nutritious food paid for by Nyumbani and made by one of our community health workers who has a little cooking business on the side. You could tell that for many of the kids it was the only food they would get for the day.
At first they were a little hesitant and shy around me, but by the end of the 2nd day the girls were braiding my hair, yes it's that long! It really hurt too, I would only let them put one in the front, they told me you have to feel pain when you get braided. As I have traveled over Kenya you always see women and girls sitting outside getting their hair braided, it seems to be a basic part of what they do and who they are. talking, laughing singing while they do it. Anyway, even the boys would come by and touch my hair!
Over the 4 days we taught them about their bodies, puberty, sex, hiv/aids, arvs, condoms, pregnancy, abstinence, rape, sexual abuse. It's all things that nobody here talks about, but they all really want to know. For these kids too knowing can be the difference between life and death. They role played how to tell someone they're +, answered their questions, some so poignant they made my eyes tear. We talked about how they feel about being +, what they see for their future. They don't ask, how long will I live? they ask, how long will I stay? I guess for them everyone is always leaving. By they end of the day no one cared how cold or dark the room was, the warmth of all the caring was deep into all our souls.
Today when I was leaving I cried, I got hugged and kissed and thanked so many times. They all got backpacks from Movin Shoes, they loved them. They were all proudly wearing them. They asked over and over if I could come back. All I can say is the world has so much to be ashamed of. These children deserve so much more. From everyone.
There was one girl in particular, Rosalia, who is 13 and lives in Kibera, the largest slum in the world. You will hear a lot more about her the next couple of weeks, and will see a picture. I have worked with and seen so many kids here, never has one shone like her. And it wasn't just my bleeding mzingu heart, all the staff at Kawangware recognized it too. She wasn't just bright, she could think things through and come up with answer. She was a step ahead of all the others, but came from even a worse place than a lot of them. And there was such sparkle in her eyes, so much life. I'm going with the social worker from Kibera and my friend who will be here Dr. Jim C to meet her family next week. If this child is lost, it will truly be a tragedy.
When I'm home, and I'm remembering, this is one of the places I will see myself.

The ups and the downs

We haven't had wireless here for weeks, so the internet has been sporadic. I apologize to everyone who I owe an email. I promise I will catch up tomorrow night. Last Wednesday was the worst day here ft or me so far. Even with everything I've done and seen, sometimes you just have a bad day Everything was complicated, not working right, it was cold and rainy, no hot water. There's a fuel shortage here now too so I couldn't even heat water. Had to slog through the mud down then back up the 3 hills to get to the ATM. The kids were crabby, the staff were crabby, all the volunteers were crabby, It was just one of those days. Then the very next day, things just got better again. My Australian friends invited me over to their house for dinner to meet their visiting children,(from Dubai and Jakarta) and grandchildren. Miraculously Mary called and said come early and take a hot bath! Even with the new solar panels I had managed really only one hot shower and that reeked of gasoline. At her house my whole body fit in the tub, and the water was clean, hot and odorless!
I love meeting their British friends. They have such an interesting perspective .One of the women was telling me she was born here, had lived here 50 years, when I said "so you're Kenyan?" She quite icily said "no I'm British." Kind of funny. Anyway, I like asking them about how things have changed over the years etc. One woman was hilarious talking about all the "rubbish" she buys from peddlers/beggars because she can't say no. They, like the rest of the people here though, don't seem to know a lot about hiv/aids.Easier to live in a bubble I guess.
On Saturday I went to the village for the day for my friend Nicholas Makau's wedding. He's the manager of the village and the slum clinics. I knew him when I was here before. The wedding started 2 hours late and the Mass was 3 hours long, and I didn't understand a word. It was all in the local Kamba dialect. It was great fun and very interesting, they left the church in a donkey cart. They had actually been civil married for 7 years, have 3 kids, this was their church wedding. We had to leave at 4 to get back to Nairobi, so I missed the next 12 hours of dancing and music. Would have loved to have stayed for that.
On Sunday, after Mass here at Nyumbani, I went with the priest to talk to "some people about my classes". He was kind of vague about it, and when we got there I was surprised to find a room packed with parents from the Kiberra slum who wanted to learn how to talk to their kids about hiv/aids, and sex. Incredible 2 hours. I learned so much about their culture, how hard it is for them to do this but they really don't want their kids to die. They asked me to come back, so I will teach them the first 2 Sundays in Sept. How am I ever going to leave here after experiences like that?
I've started teaching my classes in the slum clinic, I will write more about that later. When the signal gets better I will post pictures. Miss you all
Kuwa salama Officer Tim xoxoxo Little boy

Shake, Rattle and....Hot Water!

