Days 1 & 2

Well, we have had almost 2 full days here in Migori at this point and it. is. GREAT.
Yesterday we had breakfast and then finally got to see the hospital we would be working at...St. Joseph's Mission Hospital. Josh began by giving us a tour and then we broke off into the departments we were interested in. The 4 wards include maternity, pediatric, surgical and general. Besides these, there are also outpatient clinics, including dental (the hospital has a relationship with a dental program in Sweden, so there are 2 new dentists from there every 5 weeks), eye clinic (they recommend patients to the other hospital in Migori for eye surgery) and HIV clinic, as well as a lab, pharmacy, pre-natal/post-natal unit and birthing unit.

We are able to wander to whatever area needs a hand. Right now, there are 23 of us volunteers, so it is a little crowded. Yesterday, the hospital was a bit slow and we were not sure how the system quite worked yet, so we were a little concerned about having enough to do. But today was much better...we were more comfortable, the doctors recognized us and there was more action. The key here is to ask questions and then the doctors are more than happy to explain things or let you get involved.
 Yesterday, Allie and I started in the HIV clinic. This is free to the public and some come from as far as Mombasa (straight east of here, on the coast) for treatment and check-ups. We began by helping them transfer information to their new charting system and then we sat in on a handful of consultations. The hardest part is that almost everyone speaks Swahili, so we are able to understand general situations by observing body language, gestures, tones and emotions, but for the most part, well...its gibberish to us. It was such a treat when a patient would speak english! (most people here know some because they have english in primary school, but they have 80+ tribal dialects and those are the go-to languages). The hospital is a lot more advanced than I expected. They have computer charting for outpatient and they have incubators, x-ray machines, ultrasound machines, etc. However, there is hardly any privacy - definitely no HIPAA here - all the patients are in one big open room, no curtains, no waiting rooms and some of the attention to detail/urgency we see in the US is lacking.

After lunch yesterday, we got to take a walk through town. It is actually a pretty large town, lined with markets, produce stands and clothing stores. There are no sidewalks, just dirt walkways on the side of the road. There are herds of cattle, chickens, goats and dogs everywhere. Not to mention the people. It was packed! There were people selling food, working in the shops, begging, walking, controlling their herds, sitting, playing, everything under the sun. But one thing was for sure...they were all looking at us like we were the most unusual things they had ever seen. In fact, Kenyans call us "mizungu," which means "white people" but also means "foreign/odd." 
This scene was what I was expecting, and even craving, when choosing to come here. It is not that I want the poverty that goes along with it to exist, but it is just the simple way of life and sense of community here that is so refreshing and exhilarating.

walk from hotel to town (about 2 minutes)

bridge in the village

view of the main street in town

walking down the main street in town

bean vendors

DINNER. Needless to say, I lost my appetite for chicken.

Today, we started with rounds in the peds unit, which was just a huge mix of emotions. Almost every kid had malaria and complications (Sickle cell is so prevalent here because it is an adaptation to prevent malaria). There were infections, edema, restlessness, fevers, the list goes on and on. The hardest part of the whole day was when we got to a bed in the back corner. The child looked like he was just sleeping at first, but when the doctor tried to wake him up, he was not responding. The doctor was pulling up hi eyelids and tapping his sternum so hard that a wave of cold sweats came over me. All 3 of us girls in the room had a very bad feeling for a minute...and then finally, he responded. But barely. This child was in a full coma yesterday after having unexplained convulsions. The only way to get my mind off of the situation was to look at the bed across the room at the little girl with the most beautiful smile I think I have ever seen. She would laugh and give a thumbs up every time we made eye contact. It is just so confusing to have so much joy and yet so much suffering within the same 4 walls.
After rounds, Jaclyn, Allie and I made friends with 3 little girls...and eventually almost every mother from the pediatric ward. They are all fascinated by our hair and pet it every chance they get. One mother even asked me if I wanted to trade. They also think that we sound funny and laugh at just about everything we say (or attempt to say). So we sat out in the hallway of the peds ward and sang songs, learned swahili words, let them pet our hair, try on our jewelry and make fun of the way we talk. haha :)

our 3 friends outside of the peds ward

women & children from peds ward

After the peds ward, I spent some time in the dental clinic. I didn't feel like getting too hands-on with the tooth-pulling or novocaine-injecting situation at the moment, but I did observe, play with the kids waiting to get treated and learn how they make prosthetic teeth. The kids both here and in the peds ward were all champs. Took medicines and got teeth pulled with hardly any fuss.

dental clinic

kids who had already been seen and given toothbrushes

Then it was lunchtime, so we headed back to the hotel, waited an hour+ (per ush) and then had the best meal yet. So far, it has been carbs on carbs on carbs. Almost every meal is chicken and either rice or potatoes. It is good, but today we got some curried vegetables, spiced rice and naan! It was the talk of the afternoon.
After lunch, we went to the school a couple of miles away. The kids ranged from "baby class" all the way to 5th and there was another school across the field with some kids a bit older. They all performed songs and dances as an introduction and then we finally got to play! This is the BEST part of these trips. The kids just swarm you and hold your hands. They are so shy at first, but always respond with a huge smile (and then usually a giggle over your question, since apparently it sounds like we are holding our noses when we talk). But, the part that made me feel conflicted was watching the excitement on the kids faces and hearing the cheers as the teacher held up the toothbrushes and used clothes that our groups had brought for them. These were given to the school as a whole and would later be distributed to students. It was just hard to watch them show so much gratitude for things that kids in the US would likely not even appreciate. And each student would most likely get only one item, but they were just ecstatic that their community was being acknowledged and cared for.

schoolyard

students during their performances

they LOVE taking pictures

We played with the kids for about an hour and then had to get going because the rain was coming. We definitely caught a chuck of the rain storm...funny how things that are such an inconvenience at home are actually enjoyable here. Can't really beat walking through the pouring rain in muddy sandals while kids fight to hold your hands and are singing songs all around you while you walk down the middle of the road. And People don't run inside to avoid getting wet. The women stay at their produce stands, the elderly keep walking, the kids keep playing, the men keep working.

group walking back to our hotel in the rainstorm

Anyways, now we are back at the hotel, doing the usual...playing cards, waiting for dinner and listening to the mosque's prayer chants. A few people are not feeling well, so the rest of us are eating magic biscuits and drinking a Tusker, sweet nectar of health!
 It was a great day...much better now that we are adjusting to the setup and environment...excited to see what tomorrow brings.