Future In Our Hands - USA

Recent Newsletters added to Website

2011-12-17T13:20:00.000-05:00

Newsletters Available

2011-07-19T19:19:00.001-04:00

Harambee II - A Truly African Experience

2011-02-27T17:26:00.004-05:00

Pulling Together for the People of Kenya and Tanzania

Group's second major fundraiser features:
- An Authentic Kenyan Dinner · Folk Story Telling
- Live African Drumming & Dancing

SATURDAY APRIL 2, 2011 · 4:30 - 8:00 PM
Clarence United Methodist Church
10205 Greiner Road, Clarence NY

Donation: $30 Adults / $15 Children 12 & Under

RESERVATIONS ARE REQUIRED
For additional information call: 716.759.4191

Article in WNY Catholic -July 2010

2010-07-05T00:19:00.000-04:00

ROM IS BACK TO WORK AND DOING GREAT !!

2010-06-29T20:31:00.002-04:00

I talked to Rom's wife, Connie, on the phone Monday June 27,2010. She said that Rom is doing very well and has returned to his job as teacher and assistant principal at Usoma Primary School.
His ability to write and his memory have almost returned to normal. He still tires easily and I hope he will not overdo. He sent an email thanking everyone for all the prayers and financial assistance. The loan for his hospital bill is completely paid off.

Rom and Paul are working hard to continue all the programs of FIOH-K. They are planning on involving new Board members and volunteers as it is too much for the two of them to do alone as they have been doing.

Thank you to everyone for the prayers and financial support. Rom's crisis has passed with a "happy ending."

ROM IS FINALLY HOME

2010-06-14T15:48:00.003-04:00

Rom was finally discharged from Aga Khan hospital
June 4, 2010 about 5.30PM Kenyan time. He was not allowed to leave until
the bill was paid and it went up by $107 dollars each day he was
"held hostage". Paul was able to help Rom take out an emergency
loan of 170,000 Ksh from the bank. That is $2,266.00. They have three
... months to pay back the loan. But at least now the bill is paid
in full at the hospital AND HE IS HOME!! The total bill was a little over $6000 and I
am grateful to everyone that donated.

MORE FUNDS ARE NEEDED TO
HELP PAY OFF THE LOAN. PLEASE ENCOURAGE YOUR FRIENDS TO HELP OUT
AND PLEASE KEEP PRAYING.

Thank you all for everything you have
done. Rom continues to improve day by day. His main problems are
mild expressive aphasia and agraphia (inability to write) and memory
problems. He will have therapy as an out-patient.

Rom is being held hostage at the hospital until bill is paid.

2010-05-24T17:37:00.004-04:00

Rom has improved a great deal and is officially discharged from Aga Khan hospital. However their system requires that he remain in the hospital until the bill is fully paid. He owes about $2,500 and it will continue to go up every day he is held hostage, unless enough funds are raised to pay the bill.

To me it is a corrupt policy in an already overcrowded hospital system. It adds to spread of infection and keeps people from resuming productive work.
I hope donors will continue to step up and help pay off the hospital bill so Rom can get back to doing all of the wonderful things he does to assist others. I am so grateful that his health has improved. Please keep Rom and all associated with FIOH in your prayers.

Rom Wandera is slowly improving

2010-05-20T06:33:00.002-04:00

This photo of Rom was taken on Sunday May 9 2010 while he was still at Nyanza Provincial Hospital (Russia). He was alert for a short time that day and agreed to be transferred to Aga Khan hospital. He is gradually improving. Please keep up the prayers and positive energy for his complete healing.

News from Kenya - #21-final

2010-05-20T06:25:00.000-04:00

Journal entry 21

Friday May 14, 2010-2.45PM Days 43,44

I’m back in Buffalo and glad to be home. I have a cold and a case of boils that are responding well to antibiotics. I think as soon as my body hit “home” it said, “OK now I can let down and get sick”. I am still unpacking and doing wash and all those “returning home” type of things. I go back to work on Monday May 17, 2010.

Now for a report on my last two days in Kenya:

After I wrote Journal 20 on Sunday May 9 at 11.00AM I went back to the hospital to visit Rom. He was more alert than most times. I talked about the possibility of having him transferred to Aga Khan hospital. It is a modern well-run facility by reputation, but I had never visited there. It is also expensive. Connie, Rom’s wife, was in favor of the move. Clementine, Connie’s sister, said it was OK but preferred that he stay where he was since she had influence over his care here. She is the supervisor of nursing for all the government hospitals in Nyanza Province. Nothing was decided at that time.

Paul and I went to RK hotel and got some dinner and went back to the hospital about 7 PM. I was told that Clementine fell shortly after we left in the afternoon while she was rushing around the hospital trying to find some glucose testing strips so they could test Rom’s blood sugar. Connie said she broke her ankle and injured her other thigh.

I immediately thought “We have to get Rom out of here. Without Clem around to advocate he won’t get any decent care”. I decided to go and visit Aga Khan the next morning- Monday- my last day in Kisumu. I was to leave on the 6:20 PM plane and needed to be at the airport by 5.00PM.

Paul and I went to Aga Khan in the morning. It was almost like walking into a hospital in the USA. I found out what I needed to do to get him admitted and went back to Russia hospital to talk to Rom and Connie about it. They both said to go ahead with arranging admission. I also said my goodbyes to Rom and Connie in case I didn’t have time to come up again. I called my niece Michele to see if she would donate some initial funds, as the down payment is about 400 dollars before anyone can be admitted. She agreed.

First he had to be discharged from Russia. I’ve mentioned before what a long process that is. We knew there was no way he could be transferred before Tuesday the 11^th.

In the meantime I called Clem to see how she was doing and found out her ankle was not broken but badly bruised. I told her about the plans to move Rom. She didn’t say much. She said she was at a meeting for work and had to go.

Paul and I went back to Aga Khan and they opened an account in Rom’s name and I put the $400.00 on my credit card. By now it was about 3.00PM so I did not have time to go back to the hospital one last time. I arrived back at the flat to get cleaned up and do final packing. The doorbell rang and it was Nelson’s mom and her son Geoffrey. I talked to them briefly and took his photo and videotaped him for his sponsor back home. They left about 4.00PM

I tried again to get changed but Mamma and Cecelia arrived just as the others left. They had come to say goodbye. I asked Paul to get them some soda and cookies and “entertain” them while I got changed. The Tuk Tuk was scheduled to come at 4.15PM to take us to the airport. At 4.05PM my cell rang. It was Lillian Dajoh who we sponsored, asking if I wanted a ride to the airport. I was thrilled and called Maurice and cancelled the Tuk Tuk.

Lillian came with a driver from Pandipiere where she works. Paul and I jumped in and off we went to the airport. My check in went smoothly and we all had time to have a soda together. We said our final goodbyes and I was off to Nairobi.

David Osino, a friend who lives in Nairobi, graciously met me at the airport and after I was checked in for London we had a cup of tea together. I still had the borrowed cord for my Mac computer that I was supposed to be returning to Brian. He was going to try to meet me at the airport also. He called and said he couldn’t make it. He and David talked and they were going to arrange to meet at another time and David would keep the cord until then. My flight to London was pleasant and uneventful. I watched the movie “Enemy of the State” and read the Obama book. Sleep would not come. I arrived in London at 6.30AM and cleared customs by about 7.30AM. My flight was scheduled to leave at 11.15 AM for Newark/Continental airlines. Due to the ash from the volcano the flight was delayed and did not leave until about 1.30 PM. It was a very empty flight and I had all three seats to myself. I still could not sleep but I watched movies and read.

My connection in Newark was scheduled to leave at 3.55PM so I knew I had missed that.

We arrived in Newark about 5.15PM. With quite a bit of rushing I was able to clear customs and check in for a 6.55 PM flight to Buffalo.

I arrived in Buffalo at about 8.15PM and all my bags arrived with me J.

Karen, my sister, came to pick me up and I went back to her house for a cup of coffee. (My first in well over a month as I had been drinking tea). I drove myself home and arrived about 10.30 PM. Louise, the cats and the dog were all there to greet me. It is good to be home but my heart is heavy due to Rom’s illness.

Now to give an update on Rom:

I have been in close communication with Paul via email. Rom was admitted to ICU at Aga Khan hospital on 5/11/2010. Paul had to take care of everything himself as Clementine refused to help. She did not want him moved. However Connie and Rom both were in favor of moving so Paul went ahead as planned. At Aga Khan they quickly did diagnostic tests including CT scan, ultrasound, echocardiography, X-Rays and blood work. Most of the problems we were already aware of, including, severe anemia, hypertension, uncontrolled blood sugars, fever. However he was also found to have fluid in his lungs, CHF, and a blood clot in part of his brain.

I got an email from Paul today that states his temperature; blood sugars and hemoglobin are now stable. He is eating a little solid food. They are still evaluating the blood clot on his brain and are calling in a specialist. He seems unable to talk except for a few words and that is caused by the blood clot.

The cost is very high at Aga Kahn hospital. FIOH-USA and FIOH-UK are trying to collect funds to help pay for Rom’s care. So far it is over $1000 dollars. Hopefully he will be stable enough to be transferred out of ICU and that will lower the daily rate greatly. If anyone wants to donate funds for Rom please send them to our treasurer Sandy Warner, 5200 Bank St, Clarence, NY 14031. Make checks payable to FIOH-USA and state “for Rom” in the memo. Thank you.

Please keep up the prayers for Rom and the work of FIOH-USA and FIOH-K.

End of final Journal – number 21

News from Kenya - #20

2010-05-20T06:24:00.000-04:00

Journal entry 20

Sunday May 9, 2010-11.00AM Days 39.40,41,42

I haven’t had the heart to write recently. Rom is still very sick. I am frustrated by the delays in tests and proactive treatment and diagnosis. They treat the symptoms but don’t seem to be getting at the root of the problem. They are realizing the antibiotics are not doing much, so a couple of days ago they decided to do a blood culture to try to find out what specific antibiotics the infection might be responsive to. They still have not done the culture. They don’t do them on weekends! Earlier in the week when they did a blood test- Cecelia, the girl I’ve been trying to help get a hair dressing shop and apt., had to take the blood sample on a matatu to an outside lab to be read. She had to wait for the results and then take them back to the main hospital. The hospital Rom is in is a level 5 government hospital. The highest level is 6. It’s supposed to be a good hospital. If this is good I’d hate to see what levels 1-4 are like.

The young man that was robbed died the next day. He got his X-ray and was put on O2. He was skin and bones and I’m not surprised he died. The man that robbed him is still in the hospital because he can’t leave until he pays his bill and he has no money to pay. They just keep the people there held hostage until they can pay the bill and the bill keeps rising- plus they take up a bed in an overcrowded hospital. The system is terrible. In their defense- once the person leaves the hospital there is really no way to get in touch with them. They don’t usually have permanent addresses so the money is just lost to the hospital.