It's been an interesting busy week. First, there have been some minor earthquakes here in Nairobi the past 10 days. I think the biggest one was a 6.0. I had no idea that could occur here and from the reaction of the Kenyans they didn't either! One night I woke up at around 2:30 to the sound of the dogs barking, birds screeching. Minutes later everything in my room including my bed started rocking, shaking. Pretty crazy. I don't think there has been any damage but it's put everyone a little more on edge.
This is a presidential election year here which has added to the tension. On the one hand it's good because the incumbent is trying to get lots of things done so the people will vote for him, on the other hand there are demonstrations that often turn violent. The papers are full of political news.One thing I've found interesting here is no one reports about the weather, there's no forecast in the paper, no weather section on the nightly Kenyan news. I asked a Kenyan friend about it, he thought it was hilarious how much attention is paid to it in the US. He said why would you ever care so much about something you can do absolutely nothing about? good point. He also said all they care about here is politics. Politicians are the Kenyan celebrities. At least they have democratic elections. The election is set for December, I am glad I will be back home before that.
Crime continues to be a big issue here. There are 3 Fulbrighters here now, myself, heather, and a film student from USC. He was carjacked and his house robbed at machine gunpoint a few weeks ago, had all his stuff stolen. Including all his project stuff. 10 months of work gone. he was pretty traumatized, and is most likely just going to go home. It makes me glad I'm safe here at Nyumbani. And I am.
My friend Dr. Beck was here for a week, we had a great time. She did physical exams on all the kids in the day care! It took 2 days. You've never heard so many crying children! For many of them it was the first time they had ever been seen by a doctor, scary enough, but a mzingu one at that. Just about did them in. Now, every child has had their growth plotted, a medical chart created, and a baseline exam. The staff at the day care are so grateful for everyone's contribution, especially Dr. Beck.
I am getting ready to teach my program to 30 kids from the Nairobi slums. They will travel every day for 4 days to the kawangware slum, where the Kenyan nurse, Francis, and I will teach it. They get a free lunch and a Movin Shoes back pack for coming. I'm really looking forward to it, then when I'm done my Fulbright project obligation is essentially done for here. The rest of the time I will spend training other people so the project goes on.
The Cottage D kids are all doing well, Ken is not putting on weight but still he's not getting as sick. He seems depressed a lot now, and they don't deal well with that here. How that child has and continues to suffer.
The good news! They put up new solar panels on the volunteer house, and on a sunny day we have a hot shower!!! I had one yesterday, the first hot shower since we were on safari on July 8th. The only drawback is for some reason the water smells like gasoline. But, thank God, it's hot!!!!
Kuwa Salama Officer Tim, xoxoxo little boy

Pictures of Kilifi

Here are some pictures from our time in the coastal village of Kilifi. Right on the Indian Ocean!

Back on Monday? Right!

So I went back this morning, waited around.The immigration officer told me he would write the letter approving the extension, but it would take a long time to write. Come back next Monday.
So, I went to visit the owner of the shop where I had my camera fixed in 2003. I had stopped by again and he had remembered me and invited me back for tea.Today we finally connected and I had a wonderful time.His chai tea was so good,says he has his own recipe.He's Muslim, born in Mombasa on the coast. He has owned the camera store for almost 30 years, it's down the street from the Hilton in downtown Nairobi.We had a wonderful discussion about Islam,september 11th, the day the American Embassy which at the time was around the corner was blown up. He taught me a wonderful saying from the Koran: live your life so you will be missed when you are not there and remembered when you die. I liked that.
They found a big black snake under the table this computer is on, so I am done for the day!!!
Stay safe officer Tim, xoxoxo little boy happy bday mary lee

