Life in the Village

I want to start with a special Thank You to First Lutheran Church in Mount Vernon. To all of you who came to hear my story and show your support. It can sometimes get lonely out in a rural village in Kenya, but knowing you are all invested in my ventures motivates me to keep going. Thank you!

I had the most amazing trip back to America and it wasn’t nearly as difficult as I thought it would be to get back on that plane. I think part of me appreciated the love I felt from all my family and friends and the comfort of knowing they would all be there for me when I got back after another year.

Back in Kenya it didn’t take long to get back to my usual routine. I had to sweep my floors and shoo away all the lizards that moved in while I was gone. My first day back at church in my community, some of the members asked if I would stand up in front and share a few words about my travels. They called me forward by my village name, Christina Akinyi, and the entire congregation of nearly 200 people applauded and cheered for my return. It was an amazing feeling to know this small Kenyan farming community felt such a strong connection with me that they celebrated my return and the chance to shake my hand again.

My students walked from school to my front door just to say hello and took me to the school soccer tournaments over the weekend and instead of hearing the typical calls of “mzungu” (meaning “white person”) throughout my village everyone was greeting me by name. We had a busy clinic day where we vaccinated over 160 babies in one day! We even had a celebration at the convent for the arrival of three aspiring nuns where we drank and ate ourselves silly with goat, chicken, and fish!

One day I was taking the 45 minute walk home from the school when it started to rain. I looked in front of me at the black sky opposite the lush green sugarcane fields and red dirt road and saw a full rainbow straight ahead. The rain started coming down at such a rate that I was soon walking through a stream where the road had been and I was soaking wet from head to toe sloshing around in my shoes. In a situation that should have been miserable, I couldn’t contain my smile and a feeling of pure happiness. They say the Peace Corps in the “hardest job you will ever love.” While it’s not always sunshine and roses, there isn’t a day that passes that I don’t feel thankful for my life and the people in my Kenyan village.

World Malaria Day

Today in Kenya, 72 children will die of a Malaria infection.

In America we don’t learn much about Malaria because it was eradicated in the 1950s. The disease is caused by a parasite, Plasmodium Falciparum, and it is passed to humans through a mosquito. At my clinic almost half of the patients who are under the age of five come to be treated for malaria infections. I have seen children who are lying listless on a hospital bed that don’t even flinch when an IV line is inserted and can hardly open their eyes.  When I heard of World Malaria Day on April 25^th, I knew it was something I wanted to celebrate and bring awareness to the people of my village.

I started with my high school health club. I asked them what they wanted to do and we started to organize an original song about malaria, a dance, and a drama. I then spoke with the sisters to get their support and to help mobilize the community. We spent weeks going around to different community groups and leader to tell them about the even we were planning. Next I needed funding for some chairs, a tent, and to set up a PA system the day of the event. I got help from the district officials to fund my event and instead of hosting it at the district headquarters I was able to convince them to make my tiny village the official host of the World Malaria Day event for the entire district!

Over 500 people from my community and from the district offices came on the day of the event. We set up our tents and chairs in the soccer field across from the clinic and my health club provided dancing and entertainment throughout the day. I had my health club students assist me with translating a few phrases into the local dialect to put on posters for the event. Unfortunately as I was transferring those phrases onto the posterboard, I had difficulty deciphering which letters were which and a community member had to tell me that instead of writing “to prevent malaria in Pregnancy” I had written “to prevent malaria in a sexually transmitted disease.”

We offered free testing and treatment for Malaria and people were lined up outside the clinic doors for hours to be seen.  We gave out over 80 mosquito nets to pregnant mothers and children as well as encouraged people to allow their homes to be sprayed in the next following days to kill mosquitos. It was a great opportunity to bring awareness to this disease and to work together as a community in measures of prevention.

At the end of the day one of my health club members turned to me and asked “Is there a World AIDs Day?” Yes Bilha, there is…

Waduto wariw lwedo watiek tuo mar malaria

Culture is a Funny Thing

I recently met a Kenyan girl who is the same age as me and lives in my village. We have started to form a friendship and I enjoy walking to her house to sit down for coffee and talk about culture. She is just as curious of my American traditions as I am of hers. One day she was walking me home and we could hear a thunderstorm in the distance. She asked me if I was afraid of the thunder. I said no, but asked her what there was to be afraid of. She went on to explain that the Luo tribe believes that thunder isn’t just a noise, but it takes the physical shape of a giant rooster the size of a house that can attack you or set your house on fire. She also worried about me as I walked the rest of the way home because I was wearing my ONLY rain jacket which ironically happens to be red. She told me that lightning would strike me if I was wearing red.  Luckily I made it home safely without being struck by lightning or meeting the thunder along my way.