I just talked to Rom’s wife, Connie on the phone. She has been there continuously day and night since he went to the hospital on Tuesday. She has only gone home for about an hour each day to wash and change her clothes. She has to pay 200 KS/night (about 2.50 dollars) to be allowed to stay and do the nurses work all night. There is only one nurse on duty at night for 50+ patients. No aides etc. The family members are essential, yet they have to pay. Most families can’t afford to pay that so the patient gets no care during the night. There is a severe shortage of gloves. The nurses usually wear gloves but they don’t change them between patients. They just protect themselves. Rom’s condition remains very poor. His hemoglobin was 3.9 yesterday AM- 11-13 is normal. They gave him another pint of blood. That is his fourth pint. They think his liver is still destroying his red blood cells. His temperature is lower and in normal range this morning. His blood sugar is 17 (306) - still high but much better than the 48 (greater than 750- the conversion chart did not go as high as 48) it was two days ago. It fluctuates widely. His blood pressure is high but OK. I think he should be on oxygen to lessen the energy needed for his heart and lungs, but they only use it if the patient is actually having difficulty and gasping for air. His respirations are usually about 44/minute and they seem to think that is fine. (Normal is about 12). When I mentioned oxygen to Connie she said if they get oxygen they usually die. I said that is because they wait until the patient is almost dead before giving them the oxygen. I get so frustrated.

I am leaving here tomorrow evening (Monday) to start my journey home. I hate to leave Rom so sick but I guess I can’t change things here regarding this. FIOH-USA and FIOH-UK have offered to donate funds to move him to a different hospital but the family thinks he is getting more consistent care here. I wish I could bring him home with me.

Now about my recent days;

In my last journal I wrote that we were going to see a project that Fr. Charles is heading up. On Thursday May 6, 2010 he drove us in his car to his family home area. They’ve started a private school named after his deceased mother Magdalene. It is on a piece of land donated by the government but they are paying to build the school through private donations. So far they have nursery and first grade and hope to add a grade each year. The children are so cute and they were not afraid of me. They all clamored around to see the pictures I took of them. I felt like the pied piper. It took about two hours to drive to the school and the roads were muddy and bumpy. At least we were in a car and not a Tuk Tuk. They brought two large sacks of clothes “for the children” The children all gathered around excitedly while they opened the clothes. No one had looked over the donations before they brought them to the 5 and 6-year-old children.

Sadly they were almost all adult clothes. A few children were given shirts that were much too large for them. Most got nothing. Hopefully it will help their parents.

They have a very large vegetable garden with corn, beans, cow peas, kale and banana trees. They also have a smaller area planted- they call it a kitchen garden. It has onions, herbs, and some vegetables. They have a rain catchment tank but would benefit from a bore-hole well for more consistent water supply.

We stayed much longer at the school than I had expected. I thought we would be back to Kisumu and up to the hospital by about 3 PM. We never got back until after 7 PM. They had a “feast” for everyone at Fr. Charles nearby family home. There was beef, stewed and fried chicken, rice, ugali, skumaweeke (kale) bananas and oranges, soda and tea. I did not have too much as there were no bathrooms I could use and I was afraid I would “get into trouble” on the bumpy ride home. We left Father’s home around 3.30PM to head to President Obama’s family home in Kondele. It was raining by this time. We took a wrong road but we finally got there about 5.00PM. The guard at the gate said it was too late. However Father said there was an American sister who came all the way to see his home and that he was a priest who had met Sarah (Obama’s grandmother) personally and given donated clothing for the orphan children supported through her. He went off to ask Sarah if we could come in. Next thing we knew we were invited through the gate.

They said no photos without permission so I waited. We were invited into her simple village house. She now has electricity but otherwise the house is still a typical village house with iron roofing and chickens running in and out. One of the older orphan boys who live with her stayed with us until she came out. She had been resting.

She came into the living room dressed in a plain housedress and a headscarf on her head. She was very friendly and talkative. There were about 8 of us in the group visiting. It was like we were old friends. I had Fr. ask if I could take a picture. She laughed and Fr. translated her reply. She said.” It’s raining outside so there is no hurry. She can take my picture after she tells me stories from America” I also laughed but didn’t know what kind of story to tell. I knew it should be a lighthearted story and my heart was so heavy with Rom’s illness. I asked her is there was anything she wanted to know about. She wondered if it was still so cold there. She was there when Obama was inaugurated in January so she said she was never so cold in all her life. I assured her it was warmer now and that the temperature varied throughout the USA. She said she has also been there in the warmer months and knew it could be nice. She then chatted in D’Luo with the other visitors for quite a while and then we took pictures. It was a good visit. They have toilets with seats for use when Obama or other dignitaries come but they were locked up so I needed to wait.

We traveled on home and Father asked if we all wanted to stop along the way for a cup of tea. It was the last thing I wanted. I just wanted to get home- use a bathroom and go see Rom. I didn’t say it that bluntly but we all agreed not to stop. I did tell him I needed to use a bathroom. It was still raining to make things worse.

Finally we arrived back at the flat and I ran upstairs to use the bathroom and came back down and Father drove Paul and I to the hospital. I think the rest of them may have gone for tea after that. Rom smiled when I told him about Obama’s grandmother. He obviously was hearing and comprehending the conversation but not opening his eyes or verbally responding.

I got back to the flat about 9.30 PM. It was a long day on bumpy roads. I got cleaned up and emailed Abby back and forth as Skype was not working well enough. There is a concern about how to get money out of the FIOH-K bank account, as Rom is the main signer on the account. Abby and I discussed options.

On Friday, Steve Biko, a student we sponsored through Secondary School came unexpectedly to the house about 10.00AM and I told him about Rom. I had already called Maurice to come with his Tuk Tuk to pick me up to take me to the hospital. Steve came along. We visited until about 2.30 PM and then I took Steve to lunch at RK Hotel. We shared a chicken pizza. It was good. He is hoping to get accepted into the military and then become a medic or a doctor. The application process is long. He has finally completed everything and will learn whether he is accepted or not sometime in June. He said if you join the military here, it is for life. Once a soldier always a soldier. We said our goodbyes and I went back to the flat about 5 PM and rested. I’ve not been feeling real well. I’ve got some sort of skin infection and I’m taking antibiotics. Paul came about 6PM and we went back to the hospital until about 8.30 PM. I came home and did some computer stuff and got ready for bed.

Saturday AM Nelson’s(the young blind boy) mother came to pick up the white can we had gotten for Nelson. She also brought the grade reports for her other son Geofrey. He was in form 2 but had to drop out because of lack of school fees. A generous sponsor from back home offered to sponsor him. He did very well his first two terms of form 1 in 2008 with a B average. However in his 3^rd term he got a D+ as he got sent home due to lack of fees. I gave her an application to have him fill out and hopefully he will stop by Monday so I can meet him and take his photo. About 11 AM Saturday, Paul and I went to Barclay’s bank where FIOH-K’s account is kept. We found out that Connie, Rom’s wife, and her brother Ernest are also signatories on the account but that they must go together to take out any money. Ernest has had a stroke and does not travel easily. He lives about two hours away in Awasi. Connie does not want to leave Rom long enough at this point to go to the bank. I will leave Paul with some cash to hold them over until the bank negotiations can be arranged. We are also trying to have Paul added as a signatory on the account. Both Mike Thomas and myself have written recommending that this take place. We have obtained the paper with the necessary instructions for accomplishing that task. It won’t be quick but it sounds possible. Hopefully Rom will recover and be able to take over along with Paul. Ernest and Connie have not had much to do with the running of FIOH-K for a long time. It is mainly Rom and Paul that carry the load of everything.

We got to the hospital about noon and stayed until about 2.30PM. I came home and fell asleep as I was still not feeling well and had a slight fever. Cecelia did my wash and Paul did some computer work. We went back up to the hospital about 6.30 and stayed until 8 PM. It is like a vigil.

Please keep praying and sending healing energy.

End of journal 20

News from Kenya - #19

2010-05-20T06:23:00.000-04:00

Journal entry 19

Wednesday May 5, 2010-9.00PM Day 38

I just came home from the hospital after visiting Rom. He is still unstable and almost unresponsive. I appreciate hearing from my friends and knowing that many people are holding Rom in prayer.

Last night after I finished writing my journal I was too worried and upset to try to sleep. I prayed for a while but felt like I needed to talk to someone “human” who would understand the situation here. It was about 1 AM so it was 6PM back home. I tried Skyping my sister Terri and my nephew Mike but they weren’t online.

I hesitated about calling my friend Abby in Oxford, England because it was 11PM there. I decided to call her anyway and I was glad I did. Abby is remarkable and so supportive. We had a poor connection on Skype so she called me back on her landline. We didn’t talk too long but it was long enough to give me some support. (Thank you Abby)

I was still wide-awake so I was looking up liver disorders and causes of jaundice online. It was almost 3 AM when I noticed my niece Michele was online so I sent her a chat message. At first she didn’t respond but after about 5 minutes she wrote; “I’m here”

Michele has been to Kisumu 4 times and I knew she would be able to understand my situation. We decided to try Skyping and IT WORKED J. We could see each other although it was not perfectly clear. There was a delay in our talking but considering we were half way around the world from each other it was pretty remarkable.

We talked for almost an hour and then my sister Karen arrived at Michele’s house following a bike ride. I got to see her and talk to her for a couple of minutes and then the connection failed. It was a relief to talk to people back home and helpful.

I finally crawled into bed about 4 AM but sleep wouldn’t come. I tried reading but I couldn’t concentrate. I played freecell on my IPOD Touch and then I heard the Muslims singing their morning prayer about 5 or 5.30 AM. That must be when I fell asleep.

Paul called about 8.15 AM to see if I had heard anything from Connie. I told him no and tried to go back to sleep but I was awake so I got up. I called Connie. She said that he had a very bad night and they gave him blood transfusions. Early this morning they put in a nasogastric tube and gave him some milk and porridge. He pulled the tube out shortly after they finished the feeding but at least he had a little food. Official visiting is not until 1 PM so I was planning on going up then.

I ate my breakfast and did some more research online and checked my emails. This little modem has been very helpful even if the connection is poor much of the time. Somehow it got to be 11.30 AM and Paul called to say he was leaving school and would come by and we could go to the hospital together. Maurice, our Tuk Tuk driver, arrived shortly and off we went.

When we arrived in the ward about 12.30PM, Rom responded a little with a bit of a smile. He is not able to talk at this point. Connie was sitting on an empty bed near Rom. She said she stood next to his bed most of the night as he was restless trying to pull at the IV’s. I had stopped at the store and brought up a box of gloves so they could at least use them when they cared for him. Rom was having diarrhea so Cecelia went to the store to purchase adult pampers. They have no bedpans or urinals.

Visiting hours hadn’t officially started yet so the ward was not crowded. There was a new young man in the bed where the patient had died yesterday. He was very sick and was vomiting on the floor. He did not have a basin. No one came to his assistance. After about 30 minutes one of the nurses came over and noticed the vomit on the floor. She got a pail of water and a mop and wiped it up. Paul tells me they do not have disinfectant for the water that it was just plain cold water. She was not wearing gloves. I was beginning to feel sick myself but it was just at the hopelessness all around me.

A few minutes later the young man in the bed across from Rom was crying. He was very upset but it didn’t seem to be from his illness. We then discovered his concern. His knapsack had been robbed while he slept and he lost the 1000Ksh he was going to use to get an X-Ray that he needed. No procedures or medication are given without paying first. A security guard came in to investigate, and one of the patients, an older man, said he saw another young patient rummaging through the man’s knapsack during the night. The security guard questioned the young man and he became “almost white”. They looked in his things and found the money. He returned it to the man he stole it from. They decided not to arrest him as he was supposed to be discharged that day and was still quite sick. They just let it go since the man got his money back. Everyone is so desperate. I was considering giving the man the 1000 Ksh so he could get his X-Ray but was relieved when the money was returned. If I gave it to one there are 24 others that need money just as badly and I can’t help everyone-much as I would like to.