Patience is a virtue

It has been a busy week since my family left. On Monday morning I met with a woman from African Flying Doctors. They have an educational part of their organization where they train nurses. They're very interested in integrating my program into what they do. My goal now in these last months is to train as many people as possible so that when I leave the project goes on. Everyone is so enthusiastic about it and the need is so clearly there that I hope that goal will be met. On Tuesday I went to the village for a few days to check on how the classes were going there. I traveled with Nicholas, the head of the village, Joseph the Kenyan nurse who works there and our driver Justin. We had a very late start leaving Nairobi so most of the travel was in the dark. We stopped in Machakos, the last "city" of any size before you reach the rural area and the bush. We arrived quite late so had to go deep into the city to find a place to eat. I felt very safe with the guys, and was able to eat some real African food. Which, to Nicholas's amazement I actually ate and enjoyed. We got to listen to some music and hang out with some local people. The rest of the drive was as quick as road conditions would allow as we were all tired and anxious to get there. I listened to my IPOD and watched the stars through the car window, I mostly hid behind the supplies we were carrying so nobody would know there was a mizungo in the car, they only had me show my face at the police checks. There my presence increased the likelihood of a wave through. We were all glad to finally arrive. The classes are going well and Joseph is enjoying teaching them. I really love being there now, I walk through the village and people call out my name in greeting, I'm known there now and it feels very good. Late Wednesday night I had to help Joseph clean out a wound on the bottom of a little girl's foot, using a scalpel blade a needle and a flashlight, no electricity. The hug and whispered thank you I got from her was so touching, especially when she told Joseph that I was the village nurse too.
On Friday I had to go to Nairobi to get my visa extended. When it was extended in April it was only for 3 months. There has been all sorts of confusion as to what kind of visa I need because even though the Fulbright grant is a student grant I am not affiliated with a school here and I'm not a professor. The one year visa I paid for and got from the Kenyan embassy in DC was stamped for 3 months when I arrived in January. Anyway, the minister of science and technology had told me to come to his office on Friday and they would give me a letter explaining my status to take to immigration. When we climbed up the 10 flights of stairs and got there the man who was supposed to do it decided that I didn't need it, he wasn't going to do it,it was my problem and an immigration problem not their problem. Of course the minister was not there. He finally agreed to call and speak to immigration. They told him to send me over with a copy of my research permit. I had the permit back at Nyumbani but didn't bring it, since my phone and copy of my passport were stolen on a matatu, I am a bit hesitant to carry originals with me. I was uneasy enough having lots of shillings and my passport with me. The man told me I had to go back to Nyumbani and get the original permit.The whole time he is sitting there with their copy of my permit. When I told him it would take hours, he yelled at me and said well I had all day to do it! He finally agreed to make me a copy. Then it was down 10 flights of stairs, the elevators weren't working, across downtown Nairobi dodging peddlers, beggars, traffic, crowds over to the immigration building, a big yellow monstrosity. I was fortunate to have a Kenyan, Richard, from Nyumbani with me. We go there and the line for the elevator was out the door so we trudged again up 6 flights of stairs to meet Mr. Otumbe, who proceeded to yell at me that this was all highly irregular, that Nyumbani should have applied for a work permit for me if I was going to be here for more than 6 months. He takes out a copy of the immigration law and angrily points to the section about work permits and says I should have known that, I asked him where I would have gotten a copy of it and he said it wasn't available to the public. I tried to explain that I wasn't working, they weren't paying me, it was a student grant from the US State Dept., he grabbed my passport and papers, said he had to discuss this with someone higher up, and stomped off. Richard and I sat and waited, and waited. finally he returned and pretty much rudely repeated what he had said before. He then decided that perhaps, yes, the best idea would be for me to leave the country, actually leave East Africa, for a few days, then return and they would give me another 3 month stamp. He suggested a 2 day bus trip to Rwanda. And his cousin can recommend a bus company. I'm thinking I have to go on a bus to Rwanda? Then, he reaches down and takes out and puts on a hat that says "say no to corruption" Richard and I just look at each other, I don't know whether to laugh, cry, or just slug him. "Fulbright scholar arrested for assaulting immigration official." Upon further discussion he finally realized that I had left the country and returned in June, he examines my passport again and discovers that above the stamp dated June 5th there was some illegible writing that extended my visa until September 5th! Which I of course couldn't read and had never been told. Off he stomped again to the "higher up" as this was new information and even more highly irregular. Once again we waited,and waited. Finally he returned and said: Come back on monday.
We all just sat and looked at each other for awhile, then he begrudgingly said, have nyumbani write a letter explaining your role, we will extend you until November 18th. BUT YOU MUST LEAVE THE COUNTRY ON NOVEMBER 18th.
Richard was profusely apologizing for it all, had only planned on showing me the route between buildings but had decided he couldn't leave me to fight the war alone. I took him to lunch to thank him and the waitress screwed up the whole order.
I go back on Monday.
TIA This is Africa.
Kuwa salama (stay safe)and Happy Birthday Officer Tim, xoxoxo little boy Happy 5th Anniversary E and B