Going to Tanzania to visit Jeremy Sherr's AIDs clinics was a large part of my reason to head to Africa.  I studied with him 2000-2004 in Denver and also a bit when he taught in Minneapolis.  I've been following his blog, jeremysjournalfromafrica.blogspot.com and the work he's doing is amazing. 

He is asking for a three month commitment if you want to work in his clinics, plus you have to support yourself and support a translator.  So I wanted to see the set-up before making such a long commitment.

So tomorrow very early I'll get on a bus for the 13 hour bus ride to Dar es Salaam.  Now it is not 13 hours going 70 mph on smooth, safe highways.  It is 13 hours on bumpy, potholed, corduroy roads.  Often 30 mph is going fast.  And animals on the bus (chickens and a kitten yesterday traveling from Kakamega to Nairobi).  With venders piling onto the bus at every stop to sell peanuts, pineapple, socks, watches, locks, pens, purses, shirts, wallets, roasted corn (on a pitchfork affair, very creative), audio tapes, CDs, booklets, water, sodas, fried bread, etc.  They push their products in your face, tap on the window, open your window and push the products in--a madhouse. It certainly is an adventure.

But if I had wanted an easy trip, I would have stayed in the US.

Speaking of which, there is such a strong desire to come to the States with Africans.  So many have schemes and plans how to do it.  The public internet cafe computers get many pop-up messages advertising how to get a green card/work permit.  And some of the African homeopaths I've worked with have registered for the State Department lottery for work permits.

I tell the Kenyans to stay here, make a success of their lives here.  Which I truly believe is the best thing for them.  I've seen so many Africans come to the US and the pace of life, the lack of family, the anonymity, the racism and the cold weather really wear them down.  It can be very sad to see.

Often I've been chatted up by Kenyans who rather quickly ask for my contact information.  I don't give it out.  I tell them my government does not allow US citizens to sponsor foreigners to come to the US.  I think that is true, but it is also a good way to stop that conversation immediately.  It can get a bit wearing to be on the defensive all the time.

I will be ready to come home in a week.  It will be nice to sleep in my own bed, take a hot shower, drive my car, speak English with native English speakers and eat American food.  I mostly miss pizza, which is strange because at home I may eat pizza once a month at most.  But we walked by an (expensive!) pizza place today in downtown Nairobi and the smell of baking pizza was almost irresistable.  Perhaps I'm missing the thought of pizza more than the actual food.  Or the easy availability of it (not pizza delivery here).

More later.....

About the third or fourth day here in Kenya I developed a very strange fear.  The guest house I was staying in at Kibwese had bath/shower combination in the room, called “self-contained.”  As I was getting ready to take a shower and latching the door to keep it closed, I thought, “I hope I don’t get locked in here and someone toss a firebomb into here—I’d burn to death.” 

That was a startling thought, I had no idea where it came from as I’ve never worried about something like that happening.

The thought appeared several more times over several days, always as I was going into an enclosed, cement block room.  All the buildings here seem to be brick or cement block, there really isn’t a domestic timber industry for homebuilding here plus termites would make quick work of any wooden structure.

Several days later I was chatting with the practitioners at the clinic in Kambi Mawe near Wote about the post-election troubles in Kenya in December, 2007.  About 1300 people died in the troubles and the leaders of the death squads, many who apparently are in the cabinet or upper echelons of the current government, may be tried at the international court of The Hague in the Netherlands.

The practitioners mentioned that many of the deaths were from people being herded into homes or churches and the buildings set afire.  They said that many people now have a very high fear of that happening to them, even though the troubles have settled down.

So apparently I picked up on that fear. 

Hmmmm.

After our conversation, I seem to have let the fear go.  It was a bit spooky.

I’m in Kericho now in western Kenya till Saturday.  It is the tea country, fields and fields of tea plantations.

Tea has to be entirely picked by hand.  I had not really been aware of that.  Then it is processed.  We will tour a tea factory tomorrow.  I hope to find a place to buy local tea.  As much as I love tea, wouldn't that be great.

Yesterday, Tuesday, Feb. 17, was a free clinic in Kericho, the main reason I came here.

Last week the free clinic drew over 150 people, about half could not been seen.  Six Canadian volunteers worked that clinic doing acupuncture only.  The people not seen were asked to come back this week.

So we had three practitioners working this free clinic, about 70 people showed up and we saw about 50.  I saw 22, including 11 children.  The nutritional status of people here is quite good, no overt nutritional deficiencies.  We worked straight from 9 a.m. to 6:30, with about 15 minutes for lunch. 