At about 1:15 PM visitors started pouring into the ward. Rom had so many visitors, from his family, the staff from Buburi, Roberts’ wife Jennifer and friends of Connie. There were 15 of us standing around his bed. Several people led prayers. I was standing near Rom’s head so I was praying and holding his head. Some of the people were crying. Rom did not respond in anyway during all this.

Paul and I had arranged to have Maurice come back to get us at 1:30PM and take us to Kanyamedha, the school where Paul teaches. He is a volunteer, as I’ve mentioned before, so he had gone early in the morning to teach and then was able to leave to go to the hospital. It was another bumpy muddy ride to the school. The Tuk Tuk got stuck very close to the school so we got out and walked. Paul called some of the students over to push out the Tuk Tuk and off he went.

We arrived at the school about 2.30 PM. They were on break and having lunch of corn and beans- a traditional meal. I had a dish. It was tasty. The corn kernels are very large and very tough. The beans were good and soft. After lunch Paul took care of some of his business and I looked over some of the exams the teachers had prepared. The questions are so hard. The students get a good education but there are so few job opportunities once they finish. I think a high school education makes them more fulfilled as a person and is worth it even if it doesn’t result in a job.

We walked over to the house Paul rents. He lives there with his cousin Stephen who is HIV + and two boys in Secondary school. It is a nice house with a cement floor and two rooms. The compound is secure with a gate that is locked at night. It is a good location for Paul as it is very close to the school.

We walked back to the school and I talked to one of the third-year girls, Mercelline, about the “STOP THE SPOT” Program. FIOH-USA provides funding for sanitary napkins for all the girls in the school. She spoke briefly on the video and was very grateful.

Gordon, the principal, gave us a ride back to town. He asked if I would stop on the way to see one of the teachers that was hit by a motorcycle about a week ago. He wanted me to look at her X-Rays and also see if there were any exercises I could show her. She had fractured the inferior and superior ramus of her right pelvis (for all you medical people reading this). She had been on complete bed rest with her right leg in traction using a plastic bottle with some water in it. She also was wearing a lumbar support. She seemed rather groggy and I though it might be from pain medication. She also seems quite depressed. She is seeing a physiotherapist at her house and it seems like they are using OK treatments. We no longer use strict bed rest in the USA for that problem but when I was a young therapist it was the normal treatment. He was starting to let her get up once/day for a very short time. She told me in another week they would begin to get her up walking with support. I gave her some exercises to do with her arms and her good leg and ankle pumps to prevent blood clots. She said her therapist had told her to do some of the same things. However I don’t think she has been doing them. I gave her a pep talk explaining some of the possible complications if she did not keep her body strong. I also encouraged her to eat her food. She said she had not been eating. I explained that her body could not heal without proper nutrition. I’m sure she has heard it all before but at least I tried.

We continued back to the flat and Paul rushed to his driving lesson. I came up and watched some of the video by Donna Eden on Energy Medicine. I used some of the techniques on myself and I did feel less tired. Paul came from his lesson and we had cup-a-soup and the small sweet bananas for supper. Neither of us felt like going to a restaurant. We tried watching more of the video together but we were both too distracted by Rom’s illness. We decided to go back to the hospital.

Maurice took us again. We got there about 7:00 PM and visiting had ended at 6:00PM, but they let us in. Clementine was there so she was able to tell me what was going on. Not really much of anything. They had still not done any liver function studies or examination of his stool. His blood sugars continue to fluctuate widely but are consistently lower than on admission. He is still severely jaundiced. He can’t seem to control his tongue and it stays up at the roof of his mouth. When I first came in he smiled and I noticed a right facial droop. I asked him to say hello and he did try and managed to whisper it. He is moving his arms and legs without difficulty. He was getting another blood transfusion and kept trying to pull on the line. Cecelia was holding his hand and making sure the blood continued to run smoothly. Ebrine and Caroline, Connie’s sister-in-laws were there as well as Clementine and her husband.

There is what they call an Amenity Ward in the hospital. It is where people who can afford to pay stay. I asked Clementine about moving Rom to that ward as it is cleaner and there are not more than two or three patients in a room. She said the medical care is better in the ward and there are more eyes around to see if anything is going wrong. She was going to have him moved to ICU but it is overcrowded and understaffed and she thinks he has a better chance in the ward until he stabilizes. In the amenity wards the doctors are called in as consultants and are not available all the time. She says treatment is delayed. I don’t know home much more delayed it could be than it is already.

They sat Rom up some by raising the head of the bed and he did swallow about 6 tablespoons of porridge. Then he couldn’t swallow anymore. He was trying but he couldn’t. They are thinking of putting in another naso-gastric tube.

By now it was 8:15PM and Paul and I went down to meet Maurice to travel back to the flat. Paul and I talked a little bit and he went home. I started writing this journal. Please keep up the prayers.

Tomorrow Fr Charles, Paul and I are scheduled to go and see a project Fr. Charles wanted us to see, and also visit Obama’s family home here in Kenya. It is not far from here. Rom, of course, was supposed to go with us. We decided to go anyway as there is not much we can do at the hospital and there are many relatives staying close.

End of Journal 19

News from Kenya - #18

2010-05-20T06:22:00.000-04:00

Journal entry 18

Tuesday May 4, 2010-11:30AM Days 36, 37

Sunday was a quiet day. We were unable to travel to Seme Village to see the new Posho Mill and revisit the well due to washed out roads from the rain. I doubt if we will be able to reschedule that before I leave. Rom and Paul came to the flat and we discussed the student program in some detail.

Rom was still not feeling well and he took a nap. Paul and I watched more of the BBC Planet Earth Series that I brought with me. The video is magnificent. I’m very happy to have my computer working again so we can view more of it before going home. I also read Obama’s book. Paul left about 4 PM and Rom got up but it started rainy very heavily again so he went back to bed. He is dizzy and sweaty. He managed to go home about 8PM. I have a supply of peanut butter and jelly and cup of soup mixes so I was well fixed for meals. I watched the news and went to bed.

Monday Cecelia came about 10AM and we went shopping at Nakumatt for water and supplies. Felix came with the letter from his brother Reagan for his sponsor and we talked a little while. Then Cecelia Felix and I took a Tuk Tuk to see the house and village where Felix and his brothers live in Nylenda It is a large slum village. I’m told the security is poor and it is not safe. Cecelia was thinking of trying to find a shop and/or a house there but it does not seem like a good place for her and the children, even if we could find a house etc. The area was very muddy from the rain.

Felix and his brothers live in his deceased mom’s home. It is a three-room house with electricity in the living room. The floor is mud and the roof is made of iron sheets. Felix’s stepsister was doing the wash and hanging it up outside to dry on lines between trees. There were many wide-eyed children saying, “How are you” to me. I know to answer “I’m fine, how are you?” as that is the phrase they are taught.

It is about 15 minutes in a Tuk Tuk from Town to Nylenda and Felix has to travel it twice/day and sometimes more often. He often walks or has to pay for a matatu. He is the student I sponsor so I decided to help get him a bicycle at the same place I got the other two. I told our driver the name of the store but could not tell him where it was. Our Tuk Tuk driver, Maurice said he knew the store, but he didn’t, so we rode all around town. I wish I had a better sense of direction. I had walked to the store with Paul on Saturday but we had walked to so many stores and we were winding around so I did not remember where it was. We called Paul and he misunderstood my question because of all the noise. He gave the man directions back to the flat! Ugh. I called Paul again when it was quiet and he was able to tell Maurice where the shop was. I got Felix the same style bike as the other two boys and he was very grateful.

Cecelia and I came back to the flat. She wanted to do my wash for me so I went over to Nakumatt to get more laundry soap. The phone rang while we were hanging up the wash. It was Connie. Rom was at the MD’s and still very sick. He went to school but left after a couple of hours, as he was dizzy, with a severe headache. Cecelia and I walked over to the MD office to join them. The office was very busy and the MD had been called to the local hospital on an emergency so we waited a long time. They tested for malaria and typhoid and his blood sugar. He does not have malaria or typhoid but his blood sugar was very high and his white blood count was also high indicating a bacterial infection of some kind. They gave him a broad-spectrum antibiotic and told him to come back in 5 days when they are finished. I am worried about him. Mamma is doing OK.

Cecelia and I walked back to the flat and Paul met us after finishing his driving lesson. He is taking his driver’s test on May 13^th. I’m sure he will do fine. Cecelia went back to Rom and Connie’s house and Paul and I went to RK Hotel for dinner about 8 PM.

We came back to the flat and talked a while and he headed home about 9 PM. He said the night before he went home in the heavy rain and some of the water near his house was up to his THIGHS!

Tuesday 4.30PM

After writing the above, I was just about to call Maurice to bring his Tuk Tuk to take Cecelia and me to Kanyamedha Secondary School to meet Paul and then go and see his house, when Connie called me on the phone. Rom was even sicker than yesterday with vomiting and diarrhea and a high fever. They were about to go to Russia hospital by Tuk Tuk. I cancelled my plans to meet Paul, and Cecelia and I went to meet Connie and Rom at the hospital. As I’ve mentioned before sometimes care is quicker if there is a mwzungu (white person) around.

When I got there Rom was still in the ER-he was lying on a plinth with an IV of saline solution going into his left wrist. Connie said they almost carried him from the Tuk Tuk into the ER. His blood sugar was very high. They use a different system here and normal is 5 to 7. His was 32. His temperature was 101.3 F. He is also jaundiced with yellowing around his eyes and his hands and feet were obviously yellowish. He was alert but poorly responsive. Connie’s sister Clementine is a nursing supervisor of all the hospitals in Nyanza Province including Russia, and she arrived shortly after I did. She has some “clout”- more than a mwzungu- at least with all the nurses. The MD came in shortly and said Rom would be admitted and they would give him IV antibiotic, and insulin to bring his sugar down. They also planned to do further blood tests and a complete work up of the status of his liver. It sounded appropriate.

Then we just waited and nothing happened for over an hour. Rom was practically unconscious and had lost control of his urine. I felt so terrible for him and there was nothing I could do. Finally about 1.5 hours after the MD said he would be admitted they took him up to ward 3. His ward has 25 beds. There are not curtains dividing any of the beds so there is no privacy. He could not be properly cleaned up until the family brought in a basin and soap etc. They also have to bring a dish, silverware and a cup from home and bring in food for him. Almost all the patients were wearing their own clothes, as there are few hospital gowns. One of the nurses brought a clean set of sheets and “hid” them under the cover so Rom would have clean sheets once he was cleaned up. She did that as a special favor. At least the bed was much more comfortable than the plinth. They gave him a pillow and Connie covered it with a cloth she had brought from home. Charles, his nephew, brought up a change of clothes for him to wear after he was washed up. The sanitation is terrible. After he was pulled off the cart onto the hospital bed – the cart was soiled with urine. They were going to use it to move another person without cleaning it off. There are no coverings on the carts or plinths. Clementine told them to clean it off so they took a dry cloth and wiped it.

