Day 6

Docs and nurses from our group!

Day six began with Heather and I both staying at the clinic.  I had the option of going out into the slums again, but decided to stay back since I wasn't feeling very well the night before.  I should have known I would have gotten a bit sick - I'm not sure what I ate or came in contact with that made me feel ill.  I was fortunate since mine was just an upset stomach where there were a few people that were sick enough to stay in bed for 24 hours.  My job for the day was to hand out water to the patients as they went through the pharmacy.  I was not good at this job because I wanted to give each family a lot of water, but was told to give only one water to each adult in the family.  It was soooo hard to turn away the children that would come up and ask for 'maji' (water) and I couldn't give it to them or we would have run out.  The difficult part for me was when I realized that people who had already gotten water would hide it and come back for more.  I understand that these people do not have clean water and they will do whatever it takes to get as many as they possibly can especially since it is free.  They have to pay for water in the slums and it is not as clean as the bottled water.

I did this job for about half the day and was asked to move back into the clinic (I think they knew I wasn't strong enough to say "no" and they did need help in the clinic area).  This day has been crazy busy with fewer doctors.  A couple of the Kenyan doctors were unable to make it so the doctors were very, very busy. 

Today was the day that Heather did not feel well.  She ended up getting the bug that a couple of others had gotten.  The unfortunate part for her was that she was feeling so terrible and she had to lay in the back of the bus.  Thank goodness we had some of the kindest bus drivers.  They were so friendly and patient with our group of 36.




Our bus drivers - Evan, Justice, and Peter

 



I mentioned in Day 5 that Felix should be coming back today for a recheck.  I was so shocked at how well he looked.  He was smiling and bright-eyed.  I will never forget his adorable face.  His fever had dropped and he was on his way to feeling better.

Here is sweet little Felix feeling and looking so much better!!!!!



Another pic of Felix with Cindy and me

 Heather and I were known as "the sisters".  I can't even count how many times people asked us if we were twins -I was called Heather so many times that I just answered them as if I was her.  So when we were boarding the buses - they didn't ask if Heather or Jennifer was on the bus - they asked if "the sisters" were on the bus. 

I also thought I would share with you on how the driving was in Nairobi.  It seemed more like a demolition derby than everyday driving.  It seemed to me that the biggest and fastest vehicle won on the roadway.  If there were two lanes for driving, feel free to make a third lane in the grass or ditch if the person in front of you is not moving.  Also, you can sure drive on the sidewalk if you feel it is necessary to keep the traffic moving.  When we drove to the clinic in the morning the traffic wasn't too bad, but coming home in the evening at around 7:30 was terrible.  I only felt unsafe in Africa while we were driving home each evening.  One evening we were hit by a small car and we just kept driving.  There was no stopping and calling the police to report the damage.  Our bus driver told us that the people that own those cars do not carry insurance so there is no reason to stop.
One of the locals that I met said that one of her dreams in life is to own a car.  She asked me if I own a car and I told her that we actually owned two vehicles because both my husband and myself drive to work each day.  I think she wondered why we would need two vehicles when we could realistically walk to work or at the very least carpool.  I did tell her that we have some nasty winters here in ND and it is difficult to walk anywhere because of the snow piles and drifts.  Our conversation was just another reminder of how very grateful I am for the blessings I have been given.


This is a picture of the church where our clinic was located.  The apartments in the background are apprx $400.00 per month and the middle class live in them. Unfortunately, right on the other side of the middle class housing is one of the slum areas.

  One of the things that was hard for me to get used to was the darkness.  It was completely dark every evening by 7:30 and it was still dark in the morning when we went for breakfast at 6:30.  The locals said that this is what it is always like because Nairobi is located right near the equator. 



This is a picture of people who sell items outside of the slum areas. 

 They work till about 9:00 or 10:00 at night and they begin their work day anywhere between 5:00 and 7:00.  So they walk to work in the dark and walk home in the dark.  Very unsafe especially for the women.