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Helen in Africa
So, after nine weeks in the land of hippos and flamingos, rastas and reggae, it's finally time to neck another two valium and board the plane back to reality. I have to say, I am very sad to be leaving. It has really hit home in the last week. I feel like I live here and I truly love it. The slow days, the hard, emotional days and the inspiring days, there is always something and someone new around the corner. I have met people here, like in Nepal, I know will be part of my life for a long time. There are certain things you share with people that stay with you and bond you together.
My goal, when I get home, is to support Jayne and Millicent as much as I can. I am making a DVD from the videos and photographs we took at the clinics so that I can try and fundraise for them. Ultimately, I would love to find a way to provide them with a CD4 count machine. There are only two in Nairobi and every person who goes on ARV's has to be monitored on these machines. For people living in Nairobi, this is not a problem, but if you are 8 hours away in Masailand and can't afford to get there every three months, it is simply not an option. Jayne says she takes her clinic back to places every year and finds that people have just withered away and died. They give up hope when they test positive as they cannot get treatment. If Jayne has one of the CD4 count machines, she can ensure everyone in Masailand gets the treatment they need to extend their lives for as long as twenty years. She is the only person bringing any kind of aid to Masailand and there are over 500,000 Masai. This is the kind of thing that could stop the Masai tribe being almost wiped out by Aids. They are beautiful, warm and creative people and they deserve to be given a better chance at living.
The food distributions we have been doing this week have been a great success. Over 800 people gathered at the collection point and we managed to get food to most of them. The problem is always the same though - too many people, not enough food. These people have been badly affected by the drought as their cows died from dehydration, leaving them with no income so they are really desperate.
Tonight is my last night at the compound and Jayne is preparing a special dinner for everyone. I've got them all presents and cake and we'll have a small party. I'm certain I will cry as I have grown so fond of them all but I'll come back next year, possibly for longer so it's not goodbye forever. When I arrived here, I compared everything to my experience in Nepal, but now I realise the two are not comparable. Each had their own challenges, excitements and friendships and they were each a journey that changed my perceptions and my opinions and have reaffirmed my desire to pursue a career as a psychologist and continue to help people. It is a wonderful feeling to know that people that would have gone hungry have gone to bed with full bellies and that a simple dressing on a wound will prevent infection and loss of a limb for a farmer.
I've made some lists of the best and worst things about Kenya to reflect on my time here.
The best things I did in Kenya
1. The mobile clinics in Masailand
2. White water rafting the Nile
3. Beach bumming in Mombasa
Funniest moments
1. getting the jeep stuck in a 5 foot ditch and actually thinking we'd be able to get it out on our own.
2. Sitting up in the tent for three hours in the middle of the night, convinced there was a lion outside our tent. (turned out to be a dog)
3. being completely covered and soaked by a freak wave while sleeping on the beach.
Scarriest moments
1. Poisonous tarantula in the tent
2. Shootout in the city centre
3. The bank mistakingly cancelling my overdraft
The worst things about Kenya
1. The smell of the Matatus
2. Ugali
3. The corruption
The best thing about (most) Kenyan people
1. Their generosity
2. Their sense of humour
3. Their bravery
The most widely used phrases
1. "I give you good price" Generally, they don't.
2. "I miss your smile" Generally said to white girls by young Kenyan chancers who spoke to you once before for about 3 minutes about a matatu fare.
3. Hakuna Matata.....aaahhh!!!
What I'll miss most
1. The hundereds of tiny cute kids in Kibera that chant "how are you?, how are you?" whenever we walk past
2. Watching the sunset then sleeping under the stars in Masailand
3. Listening to the inspirational stories of the women who struggle.
4. Feeling like I'm getting things done
It's difficult to portray in writing, exactly how things make you feel here, especially as sometimes you don't really know until later on when things have died down. I hope this journal has at least given an insight into how things work and don't work in Kenya and I hope that the research I have done here will answer some questions about the spread of HIV/Aids and what can be done in the future. Kenya is a country of immense beauty, tranquility and grace and it is populated by talented, intelligent and goodhearted men, women and children. There is great underprivaledge here, but the Kenyans don't wait around for their government or any other government to come and help them because they could be waiting forever. They help and inspire each other with their faith and with the little resources they each have. That is the essence of the Kenyan people and I have been honoured to share their friendships and their struggles.
Thank you so much for all the donations and emails. I am very grateful and often cheered up by the nonsense many of my friends talk.
On Friday I fly to London for a few days for some wild parties with my friends there and then I'm off to Iona to work at the Columba until term starts for my final year. Hopefully I won't come down to earth with too much of a bang.
love and thanks,
Helen x
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