I officially signed up to come to Africa back in October
after weeks and weeks of researching different programs. For years I’ve been
interested in volunteering in Africa and I looked into it a few different
times, but the cost of programs always kept me away. Not only is it like at
least $2000 to volunteer, but then the cost of flights, visas, and vaccinations
just amounted to too much. This year, I decided no matter what, it was
important enough to me that even if I needed to spend all of my savings, I
would go to Africa. Eventually I found and chose Medics to Africa, an
organization that sets up volunteers in hospitals around Kenya, Tanzania and
Uganda, and after much convincing of my dad, I signed up! In the end, my
parents ended up funding my trip here, and I can’t even find the words to thank
them. I feel so lucky to be so incredibly loved and supported.
Apart from actually signing up and researching, the trip
required a lot more preparation than I’m used to. Over the past few months, we
(and by we I mean primarily my dad) has been sending out for my visa, finding
travel insurance, and arranging various doctor’s appointments. Packing in
itself was a mess; I ended up bringing two suitcases plus a massive carry on.
When Thursday finally rolled around, I figured I was more than prepared.
Getting to Africa was the longest process ever. We booked
flights out of New York since it saved us close to $700, then I flew from JFK to Paris, had a three hour layover, then
flew from Paris to Nairobi. All in all, I was travelling for a total of 25
hours. I’ve never travelled so far in my life let alone by myself, so needless
to say I was a hot mess before I boarded the plane. I was bawling for a good
two hours before I boarded, but less because I was scared and more because I was
really going to miss my family and I was so grateful to them for sending me on
this amazing trip.
After the 25 hours and a few sleeping pills, I finally
arrived here in Africa. After grabbing my bags and going through customs (which
was the biggest joke of my life), I walked out to a massive crowd waiting to
pick up family, friends, or people with their organization, so it took me a
good 5 minutes to find the driver for Medics to Africa. Even though I wasn’t
permanently staying in Nairobi, since I got in so late at night (8:30 Africa
time), they provided a house for any volunteers that came in to stay overnight
until we could make the drive in the morning. I expected to be one of the only
ones in the house, but little did I know there were ELEVEN other people
arriving the same day as myself! They all came together, so although at first
it was way overwhelming to be the only one alone in our group, everyone was so
welcoming and I quickly got adjusted.
The house in Nairobi was beautiful and huge, and I felt
completely spoiled before roughing it here in Migori. The two women of the house,
Judy and Stellah, were awesome cooks as well, so we had really great meals
there at the house. It’s kind of nerve wracking to eat and drink here, because
the water is potentially pretty contaminated, meaning any fruit or vegetables
that have been washed as well we can’t eat. It’s not too bad since they always
do have food that we can eat, it’s just very limited.
Another volunteer ended up coming on Saturday night as well,
so instead of having our drivers make the long drive out to Migori twice in a
row, we decided to wait until Sunday to leave and spent all of Saturday in
Nairobi! The first part and easily most exciting part of our day was visiting
the giraffe reserve, where we got to feed and kiss giraffes (yeah, this
seriously exists). We sat through a little presentation and learned a ton about
giraffes – who knew there was more than one type? And that their tongues act as
antiseptics?? The rest of the day, we had a baby tour around Nairobi in our
official group vans. We saw things like the President’s house, the city center
and park, and Parliament buildings. The city here is so different from any city
at home, and contrasts so much to what is going on here in Migori. We ended the
day with our very first (and not homemade) Kenyan meal, which was pretty good!
I just got chicken, but one girl on our trip got goat and found a clump of hair
still stuck on the meat. Apparently a theme here, since today one of the guys
found feathers still on his chicken. Needless to say, I’m starting to eat less
and less and avoid the meat – one girl here calls it her Kenyan diet. Although
it was a really informative day and we had a lot of fun, it was definitely the
hardest day so far. I really missed family and the adjustment time was rough,
but it’s definitely gotten better as I’ve gotten to know everyone here a little
better.
Eddy, the giraffe
Feeding Eddy...
Kissin Eddy!
City of Nairobi!
