A Day in the Life - Episode 3

Side Note: I think I've realized why I don't write about work that often...when I analyze it daily it's simply too depressing.

Friday, January 29, 2010

Jumped out of bed this morning as I was excited for my early morning Skype date with Stephen. It's always a nice way to start my day but I was left feeling a little down as he was super tired after a long day and had to cut it short. It's definitely a challenge communicating through an 11 hour time difference. But there's always the next time so I'll look forward to that.

I was off to work at 8am as usual, ready for all the challenges I knew the day would bring (or so I thought). We started with our daily meeting between me and my employer where we take stock of what we have done and plan what we need to do today. We haven't advanced to planning more than one day in advance yet but this is already a huge improvement so as they say in Kenya, "slowly by slowly".

At 9 our treasurer arrived for a special financial meeting I had called to determine how exactly the money was being processed. Turns out I was only getting 80% of the documentation and 20% was being disbursed with no record. This was a scary discovery as documenting finances is a critical component to maintaining the grants we are receiving. It was a productive meeting though as everyone agreed on the importance of accurate tracking so it was decided that we would have a cash box made by the welder in town (you can't just buy one at the store) and start keeping the money in the office rather than in the treasurer's pocket. We also agreed that nothing could be taken out of that box without leaving some sort of documentation in its place. I'm feeling optimistic about this project so hopefully this problem has been sorted.

At 9:55 we started discussing who should go to a 10am meeting at the local school that Francis had been invited to. This turned out to be a rather heated 20 minute argument about who we would send and what they would need to know. Finally the office manager was sent and Francis and I set out on what was to be a 2 hour job. We first had to stop at the mechanic and have the odometer fixed as it wasn't working and we need to document our mileage for the funder. He also tightened and oiled the chain and the entire job cost only 100 shillings ($1.30). Then we went to the welder for an estimate on a grill for the front of the bike to protect our new baby. We then had to head back to the office to let the accounts clerk in so she could take care of things while everyone else was away.

At noon we finally got on the open road and started our chore for the day. We needed to visit 5 homes of AIDS patients that we had targeted to participate in our food security project. Our goal was to see what land they had chosen to have the kitchen gardens planted on and give them instructions on preparing it before we deliver seeds next week.

Our first stop was a woman that I have met a few times in the office. At that time she was refusing to take ARVs and was in terrible shape (too thin, slurred speech, drooling, etc.). I was happy to see her looking much better today as she had finally agreed to start taking the ARVs. She is still far too weak but I was encouraged by the improvement. However, I was discouraged by her living situation. She lives in a very remote area on the side of a steep hill in a mud house. She has no bathroom, not even a pit toilet so she has to climb the hill and walk down the road to use a neighbor's. We discussed the area she can used for the garden and came to realize that her only water source is at the bottom of the gully her house sits on. I can't really describe how steep the hills are here but I have trouble walking down them without slipping so they are no place for a very weak woman to be trekking on.

Her 18 year old son lives on the property as well but he works long days to try and support them so she is alone most of the time. I felt absolutely terrible leaving her as she followed us down the path still talking, obviously incredibly lonely. The kicker was when, on the way out to the gate, she showed us where her husband was buried in an unmarked grave under a coffee tree. He died of AIDS of course.

On to the next heartbreaking story where we stopped to investigate a reported case of child abuse. Another very remote location with a small mud house where we found 7 children under the age of 12. Some of them definitely should be in school but education is not completely free here and they were being kept out over a matter of 300 shillings ($4). Probably also because the older ones were needed to watch the younger ones. The father has left the family and the mother was out doing day labor. She comes home around 8pm and they don't eat until she comes home.

Francis had come and rescued these same children 6 months ago when they all had chiggers so bad they couldn't walk. A local community health worker has been coming by to administer their medicine every day so they are looking much better but the youngest is suffering the most. He is 2 years old but had chiggers so bad when he should have been learning to walk that his legs have atrophied and he can't even stand up. The living conditions are appalling and the children were sleeping on a dirt floor before Gatanga Kiiga donated a bed. We weren't able to find the daughter who had been abused and were told that she was staying at the local CHW's house who had put her in school. So off to the school we went.

We pulled the girl out of class and sat with her, the principal, and the local CHW to take down the details. I can't imagine how tough the interview must have been for this 12 year old girl and I was wishing Kimberly was around to talk to her as a professional. She showed us where she was bitten in several places by the mother. Francis wrote down her testimony and will refer her case to social services in Thika on Monday. It's an impossible situation really--the mother has recently found out she is positive, she is dirt poor and is supporting 8 children on her own. She had a history of neglect and abuse so I don't really know what the best possible outcome is in this scenario but I'm wondering if Stephen wants to adopt 8 children...

Back on the bike and back to the food security project. The stories continued until 6pm as we rode around the countryside visiting our various clients. One man was positive, two of his children are positive, and his wife has already passed away from AIDS. They are living with the grandparents and the children are taking their drugs every day for the rest of their lives. Another woman is positive and her husband has left her so she is living on her parents' land but the mother wants nothing to do with her. One couple is discordant, the wife is positive and the husband is not. Still he refuses to wear a condom, and while Francis is convinced we should get scientists to study his genes for immunity, I'm concerned that his luck will run out soon.

We stopped for a brief lunch of Coke, a roll, and a banana at a road side stand but otherwise pressed on. We visited 7 homes and were joyfully welcomed into all. We were generously given what little they have which was touching. You hate to accept but you certainly can't refuse. Although though bare bones of the story are tragic the day was actually so much fun because everyone was so enjoyable to meet with.

And as it often seems to happen in Africa a sad situation can turn hilarious in the blink of an eye. We arrived home on the motorbike with me trying to hold onto all my gifts from the day: a bottle of fresh milk, 2 arrow roots, 2 ears of corn, 8 baby bananas, a few sprigs of thyme, and a pumpkin...without falling off. Grace and Martha had to laugh at us as we pulled up to the office as did the rest of the neighborhood.