Rom’s sheet was soaked with urine but he was covered with another sheet so it was not obvious. The MD came in to evaluate him and leaned his ungloved hand on the sheet until the urine came through. He then just wiped it on his lab jacket and went on to the next person. I was appalled.

Finally after about another 45 minutes, and after Clementine made a special request, they put some insulin into his IV.

It is amazing to me anyone ever gets well. I had waterless soap in my bag so I shared it with Clementine and Cecelia before we left the hospital. Connie stayed with Rom. Cecelia, Clementine and I took a matatu back to the flat. Clementine had to go back to work. She asked Cecelia to buy a basin for Rom to use at the hospital. We went to Nakumatt and bought a basin, towel, washcloth, antiseptic soap, a plastic dish for his food and a plastic cup. We then headed back to the hospital as visiting hours end at 6 PM and it was almost 5.45.

We made it just in time and went back to the ward to see Rom. The man in the bed close to him had just died and his wife asked to borrow Connie’s phone to call family members. He was still in the bed with the covers pulled up over him. Rom was still in the same condition. That is he had not been cleaned up and was still lying in his urine. Now that they had the basin Connie was going to wash him. She stepped away for a few minutes and some nurses came and said they were going to change his sheets. I said Connie was going to wash him and they should wait to change the sheets until after that. They said he could wait until tomorrow to be washed. I said no. In the meantime Connie had called Clementine to please come back to the hospital. When she arrived about 30 minutes later she arranged to have a catheter inserted. She had to go to a different building of the hospital to get one and in about 45 minutes came back with it. They were also trying to find a way to heat some water, as there is no hot water in the hospital. That never happened. Clementine arranged to have some of “her nurses” insert the catheter, clean up Rom and change his sheets while we waited in the hallway. When we went back in about 30 minutes later he was all cleaned up. They even found a hospital gown for him to wear. I was relieved that at least he was now on clean dry sheets.

Cecelia, Paul and I took a Tuk Tuk “home” and now I am going to relax and pray for Rom.

Please everyone keep Rom in your thoughts and prayers. He is very sick.

End of Journal 18

News from Kenya - #17

2010-05-20T06:21:00.000-04:00

Journal entry 17

Saturday May 1, 2010-10.00AM Days 34, 35

I find it had to believe it’s May already. My time is going quickly although some of the days seem to go slowly. I am feeling well. I had a brief repeat of the “running stomach” (diarrhea) but it seems to have stopped. I still have antibiotics to take if necessary so I’m OK.

Yesterday, Paul and I went walking around town looking to buy bicycles for two of the students, Emmanuel Onyango and Shadrack Ouko. They both walk a long distance to get to school (about 45 minutes to an hour). We checked several shops. The prices have gone up since the post election violence. We found a shop where we could get them for 55,000 KSh (about 70 dollars each). All the other shops we looked at were charging over 85 dollars each. Before the violence they cost about 50 dollars.

We purchased two of them. Paul arranged for the two boys to come to the bike shop and the bikes were fitted to them and they rode them home. They were very happy. I felt like we accomplished something and I hope they do not get stolen. We bought them good locks for the bikes.

Lillian Dajoh came about 6.30PM for a visit. We went over to RK Hotel for dinner. I had mashed potatoes and barbecued chicken and it almost tasted like home J. We had a nice visit and she is interested in being a Board member of FIOH-K. I hope that really happens. She has a lot of ambition and is well educated. Pat Hoen, one of our SSJ Associates, sponsored her. She is back in school again to obtain a more advanced degree as a Community health Worker. She is paying her own way as she has a job now. It does not pay a great deal but it is consistent money coming in.

After dinner I went back to the flat and relaxed and read Obama’s book – Dreams From My Father.

Saturday 7.00PM

We just returned from visiting the well in the area of Oboch. It was not built by FIOH-USA but needed major repair costing about $1000 in 2006 that we provided. It was about an hours ride to the well and the roads were pretty good. The well is right next to a school. It provides water for over 1000 people plus the primary school children. As so many other of the wells here, the pump is broken. They have all the parts except for the “foot valve” They have been using a bucket to draw the water and the top of the well has been open. They will clean it out before replacing the pump. Ruben is the contact person for the well. He plans to have the cost of the repairs estimated and get back to Rom.

We all had a nice visit there and I learned a little more about the D’Luo tribal customs. Ruben’s first-born son was building his “Simba”. The custom states that the first-born must build a house next to his parent’s home when he comes of age and before he marries. However, his son Paul is already married so they are straying from the tradition. They were in the midst of building the house while we were there so I got to watch them pack the mud around the wooden tree limbs that form the frame of the house. The rest of the custom demands that when the son marries, the house they built for him is destroyed and a new house is built for him and his wife. It is only after that happens that the first-born can leave his family homestead and establish a “home” of his own. Then the second house is also destroyed. It seems like a lot of work to build two houses and then knock them down. They are not built as permanent houses but a lot of work goes into them nevertheless. They are going to put cement over the mud and wood and put a cement floor in the house-only to destroy it very soon. The son must stay in the house for a certain period of time to fulfill the custom. I’m not sure how long. The custom is of long tradition and I’m trying to learn and respect their customs. Building the house is a bonding experience as people work together to make it. It only takes two days to complete. Then the mud must dry for two weeks before the cement is put over it. It has an iron roof. As I mentioned before this tradition takes place in their “home”. The home is really a homestead in a rural village. Ruben calls it his country place. The whole family lives and works in Kisumu now and they have a “house” in Kisumu. Everyone I talk to here in Kisumu has a “home” somewhere else in a rural area. That is where their roots are. Many of the traditions are falling by the wayside and in some cases that is a good thing for health reasons.

After seeing the well and taking photos and videos we went back to Ruben and his wife’s home and had a meal. She had prepared ugali from corn I saw her shuck and take off the cob. She then took it to a nearby Posho Mill to be ground and made a “loaf” of beautiful ugali. It was the best I’ve tasted. We also had lamb and kale. It tasted very good. The meat was not tough like it usually is.

We traveled back to the flat and it rained quite hard all the way home. Our driver seemed nervous and not used to driving in the rain. It cost 3,500 Ksh (46 dollars) for gas and to pay the driver. At least we finally got to see that well.

When we got back to the flat I got a text message from Brian, my connection in Nairobi who is lending me a cord for my computer so I can charge it and start using it again. He said he sent is with a woman named Debra and it was in the open-air market. I called Debra and Rom Paul and I walked the mile to the place to get the cord.

Alleluia, it worked and I am typing this on my own computer. Yeah! I will return it to him when I fly into Nairobi on my way home. He said he could meet me at the airport. I am looking forward to meeting him.

Tomorrow we plan to go to the village of Seme to see their well and the new Posho Mill that we funded. I hope Rom will drive the car as the driver today, George, seemed nervous and it is expensive to pay him. Rom is feeling much better. I hope it continues.

Cecelia is coming in a little while to share her house hunting experiences and will stay overnight again. She is enjoyable company but I feel so bad for her situation.

Sunday 10.45AM

Cecelia and I talked for quite a while last night. She has not had any luck finding a suitable house or shop that she could afford on an ongoing basis. She is discouraged. I hope she can keep her spirits up. She thinks she will not have much success having a hairdressing shop unless she can buy a hair dryer for people to sit under. They cost about 15,000KSh (about 200 dollars). I have promised to give her about 320 dollars total and that would not allow for purchasing a hair dryer. I have a blow dryer I will give her but she said that wouldn’t work for after applying the chemicals or color to the hair. She also was hoping for help with her two children Eugene age 7 and Virgine age 4. She very hesitantly asked me about it last evening. I had to tell her I could only give her the $320 dollars (unless someone reading this is moved to assist).

We are supposed to go to Seme today but Paul just came in. He talked to them and they said it rained all night and the roads are not passable. They will call again after 1.00PM to see I they have dried out enough to get through.

So goes life in Kisumu.

End of Journal 17

News from Kenya - #16

2010-05-20T06:20:00.000-04:00

Journal entry 16

Thursday April 29, 2010 10.30 AM Days 32 and 33

Paul and I are supposed to be going to meet the head teacher at a Boarding school today with our sponsored student Winnie Sunday. I have written about her before. She is repeating her second year of Secondary School and is doing very poorly. She is treated badly at home by her father who is a drunkard. We are hoping she can be accepted into a boarding school so she can concentrate on her studies without the pressure of her home life. We had an appointment for today but Paul just called and spoke to the head teacher and she said to come tomorrow before 8 AM instead. I get so frustrated with the way people’s time is not respected here.

We have still not traveled to see the two wells that FIOH-USA has never seen in Oboch and Konyango or the new Posho Mill in the village of Seme because we have not found a car/driver to take us there. Mary Ellen and I planned to see the two wells in 2007 but it rained too hard and the roads were washed out. Michele did not manage to see them when she was here in 2008 as her time was very short and Rom and Paul were in school full time. All three places are too far away for a Tuk Tuk to take us. I have been pushing Rom to arrange something even if it costs more than he thinks it should. I have traveled all this way and it would be silly not to see the wells and Mill because of having to pay 10 – 20 dollars over the expected charge for a car and driver.

Yesterday we took a Tuk Tuk to see our newest well in Kano. It is an area that has a lot of cholera and they were in need of a well with clean water. The area is very rocky and the place with the best soil and water is quite near the road. As we arrived I could see that the top of the pump was missing from the well. We talked to the caretakers of the well. They said the pump was stolen last April, 2009 very shortly after the pump was completed. They never told Rom because the phone number they had no longer worked and they didn’t know where he lived. The water is good and they are using a bucket to draw it up. They said the water supplies a large area and they are very grateful to have the well. We will try to repair the well. The cost to replace the pump is $400 dollars. They plan to build a structure around the well in an attempt to prevent it from being stolen again. People are so desperate for money that crime is rampant.

There was a young man living next to the well who was very ill. He probably has malaria and was taking the only medicine he could afford to treat it. That medicine is not effective. He was burning up with fever and had a bad headache. I gave him some Motrin to help with the fever and pain. We went to the pharmacy later and got him the correct medicine for malaria. Rom will bring it to him.

We went to see another well close by that we built a couple of years ago in the village of Alendu. It was funded by the K-kids at Holmes Elementary school. It is working very well and the pump is intact. That pump is also very near the road and Rom suggested they weld the bolts so they cannot be easily removed by thieves. It was nice to see a well without any problems.

After visiting the wells we went to the store that sells the pumps to price the repair cost. Because Rom gives them a fair amount of business they give him a 15% discount.

From that store we walked about a mile to pick up the white cane that was sent from Nairobi for Nelson Otieno who is in class 7 at St. Oda’s school for the blind, to replace the one that broken. The one that broke was a folding cane that he received from England but they do not have any folding ones here in Kenya.

We walked back to the flat about 5.30 PM and discussed our plan for the next few days. Rom was feeling quite tired and went home. Paul and I had a light supper at the flat and he left by 7.30PM. I had the evening to myself and read a book called Think Big by Ben Carson MD. It is very inspirational. I bought it along with Ben Carson’s first book, Gifted Hands to give to the students at Kanyamedha Secondary School where Paul teaches. I wanted to read them first. I have also started to read Obama’s book Dreams From my Father.

