Reflections

It has been a few days since my last post. It has been quite difficult to get internet access. During our last few days on Rusinga island, the solar powered generator that allowed us to gain access was not working as well as it had. In order to get internet, the sun has to shine to provide power for the computers and the internet. It can get a bit hairy at the end of the day when the sun sets. The same is true for the power that generates the microscope in the lab we were using at Kageno, by the end of the day the light shuts off and we are unable to utilize the lab facilities. Anyway, here I am in Nairobi writing a blog.
We have officially left Rusinga, having said our goodbyes about 6 days ago before we took off for a week of vacation. It was difficult to say the least. We have met and made so many friends along the way. Many tears and hugs were shared. We also experienced great saddness as we were leaving, our good friend's mother passed away suddendly in western Kenya.
Our last few days of clinic were successful. We were invited to watch a book giving ceremony at a local primary school for girls and boys of the island. Alphonce and Kageno were involved, as well as the organization "One Kid One World". There was quite a bit of pomp and circumstance that went along with the ceremony and at the end, the elementary school has new books for all the students to utilize in their studies. ALphonce was an honored member of the ceremony and at the end he was given a goat. I asked him to name it Becca, but we'll see. Things are so different here, but so much the same. I think we should give chickens and goats as signs of gratitude in America.
We also visited a "special school" on Rusinga island during our last working day. There had been a "crisis" as we were told and our friends wanted us to see what was happening. We were told it was a school for the physically disabled. When we arrived we were greeted by the headmaster of the school and took the giant stair up to look at the girls dorm. There are something lik 16 students that are housed there total, and it costs close to 2000 kenyan shillings a term, or around 25-30 US dollars. Most of the kids cannot afford the costs and the goverment withdrew funding so now they are there without food. It was difficult to see. Some things I did not understand, but others were quite clear. There were stairs going into the girls dorm, but yet many of the girls are wheelchair bound. There were also HIV positive kids within the school because we were told this is a physical disability. A child with a cleft lip was placed in this school as well, and when asked why he was separated from the neighboring primary school, I could not get a straight answer. Overall, a school such as this one is needed, but I feel as though some things need to be changed. There is no reason to separate kids out of school to make them feel different, including kids living with HIV.
Overall, I feel our time was quite well spent. I cannot begin to share when I learned and how I was affected but I feel overnight it will slowly leak out. I know I am forever changed. There are many moments that will stick with me from my time spent in Kenya, I hope I shared many of those with you. I have much more to write about and many more pictures to post, but it is just too slow here to accomplish what I want. Please stay posted for a slide show of our journey and a few more stories. Thank you for following along on our amazing adventure...stay tuned for the next one :)