Another day we bought pears in the market and after washing them I started eating mine right away. My friend Julianne turned to me and asked if I was afraid someone would see me. Worried that I had mistakenly done something culturally inappropriate I asked her what was wrong with eating fruits or foods in general in public. She told me that some people are witches and if they see you eating they will curse your food, your stomach will start to swell and you could get very sick. Glad that I hadn’t outright offended anyone, I told her I didn’t believe in witches and finished my pear on the way back home.  I haven’t been cursed yet…

Another day I was on my way to one of our youth group meetings with Sister Tina, which is always a terrifying experience. Sister Tina is a 5 foot nothing nun who can’t drive in reverse and who stalls the car at least twice each time we are out driving. Every Saturday we venture out to a different rural youth group which generally means me and Tina off-roading in the tiny car for at least 45 minutes on “roads” (or should I say hiking trails) that were not made for cars.  At this particular youth group last week we were fielding questions about puberty when a small girl asked “is it ok for me to slaughter a chicken before my period is about to start?” How do you answer that question!?!? We asked one of the adults to explain and the belief is that if a girl or womans’ period is about to start in the next day or so, if she slaughters a chicken the blood will start to flow out of her lady parts like the blood flowing out of the slaughtered chicken’s neck.  What a terrifying image!

Culture can be a funny thing and it definitely keeps my life interesting.

A truly amazing day

I have had many amazing experiences in Kenya, but today tops them all.

Let me start from the beginning. I have been working really closely with the nurse midwifes at my clinic and learning the ropes of conducting a delivery.  Since I previously worked at a veteran’s hospital, mother and child care was the farthest thing from my repertoire.  It seems each delivery I have assisted with has been interesting in its own way.

My first delivery I was a bit bewildered as I was being clung to by the 15 year old girl delivering her first baby. It would be putting it modestly if I said this girl was grabbing onto me like the Jaws of Life.

Another delivery I was standing next to the woman who was so silent through her labor that we weren’t sure how soon the baby would come. The next thing we know, this woman laying on her side, lifted her leg and simultaneously gave birth while her water broke.

I spent another long night as one of the nurses from the clinic gave birth to her first child. The whole staff was there until the birth around 2:30 in the morning and I felt like a real birth attendant helping her with her contractions and staying by her side through the whole thing.

I suppose there have been a few relatively non-eventful births at our clinic and today seemed like any other day. I was packing my bag to go visit my friend Julianne for lunch when a woman came in to the clinic. I asked how many centimeters she was dilated and nurse Phoebe said she was fully dilated and could deliver any minute. I decided to postpone my lunch and stick around. About an hour later Phoebe was telling me to just go and come back later, this woman was not progressing and it could be many more hours before the baby came. Again, I told her I was patient enough and would wait, just in case she needed my help. This woman was only 20 years old and giving birth to her fourth child, so nothing indicated this would be anything other than a normal delivery. However, she was having trouble pushing and the baby was not advancing for a dangerously long time. When the baby boy finally came out he was not breathing and the color of an ash tray. While Phoebe cut the cord and attended to the mother, I took the newborn baby and tried to clear his airway and use a resuscitation bag to get some air into him. Eventually he was able to take a few weak breaths but it wasn’t until an hour later that we heard his first cry.

I have been in emergency situations before in my nursing career, but it was comfortable knowing I could just call a code if any of my patients were struggling. Being in a remote clinic with just nurse Phoebe and myself, it was a bit terrifying yet exhilarating to know we pulled together to save this little ones’ life.  I couldn’t ask for anything more right now and I’m so glad I postponed my lunch date.  

Worlds Apart

The other day I was reading through a People magazine that my mom sent to me in a care package. I was reading a wonderful article about a woman who learned of school children in her community that went hungry over the weekends when they were not receiving subsidized or free meals at the school. I felt a kinship with this woman because much of what she does is what I am trying to do here in Kenya. She identified a need in her community and came up with a creative way to solve the issue.  I can think of so many times I had money left over at the end of the month from my nurses salary and didn’t do anything meaningful with it. I have much respect for this lady and what she is doing to help her fellow Americans.