Friday April 30, 2010 10.00AM

Yesterday I was frustrated most of the day because we were not able to accomplish anything and I was worried about Rom. He went to see the MD and felt sick again. He rested at home for the day. Paul and I talked and discussed things and created a check off list on the computer for them to use to assess the status of all our funded wells on a quarterly basis. Hopefully that way we will be notified in a timely manner if there are any problems. I read much of the afternoon and finished Think Big.

At 3.00PM I went with Paul to his driving lesson. He had asked permission and they said I could ride with him during one of his lessons. We first went to the theory class. There were about 20 young men and one woman sitting around the table with the toy cars. The instructor was teaching them the “ins and outs” of navigating 4 lane round abouts as they have many in Nairobi. It was interesting. Then we went outside to use the real car. The instructor came to the car with his son of about 7 years. Paul said he usually rides in the back seat. The instructor refused to allow me to come. We went and talked to the manager who said it is against the law to have anyone ride in the back seat when someone is under instruction. I asked why the little boy was allowed to ride and why they had told Paul I could come. He had no answer but would not allow it. Then he said I could do it on a Saturday sometime. I said if it is against the law how can it be OK on Saturday? He had no answer. I went back to the flat and Paul had his lesson. Maybe they were hoping I would offer them a bribe to let me go- I’m not sure. It makes sense that the insurance companies would not allow passengers but that is not the reason they were giving me. Paul said he is feeling more comfortable every lesson with his driving ability and he thinks the instruction is quite good.

I called Lillian Dajoh when I got back to the flat about 5.00PM and arranged to get together with her this evening. (Friday) We sponsored her for school and now she is doing well with a job and raising her two children. I also called Francis Omondi, a friend, and arranged to meet him last evening about 6.30 or 7.00PM.

About 6.30 PM the doorbell rang and I thought it would be Francis but it was Cecelia. She has not had any success finding a room to rent for her house or her shop and she came for advice and consolation. We talked until about 7.30PM and when Francis didn’t show up we went to RK hotel for dinner. Francis called while we were there and he joined us for dinner and we had a nice visit.

Cecelia came back to the flat and stayed overnight. It rained very hard all night and we were unable to go to see the Boarding School today with Winnie as the roads were too muddy for travel. I went shopping at Nakumatt with Cecelia and then we went to talk to Felix to see if he knew of any rooms and/or shops in the area where he lives in Nylenda. He is going to check around and let us know tomorrow. Cecelia then went off to search in the village of Manyatta.

I talked to Rom this morning and he said he is feeling better and is coming over around 1.00PM. I hope we accomplish something today.

End of Journal 16

News from Kenya - #15

2010-05-20T06:19:00.000-04:00

Journal entry 15

Tuesday April 27, 2010 - 3.30PM Days 30 and 31

Yesterday AM I was expecting Rom to come to the flat after he went to his MD appointment. Instead he called me about 9.30AM and said the he had seen the MD and his pressure was still high. The MD gave him medicine that would make him sleep. He was told to go home and sleep for 4 hours and then return to the MD.

Pamela went to the hospital to see how her mamma was doing. Paul came to the flat and we walked to the bank and then I stopped to buy a couple of books for some of the children including an atlas that Paul requested for his secondary students.

When we arrived back at the flat we were trying to make arrangement to visit one of the wells FIOH-USA funded and has never seen. The doorbell rang and I was surprised to welcome Serphine and her mom Jane. They had just come from Russia hospital after having Serphine’s voice problem evaluated. They said she needed speech therapy. She is to go three times/week for three months. It costs 100KSh each visit. That comes to 3600KSh. I gave her more money to supplement what I had already given her. I also gave Jane the $25 gift from Mary Ellen. She was very grateful and plans to buy sewing supplies to boost her tailoring business that she runs from her small house.

I had a good opportunity to visit with Serphine. I first met her in 2003 when I was her physical therapist after she was badly burned. We played educational games on my IPOD and she read me a little story book in English. Her English is fair. She is in class 4 and struggling with her classes. We visited together about an hour.

Rom came in shortly after Serphine left. He had just returned from seeing the MD again after his four hour sleep. His pressure was down to 150/95. He said he felt much better.

We went across the street to the Kenyan Airways office to see about confirming Pamela’s flight to Nairobi. She is finally booked to return to London after a 9 day delay due to the volcano in Iceland. They told us her evening flight was totally booked and she would have to leave in the AM. That would mean waiting at the Nairobi airport for over 12 hours- not a safe place for a prolonged stay. They also charged about $35 extra to change her booking from evening to morning even though they were the ones that overbooked the flight. Everything here is so corrupt. Pamela was stuck at the hospital trying to discharge her mother. It took over two hours to complete the paperwork and payments for the discharge.

After leaving Kenya Airways, Rom Paul and I walked about a mile to an outdoor market so I could pick out material for a top I am having made. It is always extremely crowded at the market with people yelling and pushing. The ground of the market is mud interspersed with many rocks making it difficult to walk. I found some material and we walked back to the flat. It was very hot and I always end up soaked with sweat.

We got back about 6.00PM and Rom went home. Paul and I went over to RK-hotel again to eat.

Pamela and Cecelia came to the flat shortly after I got back from supper and she was happy because she went to Kenya airways again and was able to switch back to the evening flight for Tuesday. Mamma was home from the hospital and on medication for her pneumonia.

Pamela Cecelia and I talked and enjoyed our last evening together. I will miss her company when she leaves tomorrow. Cecelia wanted us to go with her at 7AM Tuesday to see a room she thought might be adequate for her to rent for living with her 2 children.

Pamela and I stayed up on the computer trying to confirm her flight from Nairobi to London. It kept telling her that she could not check in online for that particular flight but she was insistent on trying. She finally gave up about 1 AM and we went to bed.

We got up Tuesday AM (today) and Pam, Cecelia and I took a Tuk Tuk to an area about 15 minutes away called Briliant. The house looked very nice from the outside. It was built as a large one family house. However each room was being rented out individually. A bare room about 12 x 10 was to serve as her entire home. The paint was falling off the walls and the electricity did not work. They were asking 3000KSh/month, about $40.00. They had come down from 3500KSh. After talking to a young man who was arranging the negotiations it was obvious to all of us he was very dishonest. Neighbors stated he takes renters money and then locks the room and refuses to allow them to move in. We therefore continued our search. There is a decent place nearby about the same size and in equally poor condition but the owner is reputable. They are asking 3500 KSh, about $47.00 and refused to lower the price. In order for her to make ends meet she needs to find a place that does not cost more than $40/mo. She is therefore going to continue looking. She also needs to find a place for her beauty shop. I have seen the “shops” here. Most are a tiny room about 8x 6 with a chair and a sink. The need to have water and electricity and the cheapest she can hope to find will cost about $40-50/month. She has nothing of her own except her clothes so she needs to get a mattress, dishes, sheets, - everything. The rooms are a bare 4 walls. They have to cook outside or in the room with a charcoal stove called a jiko. I have promised to assist her with about 320 dollars but I don’t know if that will be enough to give her a real chance.

We got back to the flat about 10.00AM. Paul and his cousin Robby arrived about 10.30AM. Robby is the young man who will be sponsored for vocational training. Paul thought he was 18 or 19. It turns out he is only 16. Both his parents are dead and he lives with his grandmother. He finished up to class 8 and scored a B on his KCPE- the national exam required to attend Secondary School. He was invited to attend a very good school but he was unable due to lack of fees. That was two years ago. Robby has ambitions to be an independent young man and requested to study auto mechanics. It is a one year course. He thinks he will have a fairly good chance of getting a job after he completes the course. If he is able to buy a set of his own tools after completing the course he will be able get paid more money. The course costs about $160 dollars for the year. I took his picture and a short video.

Paul and I then walked to the bank again. I am not allowed to take very much out at one time so I need to go frequently. Rom arrived at the flat when we returned from the bank. He was still not fully recovered but his pressure is down to 130/90 today. He has had a fever on and off. Mamma is still sick at home and having “running stomach” (diarrhea).

I redesigned the application form for the people seeking sponsorship from FIOH-K/USA and Paul and Rom reviewed it.

It was time for Pamela to leave for the airport so I said my goodbyes. I hope she gets home without any major problems.

Rom Paul and I went to RK Hotel for supper and that brings me up to now.

It is about 10.30 PM and I plan to go to bed soon.

End of Journal 15

News from Kenya - #14

2010-05-20T06:18:00.000-04:00

Journal Entry 14-Day 28.29

Sunday April 25 2010 10.30 PM

I’m alone in the flat right now- waiting for Pamela to come back. I talked to her about 30 minutes ago and she told me she was taking Mamma to Russia hospital for evaluation. She is having chest pain and diarrhea. They were waiting for a Tuk Tuk to come to take them. Rom is still sick. His pressure is still high although down a little. He states he feels very tired and he has a fever of 39 degrees Centigrade. That is fairly high. He is supposed to go back to the MD tomorrow AM. I won’t be surprised if he ends up in the hospital. I wish medical care was better here. I am very worried about him and mamma.

I said in my last journal I would come back to writing about Friday. Here goes:

As Rom and I were walking to the doctor’s office we met a woman and her three children waiting outside the Nakumatt. Rom explained that he had asked them to come and meet with me. They said they would wait until we returned.

As I’ve already written our visit to the MD was fairly quick so about an hour later we returned and they were still sitting there waiting for us. They followed us back to the flat.

Rom had not told them why he wanted them to come but I knew.

One of our friends wanted to sponsor three children from Kenya who were somewhat close in age to her three grandchildren. She has a girl 4, and two boys, age 6 and 7. She said she hoped the children would communicate with each other on a regular basis and if everything worked out she would try to sponsor them right up to college. She had already sent 50 dollars for each child to cover books, uniforms and remedial fees required in primary school.

The three children of the mom waiting for us at the Nakumatt are: Bernard age 10 in class 5, Regina, age 9 in class 4 and Christopher, age 7 in Class 1.

When we entered the flat the mom indicated she wanted to pray. That is very common here in Kenya. They all lined up and started singing a song asking the Spirit of the Lord to bring love, peace, hope and many other qualities to everyone. It was in English and very touching. Again I was “hooked” and decided these children would be the “match” we were looking for. The woman’s husband died in 2007. Her name is Mary Lillian but she goes by Lillian. She tries to sell some things in her slum village of Nyalenda to make a little money but it has been a struggle since her husband died.

The children are all quite bright. The oldest boy, Bernard ranked 5/65 in his first term of school. His English was excellent. Regina, age 9 ranked 21/47. That is in a C+ range. Little Christopher scored well in his first grade class. His English is coming along. They all wrote letter to their new “pen pals” back in USA and I took their pictures. The sponsor had sent pictures of her three grandchildren so I gave them copies. We spent about two hours together. They all enjoyed the games on my Ipod. Paul helped them play them while I talked to mom and filled out applications. Paul also coached them in writing the letters. He is such a wonderful kind generous man. Rom sat rather quietly throughout the visit but added comments when necessary. He said he was feeling better.

When it was time for the family to leave they sang another song, this time in Kiswahili. It was expressing gratitude to God for his kindness. I videoed and took pictures of them to share with the sponsor and her grandchildren. I hope the connection will be a lasting one. It is such a creative and generous offer on the part of the sponsor and I am grateful.

