News from Kenya - #7

Journal Entry 7-Day 9

April 5, 2010 10.00PM

I stayed home all day today. I wasn’t feeling well. A woman named Jane Osodo came to wash my clothes. She is HIV+ and has three children, one in secondary and two in primary school, at home that she supports. She does tailoring but her shop was damaged during the post-election violence. She has reopened but her business has not picked back up. She mainly sews school uniforms. She is part of the Committed Friends Women’s group. She speaks pretty good English so we were able to chat. She came at 9.45AM and stayed until 6PM. I asked Rom what would be a fair amount to give her for her work and he said 500 KS ($6.00). I gave her 600 KS and she seemed truly thrilled to receive that amount. She is coming back tomorrow to finish up a few things. And she even ironed all the clothes using the coffee table as an ironing board.

David Osino, who I know from previous visits, came to see me about 10.15 AM. He works for a computer company with offices here in Kisumu and Nairobi. He was working in Kisumu during my previous visits and sometimes helped us out with computer problems. After the post-election violence in 2007-2008 his office in Kisumu temporarily closed. He went to Nairobi for additional computer training and tried to find another job. He had one all lined up but then he did not get the position because he is of the Luo tribe and in Nairobi most people are Kikuyu. It usually doesn’t make much difference but right after all the violence the two tribes were fighting and treated each other as enemies. Luckily he was able to get a position in Nairobi with the same company he had been working for in Kisumu. It is now a salaried position whereas before it was strictly commission. He explained that after the violence and losing his job he was having a very difficult time coping with life. He states he is doing OK now and feels much better. He lives in a very small one room place about 10’ x 7’. He states he likes it especially since it has a toilet (pit style) right in the room. He has pipes for tap water but they only turn the water on once a week. He fills up containers to last him for the week.

He traveled from Nairobi back to Kisumu for the Easter holiday and also to work on some of his company’s contracts here in Kisumu. We visited until about 2 PM. I felt bad that I wasn’t better company because I was feeling so poorly. I laid down after he left until Rom came about 3 PM. We were going to go to the Kisumu Museum. It is a tourist attraction and I’ve never been to it in all the times I’ve been here. He said he was taking the TV to be repaired and would be back around 4 PM. I went back to bed and never woke up until 6 PM. Jane was still here ironing and she said Rom waited over an hour for me to wake up. I said they should have called me but they didn’t want to disturb me. Again I felt sorry but I guess I needed the sleep.

Paul came over about 6.30 PM and brought a DVD of the winners of the 2002 high school and drama competition. We watched it for about 45 minutes. His students were scheduled to perform tomorrow-Tues.- but the organizers of the competition were informed that President Kibaki was coming to officiate at the competition Wed instead of Thursday so they moved all the competitors up a day. The winners will be announced tomorrow and President Kibaki will be able to watch the winning teams perform again while he is here on Wed. Paul’s students therefore performed today and I missed the performance. Paul was really hoping I could see them perform and I feel sad about missing it too. If they win the dance division maybe I will get to see them perform for the President. It would be like President Obama coming to Buffalo to see something. It is a very big deal.

Paul left about 7.30 PM and I spent some time entering notes from the interviews I did yesterday into the computer. About 8.30 I decided to play one of the movies I brought with me on my computer. I watched Losing Isaiah starring Halle Berry. It was very good. That brings me up to now.

Yesterday, Easter Sunday, after Mass we went to Usoma Village where Paul comes from. I’ve visited there each time I’ve come. Both wells that FIOH-USA funded in the village are working and providing clean water for the people. The area around the second well is building up. It used to be just a field. Now it has a store and two rows of apartment houses. It also has a vegetable garden.

When we arrived in the area there were only young children around. All the adults were still in church. I was surprised to see about 8 children – mainly aged 2-4 left alone with the oldest child age 10. He was washing dishes in a plastic pan. I asked Rom if it was safe to leave so many young children without adult supervision. He laughed and said, “These are African children” Most of the very young ones were afraid of me.

We walked over to the other end of the village where the first well is located (St. Patrick’s well). All the homes have been relocated and rebuilt due to the airport expansion. The houses are improved with 3 rooms each and plaster over the mud walls and plaster rather than dirt floors. FIOH-USA funded the relocation of the well as the airport refused to pay for that.

The adults arrived back after Mass and I interviewed several of the HIV+ women who participate in our transportation program.

(I’ll write more about that tomorrow, as I need to go to bed now.)

Tuesday April 6, 2010 10.15AM.

I slept well and had some breakfast. Jane is here ironing.

While I was at Usoma Village on Easter I met with 5 participants of our HIV/AIDS transportation program. One is only 12 years old, Stephen, a cousin of Paul’s who I’ve mentioned before. He stays with Paul and is in class 4. He has been + since birth and is doing better now that he is taking the ARV’s.

The others are 4 women. Anna and Jane Omedo are co-wives whose husband died of AIDS many years ago. Anna is very industrious and has initiated an informal support group among the women of Usoma with HIV. They have been meeting to discuss their problems and brainstorm about ways to improve their lives. They requested a dairy cow. They stated they would work together to care for the cow. They would use the milk to improve their own nutrition and have some to sell. I said I would talk to Rom about getting a cow. I also suggested getting chickens as they could sell the eggs and eventually eat the chickens when they get old or sell the offspring of the chicken. Paul suggested giving the five families involved 2 hens and one rooster each for a total cost of about $75.00. The women expressed that their chickens usually are stricken with illness about 2-3 times/yr and all die. Rom stated they need to be vaccinated. We will arrange to have the chickens vaccinated before we give them to the families. Rom says it is not very expensive and he knows someone who will do it. We will also have to assure ongoing vaccination for the offspring. Anna has had left leg and foot pain for several years. She has seen the health care staff at the clinic she attends to receive her ARV’s. She takes a mild pain killer without much relief. I think it is plantar fasciitis or a heel spur. I gave her some motrin to try for a week to see if it helps. I will show her some stretching exercises also.

Two of the women have bad teeth and active toothaches. I gave them each 500KS to travel to the dental clinic to be evaluated and treated. I will give them more for follow-up as needed. Jane, Paul’s aunt, the mom of Stephen, is only 27 yrs old. Her teeth are falling out. Her four front teeth are gone. I hope they can help her at the dentist to prevent further loss. I think dentures may be too expensive for FIOH-USA to fund.

I interviewed one student in form 3, Frederick Ogecha, sponsored by Bob Swiatek. He scored slightly below average on his first term and works very hard. He gets up at 4.30 every morning to study and rides his bike 20 minutes to school. He usually gets home about 7 or 7.30 PM. He needed new school shoes, a math set and a scientific calculator. I gave him 2200KS to purchase them (about 25 dollars).

We came home from Usoma village about 6 PM and Paul, Rom and I visited a while and they left before the rain came. It was a very different Easter Sunday for me.

I wrote some emails and Skyped my nephew Mike and his family, Debbie and Ryan (age 3) I was thrilled that it worked. I was able to hear them very well and though the picture was very blurry, I could tell who was who. They said they could see me very well. It’s amazing – all the way from Africa using a modem right here in the flat. It was very good to connect with my family. I miss everyone back home but am glad to be here trying to do some good.

End of Journal Entry 7