News from Kenya - #1

Journal entry 1- traveling to Kenya and day 1

March 27 2010, 7.40 AM

I am sitting in the office/apartment of FIOH-KENYA. My trip here was very safe and I did not have any problems. ALL my luggage arrived in Nairobi. I got my Kenyan visa without hesitation and I caught my 8.00AM flight from Nairobi to Kisumu on time. Rom and Paul met me at the airport.

WOW all your prayer is truly with me- Thank You! Please keep them up.

I had a 12-hour layover at Heathrow airport in England. Abby White, an amazing young woman from Oxford England met me at Heathrow about 7AM. Abby is almost blind secondary to Retinal blastoma (RB) a rare childhood cancer affecting young children from birth up to about 8 years of age. Most cases are Dx by age three and affect only one eye. It is totally curative if diagnosed early, but once it becomes visible to the casual observer it is usually too late to save the child’s life. The easiest way to discover the cancer is to take a flash picture of your young child every month in low light. If the pupils show red, they are healthy. If one of the pupils appears white it is most likely that a Retinal Blastoma tumor is present and the child should be evaluated and treated immediately. It is usually necessary to remove the eye. Abby is the volunteer CEO of an organization called daisy fund dedicated to raising awareness of RB and other childhood cancers. She travels all over the world giving presentations and raising funds. Abby and I traveled by bus to Oxford (about 80 minutes). We walked and walked around and viewed some of the highlights including Christ Church, Radcliff Camera and many university buildings. It is a quaint beautiful VERY OLD city. Mike Thomas from Swindon, England, (about 30 minutes from Oxford), met us at 10.30 AM and we walked around some more, talked and saw the sights. We had lunch at “the Vault” near Christ Church. It is a small restaurant that has a commitment to serve food grown or raised within 50 miles. Everything was very fresh and seasoned delicately. We discussed Mike’s new book. Countdown. It is soon to be released. The first half talks about the problems humankind has caused harming the Earth and the second half suggests actions that can be taken to address these wrongs. Mike is the coordinator of FIOH-UK and also manages the main website of FIOH in an attempt to unite all the branches.

Abby traveled with me back to Heathrow and we sadly said our goodbyes. It was wonderful to spend time with both of them. I had expected to be sitting around Heathrow airport for 12 hours, so this was a welcome opportunity.

I boarded my flight to Nairobi without incident. I was sitting next to a man from Johannesburg and a woman from Botswana. We all shared a little bit. It makes the world seem smaller. I was able to sleep several hours on the plane. I fell asleep as soon as the plane began to taxi for take-off. I don’t even remember the take-off. I didn’t sleep at all on the flight from NY to London so I was very tired. I arrived in Nairobi at 6 AM and quickly obtained my Kenyan Visa and proceeded to get my luggage. Both my bags were there- a far cry from 2007 when I didn’t receive one of my two suitcases until three weeks later and much of my stuff was missing.

I caught my 8.00AM flight to Kisumu and Rom and Paul met me at the Kisumu airport. It was so good to see them again and they are so welcoming.

We went to the office/flat where I stay and dropped off all my things and had a cup of Kenyan tea and talked briefly.

We walked the short distance to Barclays bank and I was successful in using my Bankcards to withdraw funds for myself and FIOH-USA- that was a relief.

Rom and Paul both had to return to the schools where they teach so Rom called his 22-year-old daughter Julie to come and go shopping with me and assist me in carrying back supplies. She is hoping to go to college in Britain. She graduated from Secondary school in 2006 and has taken some computer courses and is taking a certificate course in English to better qualify her for a scholarship. She has an exam shortly and has to travel to Nairobi for the test. She is anxious about it. I think her English is quite good.

Julie and I went across the street to the Nakumatt Plaza and I purchased basic food and cleaning supplies for my stay including bottled water. I brought a special water bottle with me from home. It was recommended at the place where I got my travel shots. It has a filter that is supposed to make water safe anywhere in the world. I am using the tap water in the flat in that bottle and drinking it when I am home for now. I hope it really works and I don’t get sick. It will save money if I can use less bottled water and it is better for the environment. My credit card was accepted for payment (another relief) The Nakumatt is the only place where I can regularly use the credit card. It is good as I don’t have to carry around so much cash.

After shopping I was alone in the flat and began to unpack and try to get organized. Paul came back to the flat about 6.30 PM and said we were going to meet Rom and the two volunteers from the UK, that are leaving tomorrow, at the Chinese restaurant nearby (The only one in Kisumu and more upscale than most of our Chinese restaurants).

I really enjoyed talking with Joanna, a nurse, and her sister Joy from the UK and Oda from the local Buburi health center, while we ate dinner. Joanna and Joy had just spent a week at the center working very hard to assist the many villagers that come for treatment. They see about 100 patients/day-mainly for testing and treatment of malaria but also for other ailments. There is no doctor affiliated with the health center and they refer to a nearby hospital if further treatment is needed. However most cannot afford the treatment. Joanna gives as much money as she can for the emergency treatments. She also pays the staff salaries and funds basic medicinal supplies for the center. I will be traveling to Buburi later in my stay and visiting the center and helping with treatments especially for individuals with joint and muscle problems.

Oda came back to the flat after dinner and stayed overnight. We talked for quite awhile but I was very tired after my trip and the time changes so about 11.00 PM I excused myself and went to bed. It was a very full first day.

End of Journal Entry 1