The "Long Rains"

They tell me that they are here. Last night and this morning it just poured rain. My first rainy day here. I know, big deal, after the winter you've all had!Still, it brings added hardship here, as much as they depend on the rain. The mud is everywhere, the dampness seeps into the kids bones. They are all wearing winter coats and hats! The rest of the country can get rain but stays warm, here in Nairobi we're at 5900 feet so it gets cold. Cold being in the 60's, 50's. The kenyans have assured us it won't be like this everyday, I can already see some blue sky.
Pascal, our computer expert, has warned us that it will interfere with the internet signal. That will make us all crazy! Keep the emails coming though, you have no idea what it means to open my inbox and see all your names.
Ken continues to struggle wtih fevers and vomiting. He can't keep his ARVS down, he can't gain weight. What he needs is a central line and TPN, but that just doesn't happen here. Everyone is quite discouraged. Last night I went out to dinner with Protus, the director of Nyumbani, and Sr. Julie the volunteer coordinater. We went to the British restaurant, The Rusty Nail, down the road.I had chicken kiev and mashed potatoes. Like heaven on earth. Protus told me how Ken grew up in Kiberra, the largest slum in the world. When his parents and grandparents and brother died he was taken in by his Aunt. She couldn't care for or feed him properly, which is how he got so malnourished. That and being HIV+ and not on ARVS. When he was near death she brought him to the Lea Toto clinic, where they immediately transferred him to Kenyatta Hospital. His Aunt would visit him there but would berate him for not eating, and verbally abuse him, telling him he should just die. She finally disappeared, abandoning him there. He was then emergently admitted to Nyumbani. Protus told me that Ken's whole life had been spent in Kiberra, then those days at Kenyatta, then to Nyumbani. That day I took him to Karin was the first day he had seen anything else. No wonder he was so fascinated. We decided if he rallies again we're going to put him back in the car and just drive him around and show him stuff. He had never been in a car until that day they took him to Kenyatta, and he was so sick he barely noticed. One of the things he does here when he feels okay is he sits outside the cottage in the sun. It's what keeps him warm, and we found out that is how he spent his days in Kiberra, sitting outside the hovel where he lived. I think sitting here brings him comfort, it's familiar for him. And there are so many Kens.
stay safe officer timmy and xoxoxo little boy