That being said, I turned to the next page in the article which featured a picture of one of the families packing up their belongings in their house that was foreclosed. The caption reads “A family’s struggle.”  Amidst their belongings this family poses next to a pile of shiny toys, a 50 inch flat screen TV with sound system, and a second smaller TV. My mind flashed back to the picture I had constructed of the similarities between the charity work that I had in common with the woman in the article. Suddenly the similarities did not seem as in-line as I had previously thought. In my village most children survive on porridge for breakfast and Ugali (which is cornmeal and water cooked together to form a flavorless blob of carbohydrate) and some sort of boiled leafy greens (usually kale and spinach).  Secondly, the only people who own televisions are the incredibly rich and successful business owners. And the TVs that they own are what we Americans refer to as a “boob-tube.” It is a huge status symbol to say you can afford a 1980’s style chunky 12 inch screen television.

What it all boils down to is standard of living. In America a young person from any class can count on watching TV and Disney movies as a normal part of growing up. Families may struggle to pay rent or live in subsidized housing, but even in a homeless shelter one can count on electricity and running water. It is the glorious standard of living we have established in our country. Here in Kenya, the standard of living is a roof over one’s head. At one of my last youth group meetings there was a young man who just graduated from high school and achieved an A on his exit exam. This is the equivalent of achieving a very high score on the SAT. This boy spoke perfect English and could talk in depth about his passion for biology and HIV pharmaceutical development. He asked me if I knew about any sources of funding to help pay for college tuition. I said, of course, what’s your e-mail address. He replied “well, uh I don’t really have one.” He went on to tell me that he hadn’t learned to use a computer yet. Here may be one of the brightest minds in Kenya and he can’t even apply for colleges because he doesn’t know how to use a computer.

I applaud the people who are working to correct the disparities between the classes of Americans and uphold the standard of living we have established. My only hope is that one day there are enough dedicated Kenyans to help do the same for their own country. How they can get there is the puzzle I am trying to put together right now…

World Women's Day Event

March 8^th was the day for Women all around the world to celebrate how far we have come. Having lived as a 21^st century woman in America, it sometimes feels like going back in time living here in Kenya where women cannot own property and are purchased with a dowry. Recently an 18 year old girl in my community died and could not be buried in her family home because she was not married. Could you imagine losing a daughter and then having to bury her in a town several hours away just because she was not married?  On March 8^th, a group of Peace Corps volunteers and myself celebrated the empowerment of women in our World Women’s Day event.

We had over 200 registered women at the event, although I am sure there were over 300 who attended throughout the day. We tested 34 for HIV, gave out 100 reusable sanitary pads and over 600 free condoms. We set up booths to talk to the women about how to make the reusable sanitary pads, malaria prevention, how to make safe drinking water for their families, how to start a small business, and Family planning.  I gave out fertility necklaces to help women keep track of their cycle for a natural family planning method. There were times where I had so many women pushing up against my table to hear my speech or condom demonstrations that I almost couldn’t move. It was so inspirational to see these women gather together and support one another. This is what being a Peace Corps Volunteer is all about!

Snakes, Vaccinations, and Rain

Last week my school was taking midterm exams, so I took the week off also. On Wednesday I went on a community outreach with a few people from my clinic and we vaccinated over 50 babies and saw over a dozen expectant mothers.  I try to remember to bring snacks or a granola bar with me to outreaches like this because, as expected, we worked all day without a lunch break.  I take that back. We did stop briefly to drink a soda and eat some fried bread which any Kenyan will tell you is an acceptable lunch. Nevertheless, it was a long but successful day. We all came home exhausted.

Every Saturday Sister Tina and myself visit different community youth groups. We divide the group by age and Sister Tina talks about puberty with the younger kids, while I talk about relationships with the older kids.  Last Saturday we visited a village called Omundo and there was no road leading to the church, so we had to go off-roading through a corn field. It was a terrifying experience for me because Sister Tina is not the most skilled driver and we were literally out in the middle of nowhere. We made it and in the middle of our morning introductions several people ran outside. Pretty soon we realized what was going on… one of the youth members saw a black Mamba snake in the bushes outside and went to kill it. I have now discovered the snake that lives under my front door is also a black mamba; one of the most poisonous snakes here in Kenya. I had the pleasure of watching the 5 foot tall, 70lb Sister Tina smash the snakes head in while the other youth chopped off the end of the tail… which continued to writhe even after being chopped from the rest of the body. 

Sunday after church, I did my laundry by hand. Then swept my floor with the bundle of straw I call a broom. This was followed by several hours of cross stitching because since the rains have come I have cooler weather, overcast skies, and unfortunately very little solar powered electricity.  On the bright side I can start taking regular bucket baths now and I don’t have to wear my clothes twice before washing!