Water Flows

Back at work at Memorial Hospital in Gulfport, turning on a faucet I get all the water I want. A visitor can amble up to the water fountain and quench his thirst. I wash my hands before touching each patient. A nurse can go to the ice machine and press a lever to receive a quart of freshly created potable cubes. Now, the faucets in Keumbu Hospital provide water too!

In our society we take the availability of water for granted. We consider drinkable water a societal right, along with housing, and cleanliness. These basic rights are not available in much of the third world. We know there are homeless people in our society, but even those can find a public toilet at a fast food restaurant, or perhaps a service station. In Kenya, people use the bushes. They drink out of the creeks. They throw their litter on the ground.

I'll be returning to Kenya in about seven months to follow up on the project. In the next few months I plan to send money to buy three purifiers for the hospital. By my return I hope to have found a resource for $9000 to put in a "bore hole," what we in America call a well. I'm only one person, with the understanding that I can't change the world. But I do make a difference in one small part of it. Those of you who have supported my efforts have made that difference possible!

Reflections on leaving Kenya

Well-wishers commonly advise me to "Be Safe." While I'm not eager to take unnecessary risks, if safety was my primary issue, I'd have stayed home. When traveling in foreign lands, one follows some simple rules; keep your money safe, be friendly, and try not to break cultural taboos. In Kenya I can't help but stand out. After all, I'm nearly the only white face in all of Kisii. (There's a very small minority of Indians). They call white skinned folks "Mazungos." I've walked through downtown Kisii so many times with Angela that I'm known as "Angela's Mazungo." People smile and wave and shake my hand. Everyone here shakes hands -- even four-year-olds will rush up to me and say "How are you?" and shake my hand. Every now and then someone doesn't like white men and will lecture Angela in rapid Swahili to be careful about me. She snubs them.

Safety here is a minor issue. Not everyone is honest, that is, they will quote me a price for something that is twice or three times what they'd charge a native, but they are trustworthy. That is, they will not rob or steal. Not EVERYONE is that trustworthy. There was an article in the paper yesterday about someone who left his laptop on the bus when it stopped for lunch and someone ran off with it, but it was in the paper because thievery is so uncommon. In fact, if the community suspects a person of being a thief they'll come to their house in the night, rouse them out and murder them, leaving their heads on the roadway.

Not that life is that safe in general. Walking down the roads (which everyone does) is likely to get you hit by a wild driving taxi driver, matatu (bus), or motorcycle. Cost per transport for these three run, respectively, $2, 40 cents, and 10 cents. That is, for a dime you can get on the back of a motorcycle and they'll take you anywhere in town you want to go. I prefer walking.

In America people used to be identified by nationality; Irish, German, Spanish, etc., though now with the "melting pot" this is less common. In Kenya everyone belongs to a tribe. Kisii town is the center of the Kisii tribe. Most Africans can tell what tribe a person is from just by looking at them. Kisii's are known for their industriousness. The streets are lined with vendors selling everything imaginable; oranges, rice, corn, wallets, shoes, and people walking around selling magazines and peanuts and locks, and tailors on the sidewalk with their old Singer machines, and little hole-in-the-wall shops with specialties of all types. The sidewalk vendors group by type, so sitting on one wall there are 20 orange sellers, while at their feet on the sidewalk sit a dozen onion saleswomen. Bananas are 5 cents each. Newspapers 40 cents. They're all laughing and talking with each other and passerbys. Nobody's fat, as they're underfed and tend to walk everywhere.

Angela and I spent last weekend in Masai Mara preserve and the one before in Nakuru Lake reserve. All poaching, that is, killing of all wild animals, was outlawed in 1976. The exception is when the lions leave the reserve and start killing chickens or cows of the Masai (the tribe around the Masai Mara area), in which case they are allowed to kill the lion, but not with a gun. It used to be custom for a Masai boy to prove his manhood by going out to kill a lion. They ran a pretty even ratio, that is, one lion killed for every boy killed, but the government forbids that now. The Masai, unlike the Kisiis, are not industrious. They're herders, counting their fortunes by the size of their herds. Masai Mara preserve is 1,600 sq km, so the area is quite large. This visit wasn't as photogenic as last trip, though I have many pictures of elephants, zebras, and giraffes to show. I'll post when I get back.

