My mind is like a circus....

So it's been almost 2 weeks.  I like to describe my days as happening very slow but going by very fast.  Everything takes so long to accomplish that your days go by so quickly (getting to town, using an internet cafe's slow network where the power shuts down sporadically, printing papers out in a print shop using a xerox machine from the early 90s, having to charge my phone at a shop, and working with what locals have defined as "African time").  I am still happy to be doing this, it's just a lot of work.  At least I appreciate the conveniences of the structure and access to resources back at home much more. It's good to have these reminders in your life - to keep you grounded.

Public Health students - what we will do to gain experience and prove our worthiness to the cause!!!

Positive note
We are moving along.  We have identified and trained 9 interviewers (people from the community of Kokech) to administer the health survey and we have given them their catchment area.  The training went well...well, I think it did, since most of it was in a different language!  I kept wondering what the actual translation of my words were. The role-play was fun.

We delivered the medical supplies to Nyando District Hospital and met some interesting people.  One of the administrators and I are going to meet next week to talk more specifically about long-term sustainable goals they hope to achieve.  The hospital didn't even have any electricity until a year ago.  Parts of it still don't.

I am going to Nairobi on Wednesday to pick up sanitary bags for the school girls in the village.  There will be about a 100 kits.  This way they don't have to miss school when they have their period.

I'm working with a teacher at the local primary school to coordinate 2 things: 1. handing out disposable cameras to primary school students so they can do a little art project; 2. a Kokech village relay for the kids where they have to run a race to win the medals I brought with me.  It will be about 3km long and involves some silly shenanigans along the way (hopping, balancing a book on their heads, etc.).

Frustrations
Everyone wants to get paid for this survey. Trying to motivate people to volunteer their time towards to overall improvement of their community is challenging.  I kind of expected this to be the case, but you feel it more when you are on the ground and confronted by it. I think there is a culture in which NGOs, non-profits, and religious groups come to Africa, hand out money and put in place poorly designed projects that have no chance of sustainability, so people automatically expect something.  This survey is literally supposed to take a week and no one wants to do the work unless their is some financial incentive. Interviewers and respondents are going to receive incentives as I think is fair, but there needs to be a line drawn.

Miscellaneous
Matatu update - so they don't go 50-60 mph, it's about 80-90 mph.  The other day I literally felt up an older man (unintentionally) because I had nowhere to put my hands.  The matatus are 12-seaters and I counted 22 people.  And today I literally thought I was going to die as the driver was swerving to and from oncoming traffic, passing the slow cars and the potholes.  Don't ride in the front seat if you want peace of mind.

Modern meets traditional - there is an interesting mix of modern/western culture and traditional culture.  It's so strange and kind of cool.  The only problem is modern public health practices have not yet made their way to the rural parts.  So plastic water bottles and trash are literally everywhere.  In fact, in some places they burn the trash including the plastic bottles and the smell is pretty intense - it smells like carcinogens to be precise.  On a good note, I saw volunteers working to pick up trash just today.

Secrets kill
Another woman in the village died recently and her body was brought back to the village yesterday. She was the mother to young children under 10. There are a lot of deaths that are defined as someone who was "chronically ill" and I am being led to believe in many of these cases it more specifically translates to HIV/AIDS. As I talked to a couple locals, I find that HIV/AIDS is still such a sensitive issue that people don't really tell you when someone dies due to AIDS.  You have to really investigate.  On Sunday, there will be a funeral for a man from the village who also died due to HIV/AIDS. He left behind a 14-year old son who I have come to know quite well over the past week. It's pretty sad and common in this area.

Back to the issue of HIV/AIDS, apparently it is still common belief in the village that it is a result of witchcraft.  Hopefully the surveys will give us actual evidence (not just anecdotes) of what the current beliefs are regarding HIV.

Two weeks to go!!!

=)