Day one

I spent my first night in the house with the sisters. There are four sisters and two that are in training. They were so wonderful and welcoming that I instantly felt at home with them. They even celebrated my arrival with ice cream and cake from town! I had a great night of sleep and felt prepared to start my first day.

The beginning of day one started off with whole wheat bread covered in butter and honey, alongside cheese, chicken sausages, and REAL coffee made from a French press. This may not sound so exciting for everyone at home, but I’m sure all my fellow peace corps volunteers are drooling! It was absolutely amazing. I then walked down the dirt road to the dispensary (small clinic) where I will be living and working. I met the nurses and lab technician that I will be working alongside and we had a meeting to discuss our plans for the next few weeks. Shortly after I had arrived, I was asked if I wanted to see a circumcision performed. It is not the tradition in Kenya to circumcise children when they are born. In fact, IF it is tradition to perform circumcision in ones’ particular tribe, it is usually done as part of a “coming of age” ceremony when they are in their teens. However, in current research it has been shown that HIV transmission can be decreased by up to 60% if a man is circumcised, so young people are making the choice to be circumcised even if it is not part of their tribal traditions. The young boy who sat on the table today was probably around 14 years old. I still cannot even comprehend what must have been going through his head when they brought out the needle of lidocaine to numb him up. I’ve seen blood, guts, and surgery before, but there was something about the nonchalant manor in which they snip-snipped this young boy while joking around and not even closing the door to the room. I think I was more traumatized than the boy! The rest of my day went smoothly and I rode with the sisters the 12 kilometers into town to see what there was to see.

We first visited the Rongo District Hospital so the two sisters could get a paper signed for school. We sat outside the “outpatient department” which is this hospital’s version of the ER. I sat next to a mother and her 3 year old girl who was trying to get medication for malaria. The baby’s name was Sharon and we enjoyed a little game of pic-a-boo. Almost instantaneously a dark cloud rolled in with a clap of thunder and the sky exploded with rain. This must have been a prelude for what was about to unfold. A young man and a small boy raced up to the door of the outpatient department. This boy, who was probably 6 or 7 years old, stood in front of me sopping wet from rain, shaking violently and trying to hold back the tears as the tip of his tiny ring finger dangled by a strand in a bloody twisted mess. There was no mother to coddle him and tell him it would all be ok. There was just the young man who pushed him towards the door entrance after asking the rest of us if it was ok for him to cut in line.

Following my experience at the hospital, the two sisters and I went to town to pick up some things at the supermarket. We stopped briefly to watch a funeral procession parade down the street. There were a large group of people wailing, screaming, and waving tree branches… as is the custom for a funeral. Amongst what I had seen today and the torrential downpour, I was happy to make the drive back to the safe haven that is the sisters’ house.

Day Three

I spent my first night and cooked my first meal at my new home! I have three beautiful rooms at the dispensary. First is my bedroom. I have a bed, desk, dresser, and two chairs. It is spacious and the mattress is incredibly comfortable by Kenyan standards.

Next is my sitting room. I have a table, two chairs, a cupboard to put all my food and dishes, along with a bookshelf to store things. There is a little gecko that I’ve seen twice now every time I open one of the windows in this room. I think I’ll name him Ivan.

The third room is my kitchen. I have a gas stove with a working oven, a sink, counter top and small water tank. I have solar powered electricity but no running water. There is a door to the dispensary in this room and another door that leads out back. This is where I like to sit and watch the cows graze and children walk by. It’s a nice quiet escape and the views are excellent!