It is intense to take cases so fast.  I was very grateful for my computer analysis program, which saves a lot of time.  With children you may not have very many symptoms to go on, you look at the most obvious ones and go with the most relevant remedy.  And mostly all of the children would come in, need to be seen, then the mom would ask for help.  So the whole family, except for the dad, would get help.

I also was very grateful for my translator.  He did a nice job of filling in my knowledge of malaria and typhoid.  And helping with one lady who simply could not speak loud enough for me to hear her.  Kenyans in general are very soft spoken.  And my ears, which are equivalent to those of an average 70 year old because of hearing loss, simply cannot make out enough of what several people were saying.  I had to call in the translator after requesting that this lady speak louder twice, she just was not able to turn up her volume. 

Lots of chest complications from the wood or charcoal cooking fires--mostly juicy coughs. 

Frequent stomach problems, often for parasites.  We don't have a lab in Kericho to run tests to see what parasites, but the remedy is often quite obvious from the symptoms. 

One lady asked for help with her vision, she was 46 and could not see newspaper print very well anymore.  The vision changes had taken place over the last 2-3 years.  I had to deliver the news that her condition, presbyopia, or the vision changes that take place in EVERYONE in the world about age 42-48, could not be helped with any remedy.  I pointed to my glasses and said I had experienced the same changes in my eyesight.  So we both had a laugh.

Also elderly gentlemen with prostate problems.  Quite charming older gentlemen, in fact.  Who tell me they prefer coming to "the white doctor."  The Kenyan practitioner here is very good and I tell them so.  But there is a higher trust of whites in the health care area.  If the word gets out that a white doctor is on the premises, more people come in.  Which negates the point of doing a free clinic--to increase the business of this clinic.

Yesterday we set up appointments (not free!) for people to return in two to four weeks to assess how they have done on their remedies.  It remains to be seen if they will return.  It is a hard transition to go from receiving services free to having to pay for those same services.  But if they are getting good results, that will help.  My concern is that they will continue to come to the free clinics to follow up rather than paying for the follow up appointments.  One man who came in last week for the acupuncture clinic came in for this free clinic yesterday for the same ailment, HIV-related digestive problems.  I gave him a remedy for digestion and will leave it to the local practitioner to deal with the issue of free vs. paid follow ups.

Weather:  Cool, 60s in the morning, hot, 80s during the day.  And blazing hot sun. I forgot to pack my hat but have been careful about not being out in the midday sun. 

I’ve been here five days and it has been a very good five days.  The first day was getting oriented, getting acquainted with the African staff and seeing what they want done.

I have been in two clinics, one in Kibwesi, on the road between Nairobi and Mombasa.  We saw patients on Saturday and had some interesting cases.  There is a lot of chronic malaria, chronic typhoid and chronic brucellosis, which people get from drinking unpasteurized  cow’s or goat’s milk.  The interesting about the chronic brucella is that I had it as a child and I vividly remember the joint pain that wandered. 

I have not had a relapse for many, many years.  But I’ve had the advantage of no other chronic ailments plus good nutrition and living conditions.  These all certainly contribute to good health.

We take so much for granted.  Like a good internet connection.  I’m at a clinic near Wote, which is south and east of Nairobi.  The town has two internet cafes.  One is faster, 2 Kenya Shillings per minute, about 3 cents.  But its connection was completely down, so after waiting over 30 minutes, we headed to another internet café, slower, much slooooower, at 1 KS per minute.  But only half of the computers are working and online.  So I waited for a computer.  What might have taken less than an hour has taken over half the afternoon.

But if I wanted efficiency, I would have stayed in the States.

Being observed, stared at, watched where ever I go is odd.  No blending into the background if you are the only white face around.  I remember that feeling from when I lived in West Africa, Ghana, as a teen.  My dad taught at the University of Ghana and I took my first year of university there. 

There are many similarities, Kenya to Ghana.  The man at the first internet café commented that “I didn’t eat all of my money” which meant he didn’t spend all his earnings.  That is a comment I’ve heard in Ghana, on the other side of the continent. 

So far in Kenya, it doesn’t look so much like Ghana, but we have been in the semi-arid highlands.  In Ghana we were in the capitol city, Accra, on the humid seacoast. 

Mombasa, on the coast in Kenya, sounds like it is much like Accra. 

Thank for your comments.  I will attempt to post this in larger type. 

Best wishes,

Marybeth