The same person also paid $150 dollars to sponsor a young man for vocational training. We have not made a definite decision re the recipient. There is a 19 year old man in Usoma who finished class 8 but never went to Secondary school due to lack of fees. Paul recommended him. I want to be sure he is really motivated to pursue the training.

Paul suggested an auto mechanics program. Paul will bring the person to the flat soon and I can get a feel for his level of ambition. He needs to be willing to work very hard and take initiative to find a job following completion. Jobs are almost impossible to find here.

After the family left, Rom and I talked some. It rained very hard for quite a while. Rom noticed that the little light on my computer cord was not on. After playing around with the outlets it was evident that the problem was the power cord. I was upset as I use the computer for several hours every day. The cord is a weak point in the Mac computers as far as I’m concerned. This is the second cord that has stopped working on me in the three years I’ve owned the computer. I still have a plan on my computer that will cover the cost but the closest store with Apple products is in Nairobi-six hours away by matatu or bus. I tried calling them but they were already closed. I will try again on Monday. If not I will have to wait until I get home. Thankfully Rom’s computer is working.

Today, Sunday, Paul and I traveled to Ober to see Nelson and the orphans. It is where our first well was built. When I arrived I noticed the two filtering tanks that had been added 2 years after the well was completed due to muddy water, were lying on the ground. Nelson explained that the wind had blown them down. He also said that the pump has been repaired many times and it works for a few days and then breaks down again. He said they need a new one. They have been using buckets to draw the water and they purify it after they pull it up. There have still been no cases of cholera or typhoid since the well was built in 2004. The repairs to the well will cost about 1000 dollars.

We proceeded to go into the house where the orphans stay. The children were all crowded into the living room- about 25+ of them. They greeted us with clapping and singing. They told us to sit down and relax and they gave a performance for us including singing, introducing themselves, reciting “memory verses” from the Bible. One girl in form one recited a poem about the effect of the post-election violence. It was very enjoyable. Nelson them spoke and introduced the widows who help with the orphans. It is a home based orphanage. Only 8 children live in the orphanage itself. About 25 stay with local widows and 9 are in boarding school. They are all supported by the orphanage. They have not had much outside funding in several years and Nelson requested help. He is very organized and resourceful. He is the inspector of 27schools in Kisumu and travels around a great deal for his job. The orphanage is a “side job” He lives next door to the orphanage with his wife and 7 children.

They have had some donations of books and have started a small library to help prepare the students for their KCPE and KCSE tests at the end of primary and secondary school respectively. They have started growing sugarcane. They get paid 2500 KS per ton of sugar cane (about 33 dollars). I wondered if it is worth all the work but they seem to think that is a good amount of money. They have cleared a field to plant 200 papaya trees but they have not been able to purchase all the seedlings yet.

After coming back from seeing the fields for planting there was a group of about 25 young men gathered in a group sitting on the ground. Nelson brought me over and one of the men explained that they were a new group of youth from Ober ranging in age from 18 to 35. A few are still in Secondary school but most have finished but have not found any work. A few drive boda-boda’s to make a living. The purpose of the group is similar to the women’s groups- to work together to save money. They also have a goal of emotional support and educating themselves on healthy habits. They requested some “capital” to help get them started. The spokesperson stated he thought $500 would get them off to a good start. I will give Nelson and the group our new proposal form. So they can prepare a proper request. The board will have to look at the requests and respond as our finances allow. FIOH-USA is totally dependent on outside donations for support.

We went back into the orphanage where the children were still gathered. A few of the women made requests of us and then I said a few words to the group explaining that FIOH-USA would do the best we could but would not be able to meet all their requests.

We have one boy in form 4 from Ober, Kennedy Onyango. He lost his sponsor and FIOH-USA has been sponsoring him directly since form 2. Of course he hopes to go to college. He like so many other students needs sponsorship.

The visit to Ober took much longer than we anticipated and our Tuk Tuk driver was patiently waiting for us. At last Nelson invited us into his house to have sodas and mandazzi’s. They are similar to the Italian sphinges (sorry I don’t know how to spell it), and are very good. They were still warm. Our driver, Charles, joined us for the snack. We said our goodbyes and were just about to walk to the Tuk Tuk when a girl about 7 years old came up to us carrying a chicken as a gift. I gratefully accepted the chicken and gently carried it to the Tuk Tuk. It seemed relaxed in my hold and I stroked its head. It will replace one of the chickens that died.

The roads to Ober are very muddy and full of holes. Our Tuk Tuk got stuck in one on the way back. Paul and I got out to lighten the load and a passerby on a bike helped push the Tuk Tuk. We were quickly back on the road. We got home about 4.30 PM. I gave the driver an extra 300 KS because he waited over two hours for us in addition to the 45 minute drive each way over rough terrain. His total pay was about 14 dollars and he was very happy with that.

Paul and I then went shopping at the Nakumatt as we were almost out of everything. We went over to RK hotel for supper and both had Spanish omelets and chips (French fries) and tea. The total bill came to about 8 dollars and it tasted very good.

Paul headed home with the chicken in a bag with holes poked into it I hope the chicken arrives safely. As I hold these soft gentle birds I am beginning to feel like I can’t eat them anymore. It is a gut feeling. I still know I like to eat chicken but when I look into their eyes and pet their heads it just doesn’t seem right to think of eating them. I will have to sort this one out.

This brings me up to writing this journal. Pamela arrived back about an hour ago. Mamma was admitted to Russia hospital with a diagnosis of pneumonia. Pamela needs to go back there by 6 AM to bring her a basin and soap to wash with. The hospital does not supply much of anything for the patient. Pamela said they tried to assign her a bed with another patient. Two in a bed is common practice. Pamela insisted she be given a bed of her own as there were several empty in the 20 bed ward. They had started her on pain killers an antibiotic and IV’s. I hope they don’t do more harm than good.

It is late now (almost 2 in the morning). Please pray for Rom and mamma and all the people I’m encountering here.

End of Journal 14

News from Kenya - #13

2010-05-20T06:17:00.001-04:00

Journal Entry 13-Day 25, 26, 27

Saturday April 24 8.45 PM

It’s been a rather frustrating day but I am doing OK. We were supposed to go to visit two wells today but Rom got very sick yesterday. He had not been feeling very well for a couple of days but it reached a peak. His blood pressure was very high and he had a fever. He thought he had malaria. This morning he did not feel much better and his pressure was still high. Pamela insisted he go to the hospital or the MD. I didn’t trust having him go to Russia hospital as the care there is slow and poor. He had gone to a private MD close to the flat in the past when his diabetes was first diagnosed. I said I would pay for the visit. We walked over together. The place was clean and well run. We only waited a few minutes and he saw the MD- an Indian named Dr. Patel. He had seen Rom before and remembered him although it had been a few years before. His blood pressure was still high - about 210/180. They took blood and a urine sample. His blood sugar was good and he did not have malaria. They gave him medication for his pressure- about 6 pills right in the office. He was given enough medicine to take home to last about a month and was told to “lay flat” until Monday and come back again for a check-up. The whole visit including blood work, urinalysis and medication came to 1,700KS- about 22 dollars. We walked back to the flat and of course he did not go home to rest in bed but did sit most of the rest of the day. I’ll say more about that later.

Thursday April 22, 2010 Paul and I took a Tuk Tuk to see the well at Kibos. The well has water but the pump has not been working since it was vandalized last June by one of the locals. They took important parts of the pump making it useless. A technician who is repairing the pump was meeting us at Rom’s house and the 3 of us would go together. When we arrived at Rom’s house the technician was not there yet. After waiting about 20 minutes two technicians arrived on bicycles. They both wanted to go with us but the Tuk Tuk’s are only supposed to carry up to three passengers. We told them there was no need for two of them to go but they insisted. Finally the driver told one of them to get in the front seat with him and off we went. It was only a 30 minute ride but the roads were TERRIBLE! It’s a good thing I was feeling good because it was soooo bumpy my insides were all mixed up I’m sure J.

When we arrived an older woman, the caretaker of the well, greeted us. I was encouraged to realize the well itself is full of good water. They have to lower a bucket into the well about 50 feet on a rope and pull it up to obtain water. I did it myself and was surprised how heavy the plastic bucket was when full of water. The villagers come early in the AM and again around 5 or 6 to get water. We were there about noon so there was not one around. Hopefully the parts will arrive in Kisumu from Nairobi within the next two weeks and the pump will be operational again. We bumped our way back to the flat arriving about two PM.

Jane Olao arrived at the flat with her glasses about 3.30PM. She said she got to the hospital about 9.30 AM and waited until after 2PM to be seen by the MD. I can’t believe the way they disregard the people’s time. The glasses look nice on her and she said she can see much better. She was somewhat self-conscious about them as not many people in Kenya have glasses. I encouraged her to wear them all the time and assured her after while she would hardly notice that she was wearing them.

Max Madero arrived from Tanzania about 3.45PM. Rom had stayed behind while we went to see the well so he could be available to meet Max whatever time he arrived. Max, Rom Paul and I shared about our mutual organizations. We are hoping to establish a link with his group in Tanzania called Zinduka- meaning “wake up” We then all went to dinner at RK-hotel.

Rom and Paul left and Pamela and her distant cousin Cecelia arrived to spend the night. Pamela has still not been able to get a flight back to her home in London due to the disruption from the volcano in Iceland. She is now scheduled to go Tuesday April 27^th. She was supposed to go on the 19^th. She needs to get back to her 3 children and her job as a nurse. She is still trying to get an earlier flight but it is doubtful.

Cecelia, Pamela’s second cousin’s daughter story is a sad one. When she was in eighth grade – at age 14 she was raped. She told me she was very innocent and did not know what was happening to her. She knew it was bad and wrong. The man said not to tell anyone what happened. She did not tell anyone about the rape until she had missed her period for three months. She asked a friend at school what could be happening. Her friend told her she was probably pregnant. Cecelia stated she was so upset, she cried and cried. She considered getting an abortion but was not able to obtain enough money. She confided in her older sister who told her mother. Her mother told her not to get an abortion as it might kill her. She gave birth to Eugene who is now six. Her mother took care of the baby and Cecelia managed to finish primary school but never went to Secondary. She studied hair dressing in 2007 through sponsorship from an NGO and has a certificate in that skill but has been unable to afford to set up a business. She did try working with another hairdresser who had an established business but she paid her so poorly that she could not live. She had another child when she was 16 years old-Virgine- now age 4. She explained that the man who eventually fathered the child had offered to help her better her life and they were together for a little while and then one night they slept together. He went away and has not helped with the child in any way. She states she has only been with a man two times in her life and now has two children. She has been living with her brother and his wife and taking care of their young twins and her own children plus doing the cooking and cleaning. Last Sunday her brother got angry with her and beat her badly with a cane. She said to him “just go ahead and kill me I don’t care anymore” He said “I will kill you and bury you without a coffin” He beat her some more and left her outside in the ally. She had earned 300 shillings earlier in the day plaiting someone’s hair. She was so distraught that she used the money to buy some chemicals and drank them to try to commit suicide. She is only 21 years old. Her neighbors saw her drinking and came to her assistance. They took her to Russia hospital. She does not remember going to the hospital but woke up there the next day. They treated her with IV's and the antidote for the formalin she drank is Tusker beer. She had to drink three bottles and she was drunk on top of everything else. Pamela stayed with her most of the day on Monday. She was supposed to see a counselor on Tuesday but it was not arranged so they made her stay until Wednesday. Wednesday no counselor came and she was discharged and told to come Friday AM at 9.00 to see the counselor. Pamela brought her to the flat to stay along with her 4 year old daughter. The son is still staying at the brother’s house. The children have not been told what is going on.