I'm looking forward to my return to the states. Last year when I returned one of the most striking difference was driving on the roads. In Kenya there are no streetlights, the roads have no speed limits, there are speed bumps to keep people down, most of the roads are unpaved, people walk on the sides of the roads all hours and in all weather, there are no lane markings, vehicles swerve all over the roads and pass slower moving vehicles even on curves and hills, and small villages with their marketplaces pop up every few kilometers. There are no wild animals on the sides of the road, even at night.

But what I'm looking forward to most is food. I haven't lost weight this trip, I think. It's hard to tell because there are no scales around. Well, you can pay 10 Ksh and get weighed by a vendor on the sidewalk, yes, he sits there all day next to his scale collecting money to weigh people. But I haven't done that. Mostly I'm looking forward to a menu variety. I'm tired of chicken and fish. It's a healthy diet. We eat a lot of fresh fruit and vegetables; bananas, carrots, tomatoes, avocados, mango, and papaya are frequent. No chocolate, Mexican, seafood (other than baked whole fish), or lettuce.

Today was my last day at the hospital. I paid $35 and had people bring up two crates of soft drinks, a box of milk cartons, and 30 loaves of bread. That's a party in Keumbu! Thirty people or so gathered on the lawn and we had speeches and took photographs. I'll miss the good friends I've made, but most of all Angela. As head physician at the hospital she's educated, beautiful, spunky, and all-over amazing! Last year when I left I thought I could bring her for a visit to America to show western culture, and perhaps get some educational opportunities. Twice she went to the American Embassy to apply for a visa, but she was rejected each time. Even though the second time I had Senator Wicker's office write a letter of personal appeal. Apparently the bureaucrats don't care. They won't grant a single Kenya woman a visa.

I'm leaving with a great sense of accomplishment. The project is not finished. When I get back I'll send about $1500 by Western Union for replacement of the gutters. With that, water will flow! With another $250 I'll be purchasing one large purifier and three small ones so the water will be drinkable. People might wonder why I spent $10,000 of my money on traveling to Kenya and on the water project. To me, I can't think of a better way to spend my money than saving the lives of thousands.

Thanks for following my blog. I'll be continuing it for a bit once I return.

Philip

The last few days in Africa

Today is Sunday, August 7th. Tomorrow is my last day in the hospital. Tuesday I take a bus for the 6 hour trip to Nairobi and board the plane that evening. After nearly 24 hours of flying and layovers, I'll be back in Gulfport Wednesday night.

The water project has been a qualified success. Hampered by my inability to access money I left in my bank accounts in the states, we still accomplished almost everything. We cleaned the 10,000 liter cistern which will collect rain water. We installed the pump to move that water to an elevated water tank, on a concrete tower we built. We paid for an electrician to hook up power to the pump. We reworked all the plumbing from the tank to the wards, the lab, the pharmacy, the doctors offices, the dentist office, the kitchen, the laundry, the out-patient department, maternity, family planning clinic, and the wards. We replaced the tanks on 5 toilets and all the plumbing associated with twelve sinks. From the cistern on, the project is basically completed and running. The only part of the project not completed is one of the most important, the gutters to collect the rain water. Keumbu is one of the rainiest areas in Kenya (not to worry, those of you who had heard there was a drought in famine in parts of Kenya, that part of the country is far away). The gutters that had been in place since the hospital was built 12 years ago were basically rusted away. We're going to replace these with PVC pipes. This part of the project will be completed when I return to the states from which I'll transfer $1500 by Western Union. So, I'm proud for what we've done.

I say "We" repeatedly above, for, of course, a project like this is a group effort. Local electricians, water engineers, plumbers, hospital officers, and workmen did the work. Mississippi (and one Colorado) benefactors gave money to make this possible, especially the Edgewater Rotarians. Thank you!

Traveling to a foreign country is always a broadening experience, and to Africa a dramatically awakening perspective. Though Swahili is the official language, Kenya was a British colony for the first half of the 20th century, and with English being so important in International business, all but the uneducated speak adequate English, albeit with a strong African accent. The soft "I" in Swahili is pronounced "EE", that is, like a strong E. So "It is good," sounds like "Eet ees guut."
They can't distinguish between "r" and "l" sounds, and the hard "G" and hard "C" sound like K. "Th" is soft, so when I ask about clothes they think I'm asking about gloves. Still, communication is good, though my Swahili remains quite weak. I can make do in a store or a restaurant, but not casual conversation. "Ne me sheba," means "I am full."

