day one hundred and seventy three

It's always amazing the people who come across your path - I've made friends with the coach for a local rugby team, a retired development worker, a police officer, the matatu conductors, and the owner of a local cafe who has said I can come bake cakes for her (score!). I love that saying "you only have as many friends as you are friendly" and that "people are in your life for a reason and a season".

Over the weekend R and I took a mental health day and went down to Kisumu to go see the animals at the Impala Park. God was looking down upon us that day, as the blessings just kept rolling in. First one was the price of entry to the park. Kenyans pay 250Ksh, Residents pay 350Ksh and Tourists pay 2500Ksh ($25 USD). We managed to get in as residents, saving ourselves over 2000Ksh!

The Impala Sanctuary is half free-roaming animals, half animals in cages. You can see the attempts of trying to cater for the animals natural sanctuary, but there is so much more opportunity for animal conservation and public education - I wish someone would partner with them. However, animal stuff isn't my thing. Anyway, we saw a whole bunch of zebras just wandering around, chilling... so cool! Second blessing, whilst we were walking around one of the animal keepers asked if we wanted to feed the animals... um yes! So we went and fed the monkeys by hand, and watched all the big cats get fed. Then we took selfies with the twiga. Overall it was a fantastic day.

Then we headed over to the Kisumu branch of Nairobi Java House and ordered us a mzungu food storm! Iced Coffees, salad and a burger with avocado and bacon... YUM! Third blessing - there was red velvet cake... mmmm. I bought me a piece and took it home to share with my friends.

Overall a very good day. This weekend I attend a Kenyan wedding for one of the guys from work - am off to go pick up my dress from the tailor; for 1000Ksh (approx $15 AUD) I have gotten a dress made to my measurements. Will update y'all with the goings-on of the wedding next week!

Oh one last thing - we got a new puppy! Her name is Jessie, isn't she cute?! Nicole and I were teaching her how to take a selfie... hahahaha.

day one hundred and sixty seven

Great news, I won the FSD Summer Photo Contest! It's actually quite funny, because this picture was just a quick snapshot I took whilst at the Maasai market in Nairobi, never did I think that it could actually win anything. My prize is $100 USD donated to my organisation, Iguhu County Hospital

The winning picture

Speaking of my hospital, I thought I'd share a little bit more about Iguhu County Hospital, because my mum thinks I'm in the middle of nowhere but my facility is actually quite big. It was started in 1952 as a government clinic, and has grown to now be a level 4 Hospital for the Ikolomani (Kakamega South) Sub-County. It has facilities for out-patients, clinical care centre (for HIV), laboratory, pharmacy, antenatal, maternal and child health care, and three in-patient wards - Paediatrics, Women's and Maternity. Currently two more wards are being built - a Men's ward and another Women's ward, as well as X-ray and ultrasound facilities. It is also the headquarters for the Ikolomani Sub-County Officers, which is where I sit with the head of laboratory and public health. 

You are always greeted with a smile at Iguhu County Hospital

During the last fortnight I was participating in the Kenya Polio Vaccination Campaign. Seriously wow, this initiative was incredible, just on a human resources point of view - in our sub-county alone their were 80 teams of two people (a healthcare worker and a community volunteer), plus ten team supervisors, plus the sub-county supervision team. I went around with the Medical Superintendent checking that the teams were performing efficiently and effectively. Here's some pics of our wanderings...

Med Sup and a Polio team looking at a hand-drawn village map - Google maps doesn't work out here

A boy showing me his left little finger which was coloured in, indicating he had been vaccinated

Med Sup and a large bunch of local kids showing me their little fingers

One of the kids being vaccinated - in Kenya we use the oral polio vaccine

I've booked my flights to Addis Ababa, am very excited, mostly about the change in food - I've booked myself onto a food tour around the city with coffee and cake and injera and masir wat and ohmygoodness I need to stop thinking about it because I'm making myself hungry. Honestly I'm struggling with food and my gastrointestinal system... I've been sick on and off since I've been here, but it could be worse, at least it's not malaria or something.