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