Massai Mama

Evening Lightning Storm on the Mara

Massai Warrior

Warrior 2

Tea

Rufus

Rhino

Relaxing

Mom and Cub Taking it Easy

On Safari in the Massai Mara

Woman in Massai Village

Clothes Drying in Massai Village

Young Massai Mother and Baby

Kids on Tea Plantation

Impala

Frida, Camp Staff in a Pink Hat

Frida and Willie the Cook

Flat Tire 1 of 4

Zebras

Crossed

2 Hippos Cooling Off in the Mara River

Cheetah Cub

Big Bad Cape Buffalo

3 Going Right

3 Going Left

3 Elephants

2 Elephants

Last Blog Kisumu

Blog 5
Kisumu, Kenya
December 7 – December 15, 2011

Jambo!

This will be my last blog before I return home. I am starting to write this on December 7th, and will post photos from my trip to Massai Mara on December 10 – 12th.

Throughout Africa, and including here in East Africa, one finds a lot of Biblical names. Here are just some you might find interesting: EZEKIEL, ELIJAH, IMMACULATE, SALOME, MOSES, MAGDALENE, FESTUS, HESBON, AMOS, NEHEMIAH, JEREMIAH, SHADRACH. And how about ATOMIC? Not really Biblical, but different never-the-less.

I know I have told you about the condition of the roads before, but it bears repeating. In fact, in some of the more developed parts of our roads might be considered trails, or actually driving through the bush. And each time it rains, everything turns into a mud filled swamp. And to think, that I often go to work on a motorbike 3 or 4 days a week.

A few days ago, my Kenyan family and I ate at a very nice Indian Restaurant here in town. The food was very good. However, Festus, and I both ate some kind of spicy mango. When we got home later that night both of us were running to the toilet for a few hours. Lucky for us that we didn’t have to both go at the same time.

Usually I hear the chickens just before dawn each morning, but one morning, the chicken crowing sounded a bit loud and very close. So when I went to the kitchen, there was a chicken with its legs tied together just waiting to become chicken soup. The kitchen is very small, so the chicken got moved to just outside my door, and somehow, it kept on moving slowly closer and closer to my room. However, dinner time came before the chicken could come inside my room and then you know the rest of the story.

The drivers here are pretty bad, but I just learned one of the reasons why. When you take the driving test you are not required to have a vision test. In addition, before you take the driving test, you give a small amount of money to your driving instructor who shares it with the driving examiner. So whether you can see or not, or whether you can drive or not you can still get a license. Want to go for a drive anyone?

There are lots of funerals here unfortunately, and so the body stays in the morgue until close to the actual burial. I guess some morgues are better and nice than others. Overheard from a friend: ” The Aga Khan Hospital Morgue is very nice and clean. No smell, and each body has it’s own special resting place”. It is also expensive compared to some of the other places.

Here is all you want to ever know about infant and maternal mortality death here in Kenya and other similar places. Last week one of our staff person's went into the best hospital to deliver her 4th child. Before she could deliver she died. The doctor immediately delivered the baby through a post mortem C section. The baby survived. Just two days ago the baby girl, still in the hospital also died. What else is there to say?

I had an interesting discussion a few days ago with a man who had never flown in an airplane. One of the questions he asked me was whether the planes had a place to “rest” in the sky. Do any of you remember the movie “The Gods Must be Crazy”?

Well, I am coming to the end of my journey to Kenya to work with K-MET. It has been nearly 4 months since I came. I am happy to report that by the time I leave in a few weeks, I will have completed my primary assignment – getting most of K-MET’s second building to completion. It really went well, and fast. I still hope to nail the first nail on to the roofing sheets before I leave.

And the other big success was getting the Dental Clinic up and running. It is doing great and is more and more busy each day. The Community Oral Health Officer is a real go getter. In fact he goes to the Provincial Hospital each day and brings back patients to us. We actually have much better equipment.

Now here is some late breaking news: Marion who we and some of you are helping to go to school has just been accepted into one of the best boarding schools. She passed her admission interview with flying colors. She starts in January. Will keep you updated.

Yes, I like to leave physical legacies in my wake, but this time in addition to the two buildings, (the one I helped build for the past couple of years, and now the one am just completing, I am leaving a living legacy - actually 3 trees. Two of them are favorites of Hinda and me, a Flamboyant, and a Jacaranda, and also an Apple Mango. The Jacaranda will be right in front of the new Schnurman Pharmacy in the new building. For those of you who don't know, a Flamboyant has bright orange blossoms, and a jacaranda nice purple blossoms, and of course the mango will give mangos.

I will end this blog for the time being and in a few days will go to the Massai Mara to visit those beautiful lions, elephants, zebra, giraffe and more, and post some photos for your enjoyment.

While I plan to come back to visit from time to time, this will be my last volunteer experience. I leave with fond memories, good friends and family, and some sadness that this group that I have become such a part of will have weaned me away in short order. I guess that is what is supposed to happen. Right?

See some of you very soon.

Peter "Omosh" Omondi Schnurman