Cecelia is a very nice person-quite shy-and hesitant to speak English although she is fairly fluent. Wednesday night I visited with them and Virgine and I played games on my Ipod touch. She did well with the puzzles and identifying letters and numbers. She does not know her colors in English yet but seems like a bright little girl and I really enjoyed playing with her. My heart has gone out to Cecilia. I agreed to try to help her start a hair dressing business of her own. She needs seed money amounting to about 320 dollars to cover three months rent and purchasing the necessary chemicals and scissors. I told her to try to find a room to rent that she and the children could live in and a place for a shop. She is still looking. She found two places but they were too small and too expensive. If she does not find something she will have to go back to her home village of Awasi and live with her mother. Doing this carries a very negative stigma in their culture and she stated she would feel like a burden to the family and that her life may as well be over. Friday morning she got up and went to Russia hospital for the counseling session. I didn’t see her again until that afternoon around 5 PM. She stated she waited at Russia until noon when the clinic closes and the counselor did not come. This is so typical of the situation at Russia hospital and makes me very angry. Pamela, Cecelia and I talked a long time and Cecelia told me her story from the time of the rape up until now. I think it helped her to be able to talk. I asked her to promise that if she felt like killing herself again in the future she would go to her older sister (she is close to her) or Connie and let them know how she was feeling. She promised she would do that. She states she is feeling hopeful due to the money she will be getting to start a business. She has struggled so hard since age 14 it is unbelievable that she still has spirit and energy to go on. She loves her children and wants to be able to give them a better life than her own.

After going to dinner with Max from Tanzania we came back to the flat and Max talked to me more about Zinduka and showed me many photos of their projects. I was able to transfer them onto my computer so I can share them with our Board. They are a well organized group.

Friday AM Paul and I walked with Max to the bus stop and said our goodbyes. He took a matatu back to Tanzania. He plans to talk to his Board regarding linking with FIOH and come back to visit Rom and Paul sometime in June to complete plans. I hope it all works out.

Paul and I then walked to Kisumu Girls Boarding school. Jeanette Cassandra Oloo who is sponsored by Sandy Warner attends that school. It was built in the early 1900’s as a school for the children of white people who were running Kenya at the time. After Kenya obtained it’s independence from England in 1963 the school was opened to locals. It is considered to be the best school in the area and is very hard to get into. There are 1000+ students in the school and many come from distant places to attend. We met with the principal and assistant principal and then toured the school. It is large and very old. The physical plant is in need of repair but the standard of teaching is high. The girls sleep 6 or 12 in a very small room. Some bunks are triple in height. I was glad to be able to see the school.

We took a Tuk Tuk back to the flat and watched another episode of the BBC planet Earth. Paul also updated me on the condition of the chickens we purchased and had vaccinated. 7 of the 15 died including the three that were kept at Rom’s house. The rest seem to be doing well. They must have been sick when we bought them. I told Rom we should go back to the seller and complain although it will not do much good. I don’t want more chickens from the same place and they never give money back here. I asked Rom if he would be able to give a few of his vaccinated chickens to the women to replace the ones lost. He said he could do that.

Paul and I went to RK hotel and had supper and he went home.

I visited with Pamela, Cecelia and her daughter. Virgine and I played more games on my Ipod. She really likes them. We went to bed after midnight.

END OF JOURNAL 13

News from Kenya - #12

2010-05-20T06:15:00.000-04:00

Journal Entry 12-Day 23,24

Wednesday April 21, 2010 10.00AM

I had a good night’s sleep and I’m feeling well. I just had a nice breakfast of cereal, juice, tea and one of the small bananas that they grow here. They also grow the “normal” bananas like we have at home. The small ones are sweeter and I really enjoy them. Jane Osodo is here ironing Pamela’s, mamma and my clothes. She did the wash yesterday. I am so spoiled. At home I almost never iron and it is nice to wear such crisp clothing. Jane is grateful for the work and she does a good job. It’s a win-win situation.

Paul came about 9AM and has gone to Russia hospital to pick up the glasses for him and Jane Olao. Jane’s glasses cost 3500KS ($46) and Paul’s were 2,800 KS ($37). Jane’s eyes were worse and her lenses cost more. I am looking forward to seeing them in the glasses.

Monday, the 19^th I met with my college student Felix and his three brothers, Reagan, Edwin and Colins (the twins). They are all in their third year of high school. They brought their report cards. Reagan, who is sponsored, did well with a C+ average. The twins both had a D+ average. They missed three weeks of school, as they were sent home due to lack of enough school fees. I’ve written about them before-Felix who finished high school and one year of college in a certificate course in accounting, gave my $350 away to his brothers as he thinks it is more important that they finish high school and he can complete his college later. I enjoyed talking with them. They are all total orphans. Their dad died in 1994 and their mom in 1998. They have a younger sister in form one. She has been raised in an orphanage called Covenant house since age 2 when the mom died. Felix and his older brother Eric have done their best all these years to keep them alive. They live in their own small mud house in a very poor slum village called Nyalenda. Now that the three boys are home from Boarding school for the two-week break Felix is trying to earn enough to buy them all food. I gave them 2000KS (about $25) to help out. I hope I can find sponsors for the twins. I will try to give them more. I’m hoping Felix will return to college in January 2011 but I imagine he will give the money so the twins finish high school before he goes back. Life is such a struggle here.

A couple of the sponsored students that I had already talked with brought their letter and report forms for me to give to their sponsors.

Paul and Jane Olao arrived about 11 AM and after getting some money went to Russia hospital to be evaluated for their glasses. He called about 1 PM and said they were still in line waiting to be seen. They finally got back about 3:15PM with receipts for their glasses that they are picking up today.

Francis Omondi, who I’ve met on other trips was supposed to come to the flat and visit with me about 1 PM Monday. By 3.30PM he had not arrived. Typical “Kenyan time”- I wanted to take Paul and Jane to lunch and if Francis was here I was going to take him also. I called him and he said he was coming “in a little while”. I told him we would have to reschedule.

We went to lunch and then went to a bookstore to buy Jane some revision books for her poor subjects, math, chemistry and biology. She also needed a scientific calculator. It came to about 40-50 dollars. We will also give her about $25 to get a new school uniform. My sister Terri who sponsors Jane agreed to send $100 to cover those expenses. That will leave more funds for other individuals needs. Paul needed to get back to Usoma to meet with the man who was vaccinating the chickens. One hen had already died and several were sick. That is why it is so essential to get them vaccinated. Hopefully they will survive. They need to be vaccinated yearly. It costs about $25 to vaccinate 100 chickens – many more than they have. He vaccinated all the chickens around the area. Rom also had his vaccinated.

I went back to the flat and did some paperwork and thinking. Pamela came with Mamma around 9.00PM. She was supposed to fly back to London tonight but with all the planes grounded she doesn’t know when she will get back.

Tuesday April 20^th Pamela and I went to the store that sells the modems etc. for the Internet as I needed to purchase more Internet time. The connection has been very poor or non-existent since Monday afternoon. I had a nice talk with my friend Mary Lou on Monday at 7 AM (midnight her time) using Skype. We had an excellent connection and could see each other clearly. We talked for over an hour. It was nice to connect. At the Internet store they told me the networks have been having trouble and that they always have problems when it rains. Oh well, I bought the time and I hope it works. Again, I am spoiled not having to use the Internet cafes all the time.

Paul came to the flat at 10 AM and we walked about a mile to the Division of livestock office and met with Tobias to discuss the possibility of getting a dairy cow for the 4 Usoma women and their families as they requested. That was another education for me. Of course, I know nothing about raising cows. We were thinking of getting them a calf that they could raise together and eventually mate so she would have a calf of her own and start giving milk. That would take about two years. Tobias discouraged that idea. He said it would cost them more to feed the calf for two years and they would get no return on the investment. They would probably become discouraged and not take good care of the calf.

Instead he advised purchasing a cow that was about 5-7 months pregnant. That way they would have a couple of months to get used to caring for the cow and then she would give birth and start producing milk that they could use for nourishment for themselves and sell at the market. The average graded dairy cow gives 16-20 liters of milk/day. They sell the milk at 50 KS/liter. That would let the 4 families earn about $12/day- $3 each. That is better than the dollar/day or less that most earn and they would have nourishment for themselves as well. Hopefully the calf would be a female and they would raise it. If it is a bull, it is not very marketable and Tobias explained that sometimes they advise “putting it down” as it is very expensive to feed and it is impossible to recover the expense when you sell it at market for food. The normal way to mate the cow is through artificial insemination as it is much cheaper and they know the quality of the sperm they are using. Regarding the income generated: I was just talking to Paul and he said if each family earns $3/day he would advise them to participate in the micro-loan savings programs in the area and put $1.00/day away for savings. That way each family could save about $30/month and have it for emergency needs such as a new roof and also use it for school fees, uniforms etc.

To purchase a calf is about $200 dollars and the impregnated cow is about $500. However there are many other expenses that don’t change whether or not it is a calf or a cow. Tobias explained that graded cows are bred to produce large quantities of milk but they are not as strong as the local cows when it comes to resisting disease. They need to be sprayed with insecticide about every two weeks to prevent ticks, tsetse fly and biting fly. We would need to purchase a pump and the medicine. We would also need to provide funding to build a “house” for the animal-about $440.00. There are other expenses that I won’t detail here but the total for the impregnated cow with feed and necessary equipment comes to about 107,400KS ($1,450). The total cost for the calf would be about $1,150. It does seem a better investment to spend the larger amount if we can afford to give it to them. I will need to discuss it with our Board. Tobias said the cost includes teaching them about caring for the animal and general support at first.

Rom is concerned that a full-grown pregnant cow will be too much for the inexperienced women to handle all at once. We will confer with Tobias some more to discuss this and also discuss it with the women. These 4 women are HIV positive and participate in our transportation program. I hope if we do this they can work together without tension and peacefully share the work and the profits.

After my education about dairy cows we went to visit Fr. Charles, the pastor at Kibuye Church and a local Kenyan. He invited us for lunch and we also wanted to discuss getting Winnie Sunday, the student in day school who is being harassed at home, into a boarding school. He has some connections and we will go next Thursday to meet with a head teacher at a nearby school. Her sponsor said she is willing to help her financially to manage boarding school. Nothing is definite yet.

After lunch (rice, ugali, beef in soup kale, fresh tomatoes mixed with onions, and fresh fruit) Father showed us the new rectory being built. It is beautiful, too beautiful in my estimation. The dirt-poor people have been donating money, cement and supplies for this project since 2005. Here these people have nothing and they are building a mansion for the priests. They already have an adequate rectory, well built with electricity, water, “normal” toilets and many rooms. They plan to use that for offices. The new rectory will house about 5 priests and have suites for several guests. Fr. Charles is already living there but it is not finished yet. He is very nice and helps sponsor several children for school. It is a very busy active parish. He has a car and a driver. He had his driver bring us back to the flat. It is a very nice car with automatic windows, air conditioning (they rarely use it). There was a woman with 4 children that Father agreed to take some place, plus Paul in the back seat. I was in the front seat with the driver.

