Nilda's visit

For the past week we have had Tim's mom, Nilda, visting with us here in Nairobi.  We have had a busy week taking in many local sights.

We have visited the Giraffe Centre and Kazuri Beads.  We spent Kenyatta Day (Kenyan National holiday) on safari at Nairobi National Park.  We went to the animal orphanage and had the rare privilege of holding a 3 week old baby cheetah.


We have enjoyed an international menu:  Indian food at Diamond Plaza (which included Nilda's first taste of goat), Kenyan food prepared by Cathy, soup at the Lord Errol fund-raiser for New Dawn School, pizza at home.


 Despite our Kenyan adventures, we have also had time to sit on the deck and watch the rain (amid the clothes drying).  The Kenyans have said that Nilda's visit is a blessing because she has brought rain with her.  We have had 4 nights of rain since her arrival and we believe that the rainy season has finanlly arrived.  We can not say that the drought is over though...... that remains to be seen.

Turkey! Turkey!

On Sunday October 12 we hosted a Canadian Thanksgiving.  Seventeen Canadians swapping stories of home was a great afternoon.   
I was able to locate a turkey for a mere 500 shillings per kg (about $3.50 per pound).  Unlike last year, I was prepared this year:  I brought a foil roasting pan and an oven bag from Canada and also summer savoury, poultry seasoning, napkins, decorations.  Last year's turkey took 9 hours to roast.  So this year, I roasted it the day before (in case there was no electricty on Sunday).  This year it only took 6 hours to roast and even smelled like a real turkey!  Others brought cranberry sauce, dressing, brocoli salad, sweet potatoe pie, chocolate pie, pumpkin cheescake, and enough mashed potatoes to sink a ship.


We are still full!

Korean BBQ - Sep 25, 2009

Rosslyn Academy has a number of students from Korea (about 14 % of the student body). Many are sons and daughters of missionaries that have been sent from Korea to Africa. Others are here living with relatives for the purpose of learning English. There are two Korean teachers on staff. Students (of all cultures) have the option of taking Korean language classes from Grade 6 onward.
[Photo]The Korean families are very grateful for the support offered to the Korean students and every year they provide a special meal to thank the teachers of Rosslyn. This Korean BBQ offers a very spicy kuchumbari (tomatoes and onions), kimbob (similar to Japanese sushi), fish sticks, zucchini pancakes, pumpkin noodles, and beef strips. Some teachers claim this is the best day of the school year.
[Photo]The Korean parents also entertain the teachers with information about Korea's country[Photo] and culture. This year there was a special treat -- a Korean fashion show. Several people modeled tradition[Photo]al Korean dress.

We were very surprised to see Tim as one of the models! Along with the boys' swim coach, Suzanne, Tim displayed traditional Korean wedding attire. His pink pants were quite shocking, especially with his electric orange jacket.

Mji Wa Huruma Part 1: The People

After we returned to Nairobi in August, Lisa began volunteering for a “medical dispensary” in a nearby slum. Huruma is a community of 4000 people living in small cardboard and metal shacks just 3 minutes from campus. It is in the neighbourhood called Runda and came into existence in the late 1970s when the Kenyan people were displaced to build large homes owned by wealthy politicians and business owners. The people living in Huruma now work as guards, gardeners, house keepers, and nannies for the families living in those large homes.

In recent years, a school and a health clinic were created in order to provide service to the people living in Huruma. The health clinic is accountable to the Nairobi City Council and Kenya’s Ministry of Health. Some of the salaries and some of the supplies are provided by the government, but this is inadequate for the needs of the community. The clinic survives because of private donations. Each client pays 20 shillings (about 25 cents) to be assessed and treated.Robert is a “Clinical Officer” at the clinic. He has 4 years of university education but he is not a doctor. To become a medical doctor is a different 4 year program. Robert works 5 days a week and assesses approximately 50 people each day (half of them children under 5 years old). The most common diagnoses are pneumonia, Upper Respiratory Infections, and diarrhea with some dehydration. This week we also saw a few cases of malaria, chickenpox, burns, infected wounds, and jiggers.

There are two nurses on staff (paid through the donations of individuals). Edith (at top) and Jen (right) do things that nurses in Canada would be shocked to see. They each have a 2 year certificate that allows them to be called “Registered Nurses”. They could continue their nursing education and gain a diploma or a degree. In this photo Jen is making swabs (like QTips) from cotton wool -- not as easy as you'd think! Josephine is a third nurse employed by the Ministry. She has a diploma in nursing and is paid 37,000 shillings per month. This is approximately equal to $525 Canadian Dollars per month and is a coveted salary. Josephine is on a 5 month leave right now because she has not been allowed to take any vacation for the past 5 years. She drops by the clinic occasionally.


Lucy works at the clinic as a cleaner. Lucy tries to keep the cement floors and counter tops clean. It is a never-ending job because of the dust everywhere. Lack of rain means that every breeze brings large volumes of dust into the clinic. The sheets hanging on the windows help to keep some dirt away but the screens are now looking very dirty (no glass in windows).
Ruth’s job is to register each person as they arrive. Each client is given a number and a card. The filing of the cards is a unique system of numbers, years, ages, and cardboard boxes sitting in the lobby. While Kenyans are very modest people, privacy of information is an unknown concept.Despite the lack of resources, space, and supplies, this is a great place to work! We laugh a lot and Lisa is learning much about African culture and health practices. Right now Lisa is mostly doing administrative work – recording statistics in old-fashioned ledgers, completing monthly reports for the Ministry of Health in triplicate using carbon paper. It is a unique nursing experience.