June 11 Post

Friday Events
Quote of the day – “You can’t get arrested for agriculture.”  (There is one exception!)  On Friday, we visited the CYEC Drop-in Center at the YMCA.  We met two lovely women, Esther and Lucy, both of whom are working with the CYEC to provide alternative sources of income for street children, although many are older than children.  Stealing scrap metal is a popular source of income on the street, but the program at the Drop-in Center is teaching them how to garden and sell the harvest.  The alternative income is similar to the income stealing scrap metal, but it’s legal.  The Y also provides a mushroom house for members to grow and then sell mushrooms.  The Director of Extension from JKUAT toured the facility with us, and plans to collaborate with the Y, the Drop-in Center, and the CYEC.  Extension in Kenya has many resources to help them.  The K-State students are working hard on the garden with the street children most of the summer.  They started with a plot of land with lots of weeds and are making great progress. The Director of Extension took us 30 minutes outside Nyeri to what I would call a 4-H Club.  The leaders and 18 children are growing many vegetables and have a greenhouse of tomatoes.  Again this is a way to teach a job skill and provide an income to the youth and keep them off the streets.  They were anxiously waiting for us all dressed up, and the kids just stared at us.  We, of course, stick out like sore thumbs EVERYWHERE.  Many times I feel I am on display.   We had lunch at a very nice restaurant.  I am acquiring a taste for long, leisurely lunches.  From now on when I am late, I am going to say, “I’m on Kenya time.”  We were quite impressed with the bathrooms. They, of course, had a toilet seat.   Earlier in the day, we had a wonderful chat with Nurse Daniel from the Center.  I so admire his dedication to the youth at the center and community members, who are allowed to use the clinic.  He has his degree from the University of Nairobi and is able to dispense prescription meds.  He words very hard to try to keep the children from becoming so sick that they need a hospital.  Most come in with sniffles and flu-like symptoms.  The largest problem they have is psychological trauma.  They also have problems with scabies and ringworm.  Some of the children have bad vision, and we referred him to Lions Club International.  Only two of the children are HIV.  They are in constant need of medical supplies at the clinic.  They do have a laboratory where they conduct some testing.  I have managed to catch a cold already and am taking ColdCalm, a homeopathic medicine I threw in the suitcase at the last minute, and it seems to be helping.   Saturday Events Today, we conducted a CYEC Health Fair.  We set up five stations – handwashing, teeth brushing, parts of the plant, food ID, and youth resiliency activity.  It was just like a kids health fair in the U.S – chaotic.  But, I do believe the younger youth of the CYEC enjoyed the learning experience throughout the morning. We went into town this afternoon.  There were so many, many people.  We are riding matatu’s (vans) in and out of town when the Center matatu is not available.  They pack us in like sardines.  It is quite an experience.  We purchased wine for the next couple evenings.  I feel the need to enjoy the wine and the good company of my fellow traveler’s tonight after dinner.   Speaking of dinner, I am eating plenty of fiber!  We’ve all been enjoying the food prepared for the volunteer staff working and visiting the Center.  A lunch is 300 Schillings ($3.50) for a vegetarian meal and a dinner 400 Schillings ($4.50) for beef or poultry.  We have “sumara wiki” (kale with seasoning) for every meal with a bean and a starch.  Starches include ugali (corn flour patty), chipotle (crepes), rice, or pasta.   I have been sharing my “luxury suite” with Laurie and have enjoyed bonding with her as well as the other women with whom I am traveling. Laurie and I are more high maintenance than the others, so it is good we ended up together.  Tomorrow, we are going to church in the slums and “touring the slums.”  I keep thinking about the movie Slum Dog Millionaire.  I wonder how similar it will be.  We will be working on reports for work on Monday and packing to head back to Nairobi.  I am really looking forward to sightseeing there, going on the safari, and heading to Brussels.