Speaking of restaurants, there aren't many. Kisii Town has a population of 200,000 people, about the population of Biloxi, Gulfport, Long Beach, and Pass Christian combined, and, of course, many, many more in the surrounding countryside. However, there are no fast food places, no chain restaurants, and hardly any choices. Restaurants that exist typically have a three or four page menu, with offerings in Indian, Pizza, Chinese, and typical African dishes, including selections in Beef, Goat, Chicken, and Fish. However, no matter what you order, they always only have chicken or fish. Fish can be ordered stewed, boiled, steamed, or fried, but no matter how you order it, it always comes out the same, baked. It's eaten with the fingers, carefully pulling the meat off the bones, of which there are many, as the fish is always tapilia. It's served with stewed greens (Mississippians would love it) and coleslaw, plus your choice of ugali (a maize meal mix), French fries (known as chips), roast or mashed potatoes, though they never have the roast or mashed potatoes. The typical cost is about $4.00, though drinks are extra, a bottle of water 50 cents, coca-cola 80 cents, and Tusker beer (the 16 oz) $1.40. At night you won't be able to talk because of blasting beat music (mostly American songs, with some Swahili songs intermittent) and International Soccer games showing on various screens. Africans love to dance; alone, in a couple of same or mixed sex, or in groups. They'll eat a bit, stand up and dance, and sit down to eat and drink some more. Alcohol is lightly consumed, and service is VERY slow. You can give the waiter a 500 Ksh note for your 350 bill, and maybe an hour later he'll bring the change. He won't forget, he just doesn't think there's a hurry. And one almost never tips unless the service was extremely good, then a 100 Ksh ($1) is generous.

Besides the hospital work, I also had three vacations this trip. I spent the first few days on the beach in Mombasa, took a weekend trip to Nakuru Park, with all the flamingos, and this weekend to the national wildlife sanctuary Masai Mara. I thought I'd report more on these trips on this blog, but this will have to wait until I have been email access. So once I'm back in the states I'll get the photos together and post on Facebook and send more detailed blogs. Let it suffice to say it's amazing to be in a tiny van a few meters away from giraffes, water buffalo, and lions. The wildebeest are on their annual migration from Tanzania, two million crossing the Serengeti!

This will be my final post from Africa. More when I'm home! Thanks for following.

Philip

Water!

The water project is nearing completion and I'm delighted to say it's been a huge success. Zachery, the water engineer, fixed the plumbing and tapped into the pipes and we now have water running from the faucets in the hospital. Since none of them have been used since the hospital was built 12 years ago, some need repair, but most are already working and the nurses, staff, and administration are delighted! This is clean rain water, not drinkable, but good for washing hands and most other needs. The new plan for purifiers is to buy 3 or 4 small ones like you would put on your sinks at home. They're relatively inexpensive and easy to maintain.

We have a working toilet too! Until now everyone has used outhouses. I knew the hospital had been installed with toilets, but what I didn't know, but the engineer discovered, is that the hospital has a septic system too. It's never been used, but it's fully functional, built to drain underground over a large field down the hill from the hospital. For a mere $2500 we've changed the health care of the thousands who count on this hospital for medical care. It's not all the hospital needs, of course not, but it's a huge step! There's plenty of water. Rain comes frequently and we have three full 5000 liter water tanks we'll be using and a 60,000 liter underground cistern that will eventually be filled with rainwater run off as well.

I still owe them about $500 and would like to come up with an additional $1000 to replace the rusty gutters so rain collection will be more efficient. If any of my readers would like to help, please purchase my beautiful safari book at www.ndovutheelephant.com for $20 plus postage. 100% of all sales will go to this project. As I mentioned in my last blog, finances are difficult here. I brought $5000 cash and it's almost all gone now. No one will take my credit card, even Barclays bank, the only International bank. They tried to run the card for $500 cash advance and it was refused. I called my credit card people and they said they have no record of the cash advance request being made from them and if they had received it they certainly would have authorized it. My ATM debit card which I've used successfully here last year and in several other countries around the world, even Mozambique 3 years ago, also does not work at these ATMs. No idea why. So I'm using cash on hand. Fortunately it's been enough and,

HURRAY! WE HAVE WATER!