I dont't think I have ever seen anyone look more relieved than our esteemed gap programme co ordinator, Matt, as he greeted us off our bus, from in Bungoma. Matt had put strenuous effort into persuading John and me to travel from Nairobi to western kenya by plane. We being students, saw a chance to save some money and opted for the scenic route by bus. This was a great cause of anxiety to Matt and having taken the bus I am slightly more sympathetic of his stand. As the mission director put it, drivers in Kenya need to have a phd in pot-hole dodging. The bus journey was not particularly conducive to much needed sleep as on the verge of sleeping one would be woken by a violent pot hole dodge sweep! The good thing about this is that I did not miss out on the lessons from the Kenyan country side. Whilst we did not manage to quite glimpse the flamingoes on Lake Nakuru, we were close.
Our plane touched down in Kenya at 5 am on Wednesday morning after a five hour stop in steamy Doha. Nairobi was positively fresh in comparison and we were more than grateful to be greeted in the airport by Pauline from the IcFem Nairobi office : this saved us the chaos that would have resulted if we had made ourselves available for any taxi driver who would clearly have seen us as a good opportunity to make a days wages in one trip. After ten hours on the bus we diembarked slightly worse for ware and dizzy with exhaustion. As well as the look of relief on Matt's face it was immediately refreshing to be greeted by two other smiley faces from the mission. We knew from that moment that we were in safe and very capable hands. Our IcFem experience had begun.
Eleven hours of uninterrupted sleep went a long way to making up for two days of only head nodding, dribbling five minute sleep intervals. I had seen pictures of the guest house, but they barely do this place justice. Nestled behind a maize field with Mount elgon on the horizon, this location could not be more tranquil. The balcony outside the guesthouse being a haven of relaxation. I get the feeling that no matter how hard we work during the day, our time here will be a real break. Not to mention the fact that the lovely Mark and Helen prepare all out meals with loving hands and give us chai at regular intervals. Tea is an essential part of my daily existence. The thought of starting a day without a mug of tea is a horrifying one and so I had armed myself with PG tips from England. I had not realised that the Kenyans would know how to do tea far better than we do. The famous leaf is boiled with milk and water producing a veritable chai not disimilar to what one might get in cafe Nero.
Matt has prepared a comprehensive orientation for us. We spent Thursday morning being given a tour of Dreamland hospital all the time being given snippets of the intriguing dreamland story. Despite ongoing frustration about lack of power for the hospital they are serving the community so well with what they have and the hospital had clearly offered great help to some of those displaced in the Mount Elgon crisis. Of fundamental importance is the health education that takes place in the hospital for the local people and also the family planning clinics and counselling. I was especially struck by the innovation in the laboratory room. No power means no light microscopes and so identifying plasmodium under the microscope is by the sunlight through the window when it allowed. It was good to see some old favourates like gram staining and acid fast stains. They probably see just a bit more TB than we do! After planting a eucalyptus sapling which might go some way to making us carbon neutral we had a tour of the primary school. We seemed to be a source of huge amusement as we tried our tongues at our one day old pigeon swahili. The ten year olds guessed that I was 19 which at the age of 25 I found rather pleasing! It must be my new kenyan look with long pink skirt that does it. Perhaps I should try that at home.
Friday
A ten O' clock departure tends to mean a midday departure I am starting to realise. For someone who has not in 25 years ever managed to be on time for anything this is rather good news, although it wont help in feeding my bad habit. A launch of one of the new units in the community was starting at 10.30 today, but everyone apparently knows that this really means midday. impressive communication. Lunch at 5pm is also part of this package! The highlight was hearing the director of the mission, Solomon, talk passionately about development with the communities. Development is not about roads or education, but about people. For development to succeed it has to start with the people. It is exciting to think how IcFem is enabling sustainable development of these communities with people who have come to love the Lord. Chiefs and governement officials also seem to be looking on in some awe at the success of this mission. It feels a privelage to be part of it for this very short time and am learning so much.
Having completed our tours of the primary schools in the local area I have now begun my exposure to the Kenyan health system. I have been reading a book called 28 by Stephanie Nolen. The book is a compilation of 28 biographical stories of people who have been affected by AIDS in 
Today I went spent the day on an outreach with AIDS relief from Lugulu friends mission hospital. We departed the hospital at about 8.30 and sped of in the awesome 4WD at high speed to our destination. We stopped on the way to pick up a ‘snack’ for the day. I presumed this meant a mid morning snack. It was an error not to realise that I was meant to be buying to keep me going until sunset! Once we had arrived at the field station the truck was unpacked: mainly TB treatment, antoretrovirals and some USAID food rationing packs for the undernourished. Then begun a very strange day for me. The purpose of the clinic is to offer Voluntary Counselling and Testing (VCT) to anyone who turns up suspecting that they might be ‘positive’. The combination of lack of education about the progress of the disease, economics and prevailing stigma surrounding the disease mean that people resist coming for testing. In reality, people only turn up when they feel very ill and are in a very bad way, which inevitably effects their ability to respond to treatment.
Meeting the first patient was surreal. This middle aged man was healthy looking, had a broad smile and seemed so intrigued to see a mazungo that there was certainly no hint of embarassement on his behalf. I felt relieved. Possibly the hardest part of the day to stomach was seeing mothers who were HIV positive come into the clinic with their babies who had also been recently diagnosed as positive due to mother child transmission. This was particularly gruelling as it is totally unecessary if only the mother is given the right treatment from 28 weeks of pregnancy and is educated about breast feeding. One child I met had lost his mother and was with his grandmother. This boy looked dreadful. He was five years old, but looked like a 2year old. He also had a dreadfully swollen belly due to malnutrition. I cannot imagine what will become of him as the years progress. 
Huge progress has been made in the treatment of AIDS in 
Lugulu hospital 