First and very typical Kenyan meal... chicken, potatoes, and cabbage/veggie mix
Our second full day was our trip to Migori! Migori is a
small town with a total of 35,000 people near the Tanzanian border and Lake
Victoria. It was a total of an eight hour drive including three short stops;
needless to say we were all pretty restless by the end of our drive. However
the drive to Migori was incredible. Kenya is a beautiful country with so much
richness to it, but it’s also so filled with poverty. Our last stop was at a
market which was actually pretty modernized, however we all had to go to the
bathroom and found out the toilet was not really a toilet… it was a hole in the
ground. Not one of my finer or cleaner moments, but I figured if we can survive
that the rest of this trip really can’t be too bad. We finally arrived in
Migori at 7:00 last night and instead of moving right into the house like we
expected, they put us in a hotel two minutes away from the hospital. The room
is easily the smallest I’ve ever been in and it’s obviously not suited to international
visitors. There is no sort of barrier from the bathroom to our bedroom and the
shower has no curtain or any sort of barrier from the toilet or sink, which is
all really bizarre. Conditions could definitely be worse but it’s obviously not
the kind of hotel/accommodations I’m used to. The reason we can’t stay in the house
is because besides the 13 of us that are here, there are 10 other people
staying in the house through the program. They came over to hang out in the bar
of our hotel last night so we got the chance to meet a few of them and hear
about what the hospital was like! Almost all of them we met are from Canada.
One thing I was surprised about in our group is that almost everyone has either
graduated from a program or working on a med school degree; I’m the only
undergrad and the baby of the group by far, but it really hasn’t made a
difference in my time here. It’s actually pretty great to have some nurses and
other healthcare people to learn from and ask questions of!
One of the stunning pictures of the Great Rift Valley
Baboon friends on the side of the road
Finally, today we started on our real everyday routine here
in Migori, waking up for breakfast at 7:30AM and making it to the hospital by
8AM. We volunteer at Saint Joseph’s
Mission Hospital, which is a pretty big hospital for such a small town and has
a ton of departments including maternity, ICU, x-ray, eye clinic, dental
clinic, and physical therapy. We started with orientation, but then I quickly
found my way into the Pediatric Ward (of course). Most of the kids there are
infected with either Malaria, Typhoid, or HIV, although most of the kids have
been malaria so far. First, we spent the mornings doing rounds, where the
doctor literally just goes from bed to bed to see every kid there. The ward is
really different from any hospital floors in America because all of the beds
are in one room with no barriers between them. It ends up being a really
interesting environment, because many of the parents take part in doing care
for their child, but then they also help out each other and it seems to become
a really nice environment. I was just surprised how involved parents are since
they end up doing a lot of things that nurses are usually responsible for like flushing
an NG tube (feeding tube) or prepping their child when he seizes. I didn’t
realize, but most of the ailments that kids present with are treatable, so many
of the kids in the ward were very active and running around, which was nice to
see. The most intense kid they saw today
they diagnosed with a coma, however he was responsive to a sternal rub and
looked more like he was seizing than anything; it was the first time I saw a
really sick kid which was kind of scary but also really interesting to observe.
Rounds were cool but difficult to sit through because most of the time, the
doctors, nurses, and patients only spoke Swahili… and obviously I don’t speak
Swahili. They tried to explain some things to us, but a lot of things were also
lost in translation.
Generally I was really impressed with the hospital’s
advancement in terms of supplies and technology. They had computers in all
outpatient wards and were able to send orders/information from department to
department. On the other hand, I feel like the education is lacking more than
anything. Such important things we learn in the US like hand washing or sterile
technique I don’t think are taught as much here. Either way, the morning at peds
was really interesting and I’m excited to spend the next few days there! None
of the Migori residents are used to seeing white people around, so all of the
moms and children think it’s hilarious whenever we speak or do basically
anything. The kids call us “mizuku” which means white people, and will pinch
their noses with their fingers when they see us because apparently that’s how
we sound when we speak. Despite this they really aren’t mean to us, they’re so
excited and playful whenever we interact. Everyone here is so friendly and
welcoming!
This afternoon, we went into the town of Migori to do some
shopping (mostly for water) and also just see what’s around. It’s amazing and
completely what I’d expect of a town over here; lots of outdoor markets and
sales and everyone is outside with their families and friends. Although the
resources here are so poor, the quality of life of the villagers seems so
simple but fulfilled. It’s really such a different environment, but I’m
enjoying my time so far and looking forward to the next few weeks here! Check
back for updates and thanks for reading! I promise they won’t be so long next
time :)
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