Saw the Okongo’s cow give birth on Saturday night! Quite an experience. Caroline and I heard excessive mooing so we went outside to see what was going on. Before we knew it, neighbors were running over to help with the delivery! It really is a team effort to safely deliver the calf, give its first bath, and help it with its first meal.
David was a guest speaker at a youth rally at church on Sunday. It was such an energetic service and I love the Luo and Swahili songs.
Monday we all walked over to Akado primary school, ready to help out but not knowing what to expect. Each of us was assigned to a different class. I walked in to second grade math and the teacher just said, “Ok, we are doing addition. Teach them how.” Ha! Later in the day I even ended up teaching division to older students. Who would have ever thought I’d be teaching math? It was definitely a fun experience playing teacher for a day, and I think we are going to another school on Friday. (I’m hoping to sit in on a Kiswahili class so I can learn!)
Tuesday we went to Kisumu to run all our errands. We Americans love it because we get to go to the giant grocery store and try the foreign chocolates. The Okongos took us out to lunch at a place on Lake Victoria that serves tilapia brought over by the fishermen. It is served whole on a big platter and you eat it with your hands along with Sukuma Wiki (kale) and Ugali (a bread-like mixture of corn flour and water). Cameron was even brave enough to try the eye (a treat!). After lunch, we went on a boat ride on Lake Victoria and even saw a hippo!
Today, we went to see a Kenyan hospital. Honestly, it was a bit better than I expected (I was prepared for the worst). But I still cannot believe how different it is than hospitals in America. Each ward is a room with 8-10 beds in it, with 1 or 2 nurses to care for the patients. We were taken to the men’s, women’s children’s and maternity wards. When the hospital is full, the patients will have to share beds with each other. Obviously, infection is easily spread when all the patients are contained in the same room. What really affected me was the way patients are transported to the hospital. While we were standing outside after our tour, a motorcycle sped up. An extremely sick person was barely conscious, gasping for breath, in between two people holding her upright on the motorcycle. Apparently she was driven quite a ways in that state. Another interesting thing was that the prices for all the services are posted in large print on the front of the hospital! Need your baby delivered? 500 shillings (equivalent to about $6). Staying in a bed overnight? 100 shillings. Very different from the prices in America! One good thing I noticed was that all medication for TB, HIV/AIDS, and Maleria is free.
Looking forward to the rest of the week as a team from North Carolina is coming to Kandaria on Saturday to construct a clinic in the village. Next week we are hoping to meet up with the team from Mt. Bethel on Friday and Saturday in a different town. Please pray for us as we are seeking guidance on what God has in store for the second month of our stay in Kenya!
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