Kenya -- January 27 & 28, 2011

Had a bad night. Awake a lot and not feeling great with a gippy stomach (British term) and a bit of diarrhea (not fun, particularly with a squat toilet!). I lay around until a little after 8 and then got up, longing for a bit of solitude, saltine crackers, and an American Standard toilet! I was supposed to rejoin Grace and Charles at their home for a continuation of "Day in the life" but didn't feel like going anywhere. Cammie came in from her "Day in the life" overnight having been very sick. And Anike, the African director of GUW, had a really terrible night, up vomiting many times. She went up to the clinic and came back with a diagnosis of malaria. Mary then made Cammie do the same, and she got a similar diagnosis. Even though I wasn't as ill as they had been, I too made the trek to the clinic. No malaria for me, just Traveler's Diarrhea for which the Cipro I'd brought with me was the appropriate medication. If one is going to get sick in Africa, it's wise to do it on the grounds of a good clinic like the one in Nyaoga.


I got to see first hand the competence of the lab technician, very professional, and the caring manner of the clinic staff. It confirmed that the creation of the St. John's/Kayoro Clinic in Uganda was indeed a very good thing. It will be good to have it operating in another six months. The Nyaoga clinic staff (and Allison, a volunteer nurse practitioner working in the clinic today) recommended that Cammie and I rest for a while in the recuperation area of the clinic. So here we are.

After a couple of hours, we returned to the staff housing. Cammie recovered pretty quickly when she began taking her medication. I didn't do as well, adding vomiting to my symptoms as the day went on. Fortunately the clinic director took pity on me and went back to the clinic in the evening to get some anti-emetic medication which worked wonderfully. Began feeling better just before going to sleep at 10 p.m.

While I was resting in my mosquito tent in my room in the late afternoon, there had been a group meeting. Mary recommended and the others agreed to leaving Nyaoga a day early. She felt that the whole group, not just those of us who'd been sick, needed a respite day -- in a nice hotel with air conditioning, beds, and comfort. There seemed to have been a general loss of energy with some recharging apparently needed. Also going to Kisumu for the night would break up the very long day of driving to Nairobi.

So Friday, 1/28, we got up, finished packing, loaded the bus, and at 9 a.m. headed to the community school (just on the other side of the clinic compound) for a shortened Children's Day. The children presented the program as had been planned but instead of spending the day there, playing games and undertaking other activities, we volunteers left about 11 a.m.











In addition to missing the rest of the day with the students, we missed the goat feast the women were preparing for the evening. While it would have been nice to spend more time with the Nyaoga women, I wasn't very disappointed to miss the goat. . . !

Before we left Grace was at the staff house so we had the chance to say goodbye. She had been very sweet, quite worried about my illness.


It was a hot, dusty, 2 hour drive to get to Kisumu and the Imperial Hotel, the best hotel in the city.

The restaurant was closed for an event so I was "forced" to have a room service lunch. Cammie joined the other volunteers for a trek to an Internet Cafe so I had the room to myself -- and free WiFi so I also could check e-mail. Took a wonderful, long and hot, shower and then napped a little, enjoying the air conditioning.

Nice room -- and great shower and flush toilet!!!


Most of the volunteers did sightseeing in Kisumu, but Cammie and I took advantage of the opportunity to relax in comfort. Took a second shower before going to bed and had a great night's sleep.