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Having decided at relatively
late notice that I wanted to spend some of my Summer working with the
Kenya Acorn Project (KAP), I had hardly had time to consider the concept
before I was on a flight bound for Jomo Kenyatta airport, Nairobi.
My role was to assist the
Administrator (Mr Frank Vandelooij) with general administrative and
management tasks, as well as my main responsibility of setting up an
outreach clinic from the Acorn Community Hospital to the small
settlement of Sibuoche.
On arrival in Nairobi, I was
surprised at how quickly I passed through immigration and customs and
emerged into the hustle and bustle at the other end. Fortunately my
first contact with the local population was favourable and I was kindly
directed on the right track to locate my mentor Mrs Rosalyne Ogadah in
arrivals. I spent a few days in Nairobi acclimatising to the heat and
the culture of the city before travelling on the 12 hour bus ride to Homabay. This is where I saw my first glimpses of what life in rural
Kenya was really like; I was surprised by the goats, chickens, donkeys
and cattle everywhere; the ironical mix of the house-proud sweeping of
property and the casual discarding of litter in the streets; and the
fact that a 300ml bottle of Coca Cola cost less than 20 pence.
Another first experience in
Kenya was that of the ‘matatu’. This is the means of transport by which
it is necessary to travel to get anywhere. Matatus are 14-seater
minibuses which are often overcrowded with people and chickens alike,
are overloaded on the roofs with sacks of grain, bikes and furniture,
and usually maintain speeds that are undeterminable due to the
speedometer being broken. All this said, it was actually a very good
method of travel by which to meet people and learn more about the
locals, and was the one I used to get to Ndhiwa where KAP is situated.
On my eventual appearance in
Ndhiwa I immediately spotted some other Muzungu (white foreigners) who
showed me to the KAP volunteers’ accommodation. I was pleasantly
surprised by the good standard of the accommodation and was confident I
could manage without running water or electricity. My next stop was the
hospital, which surprised me once again, as it looked like a country
cottage and I was welcomed with hugs from the staff as I made my way
inside.
On Frank’s advice, I spend a few
days settling in and just watching how things were done at the hospital
and visiting the KAP schools in the area.  I got to know the staff and
visited an outreach clinic which is run monthly to Sibugo to give me an
idea of how things were already set up. I then tackled the issue of
planning and facilitating an additional clinic to run monthly to
Sibuoche. It was difficult at first to comprehend how any sense of
organisation could be achieved when there did not seem to be a structure
for meetings with any of the relevant personnel. I soon realised that
it was just a case of turning up to see if people were in, and trusting
the system of dissemination of information from the village Elders to
their communities.
The planned outreach clinic to
Sibuoche went ahead on 9 August 2005. Advertising of the facilities
available was by word of mouth from the Elders and local health
facilities, and by means of posters in English and the local mother
tongue Dholuo. This was successful as more than 40 mothers and children
attended, enabling vaccinations for under 5s and healthcare advice for
ante and post natal mothers. Continuing monthly outreach clinics will
be maintained by the nurses from the community hospital.
During my time in Kenya I came
to realise how much the locals rely on support from foreign NGOs (Non
Government Organisations) such as KAP. Hopefully, with continued
empowerment of the population of the Ndhiwa Township, KAP can enable
people in its area of operations to develop through health, schooling,
enterprise and employment, to rely less on Wazungu and more on
themselves.
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