Paul went to take a driving lesson and I did some reading and fell asleep for about a half hour. Then Rom and Paul arrived and we discussed some of the goals remaining for my trip. They left and I watched TV. There was an excellent documentary on the life of leopards. I then washed my hair (not so simple a task here) and went to bed.

Wednesday (continued) 8.30PM

Paul came back with his glasses about 12.00 noon. They look wonderful on him and he said he can see so much better and the sun doesn’t hurt his eyes. They put a mild tint on the lenses. He was unable to get Jane’s glasses as the lenses had arrived back from Nairobi but they were not put into the frames yet. I thought it best that she pick them up herself so the frames would be fitted properly to her. He said they told him her glasses would be ready by about 2.30 PM today. He then left for a driving lesson.

Jane and her little brother Frank in class 2 arrived a few minutes after Paul left. She was coming to get her glasses. I told her the situation and she said she would wait and go to get them around 2.30PM. I visited with them and let Frank play some educational games on my Ipod touch. He caught on very quickly. He is a bright young boy. He is able to read English quite well although he doesn’t understand everything he is reading. He is able to understand simple English. I gave Jane a small storybook and she enjoyed reading it for a while. I gave them lunch and decided to go with them back to Russia hospital to get the glasses. We took a tuk tuk and arrived about 3 PM. We were told the doctor was not there but was coming back. We waited until 3.45PM along with a few other patients. We were having a good talk while we waited. At 3.45 I talked to one of the staff and she called the MD on her phone. He said he was coming shortly. We waited until 4.30PM and she called him again and he was “unavailable”. We waited another 10 minutes and decided to give up. The staff member stated it was unlikely he would return that late and advised all of us to go home. This is typical in Kisumu hospital clinics. We got a Tuk Tuk back to the flat. Jane was very disappointed and concerned about the cost of travel. I gave her enough money to cover her travel costs for tomorrow (and a little extra). She will go alone in the AM. She has the phone number of the doctor that was given to her by the staff member. She will ask Paul to call and make sure the MD and her glasses are in before she goes to pick them up.

Back at the flat I gave them some juice, bananas and cupcakes and they went on their way back to Usoma village about 5.30 PM. Paul and I checked our email and then went to RK hotel for supper. I had fish in coconut sauce that was very good but rich. I couldn’t finish all of it and they don’t have “doggie bags”. We came back to the flat and I gave Paul a treatment on his neck as it has been hurting him. I hope it helps. He went home and here I am now typing this journal.

End of Journal 12

News from Kenya - #11

2010-05-20T06:14:00.000-04:00

Journal Entry 11-Day 21,22

Sunday April 18, 2010 1:15 PM

I just came back from Mass at St. Joseph’s Church. It is within walking distance so Paul came and we walked over together. The Mass was in English and it was nice to be able to understand everything. The singing is always so good and a group of children stand in the center aisle and do some worship dancing that is very tastefully performed.

I am now waiting for Rom to come and we are supposed to go to Impala Park, a nearby nature preserve with a variety of animals including monkeys, Cheetah, and of course Impalas.

Friday I went with Rom to the Kibuye market to meet with Connie his wife. She is the head of the Osiepe Woman’s group that helps run and organize the new tailoring training program that FIOH-USA sponsored. Osiepe and the Supper Thirty women’s groups wrote a very detailed proposal last year describing their plan for the program. We were able to wire them $2,500 due to profits following our Harambee event. That was about half of their request but as much as we could manage.

The program is going along quite well to date. They have completed the training of about 8 people and they are working in the area. Their training is completely practical – not theory or how to fit clothes. They learn how to make school uniforms, and petticoats (slips). The training takes between 3 weeks and three months depending on their previous experience with sewing. They rent a stall in Kibuye market and purchased 4 new sewing machines. If they have more students they also use Connie’s stall with 4 more machines. Once the students become somewhat proficient they are paid for what they sew. They get paid 3 KS/per slip, 5 KS for a blouse or shirt, 7 for shorts and 10 for a girl’s uniform. They can make up to 20-40 pieces/day depending on their ability.

There are four sewing teachers in the group: Rosemary Akinyi Awili, Connie Aoko Wandera, Lucy Akinyi Ochieng and Nora Odima. They each get 2000KS/month for their teaching.

The uniforms sell for different prices depending on the size. On average a primary uniform sells for about $6.00 and the Secondary uniforms are about $25.00. That includes the basic uniform plus a sweater and a tie for the boys.

I spent a considerable length of time finding out about the cost of material, thread, buttons, zippers, needles, lining and waistband material. It was quite an education. I also tried operating one of the foot-operated machines. Of course I was awkward with it but I could feel how smooth and efficient it could be, even for a novice like me. Connie explained that at first they have the students practice on paper- sewing a straight seam. When they seem OK they progress them to “the real thing” There was one student present while I was there. She is a young deaf woman who lost her hearing about age 5. She was sewing slips and doing a nice job. They do not charge the students anything for the training. We arranged to have Cecilia Nyambura, a young mother of two from Kaloleni, to come to the school for training. They presently have about 5-6 students. They have to pay 90 KS/week for renting the stall at the market. (About $1.20). Most of the students are from within the Osiepe and Supper thirty women’s groups but they accept people from outside the two groups as well. Their main ongoing expense is purchasing the material. A roll of 50 meters is about $100 dollars and they have to have the material in all the colors of the uniforms in the area. That is mainly two shades of blue, green and maroon. Their peak times for selling the uniforms is just before each new term opens, i.e. January, May, and September.

After talking to Connie we went to visit her shop. A woman Connie knew walked by with a basket of pears on her head. She came in and sat down and peeled pears for each of us. They were good.

It rained off and on while we were in the stalls so the ground was very muddy when we were ready to leave. Connie took me to another friend that sells material. We picked out a Katanga for Mary Ellen and I bought a piece of material that will be made into a top.

Rom and I took a matatu back to the flat. That was my first matatu ride this trip. We got back to the flat about 5.30 PM and Rom and I talked a while and then he left for home. Paul came in a few minutes later and we visited.

Pamela arrived about 8.30PM with Mamma Julianna and some food that Julie cooked. After eating I gave Mamma another Reiki treatment and massage, got washed up. Pamela and I then shared quite a while about the problems of Kenya. I went to bed about midnight.

Saturday was a busy day talking to students. Four of them came to the flat to meet with me.

First was Clare Ajwang who just graduated from high school. Adair Kearney sponsored her. The scored a C- on her KCSE test. That will qualify her to attend college or University but not to get any type of scholarship. She hopes to study business. I explained that we would probably be able to continue sponsoring her but at the same amount of $350.00/year. She is investigating different colleges with programs that she could attend within that price range. She was very well spoken and seemed genuinely appreciative of the assistance we have given her. She agreed to assist FIOH-K during this interim year. She and Rom talked about different ways she could help. I really hope the graduating Secondary students will help out. It is too much for Rom and Paul to do alone. Robert has not been active recently because he has been very busy with his church programs.

Next was Jane Olao. My sister Terri and her husband Mike sponsor her. She is a very nice young lady. She is in her last year of high school in a girl’s boarding school. Their day starts at 3:30 AM and goes until 10PM. Almost all of that time is classes or private study time. She is not doing very well in school and part of the problem is that she has very poor eyesight. Tomorrow we are going to try to get her glasses. She already had her eyes examined and was told her vision was poor and she needed glasses but she had no way of affording them. Paul also needs glasses, so we will try to help both of them. Jane also would benefit from some workbooks for school. They share textbooks and 5 share one book.

Nelson Otieno was the next student I interviewed. He is blind and has been sponsored since 2001 at St Oda’s school for the blind. His present sponsor is Bob Barbara who is also blind. Nelson is now in grade 7 and is doing very well in school. I have seen him every time I’ve come to Kenya but this is the first time his English was well enough to really talk with him. He is a nice young boy and works very hard. He would like to be a teacher when he “grows up”. We bought him new shoes and a backpack. He needs a new white cane as his broke. The closest place they sell them is Nairobi. We will try to get him one. Nelson’s mother always comes with him to the flat. She is a widow and tries her best to raise him and his older brother. She was asking if I had found a sponsor for his brother. His name is Geofry Bahati and he is 19 in form 2 at Joel Omino Secondary Day School. I had to tell her that we have had very few new sponsors recently. I knew she was disappointed.

My last conversation was with Kevin Oluoch. He is in is final year of Secondary school and is sponsored by Sandy Warner. She is the treasurer of FIOH-USA.

Kevin is a slightly above average student. He goes to a boarding school. His home life is very hard. There are 11 people living in his small house. He and his brothers usually sleep at a neighbor’s house, as there is not room enough in his. We bought Kevin a pair of new school shoes as his were much too small.

I finished the talks with the students around 6 PM. I finished putting their photos onto my computer and completed my notes on each one. Then I watched TV for a bit until Pamela came back with Mamma and also brought chapati and fish for my supper around 8 PM. I am getting better at eating the fish. It is served whole with all the bones and skin. It looks awful to me but it tastes good. The way they eat it is to pick all the meat off one side with your fingers and then turn it over to finish it. To prepare it they usually boil it and then grill it.

Pamela and I talked about our student program for a long time. I went to bed about 1 AM.

That brings me up to today Sunday. It is now 8 PM and I had a wonderful time with Rom and Paul walking around Impala Park. Pamela is supposed to be bringing food but I ate some peanut butter to “hold me over”

End of Journal Entry 11

News from Kenya - #10

2010-05-20T06:13:00.000-04:00

Journal Entry 10-Day 17,18,19,20

Friday April 16, 2010 10:00AM

I’ve been feeling better and enjoying having Pamela here with me at the flat. She arrived Sunday evening and is staying until Monday April 19. She is Rom’s sister-in-law from London.

The week has moved along quickly and I’ve been quite busy so have not taken time to write.

Tuesday I spent the morning at the flat. Jane Osodo came again to do my wash and clean the apartment. I’ve mentioned her before. She has had to move out of her rented place along with her three children due to inability to pay the rent. She is staying with a friend who lives in a small house made entirely of iron sheets. Jane has asthma and she finds it hard to sleep in the iron house so she has been staying in various places at night including Connie and Rom’s house. I paid her more for her work this time because she really is having a very difficult time. I talked to Connie today about letting her join in with their group for tailoring so she can have a better chance at earning some money. Connie is going to talk to her about it.

Felix, the college student I sponsored throughout 4 years of high school and one year of college did not use the money I sent in January to go to college. He explained that he used my fee to pay for his twin brothers to continue their schooling. They are in Secondary School in their Junior year of high school. He felt it was more important that they complete Secondary school and said he could continue his accounting course later. Felix has another brother, Rheghan, who is also a junior and is sponsored by Pat Hoen. Felix has therefore only completed one year of his three-year accounting course. I cannot be angry with him because his motives are so selfless. He stopped by the flat Tuesday to have me come with him to see where he is selling socks and ties on the street. He has a very small area. He states he sometimes makes about a dollar/day and it keeps him going. Anybody willing to sponsor his twin brothers? He states they are good students.

On Tuesday afternoon Rom came and we went to several wholesale shops to purchase supplies for Nyanza General Hospital referred to locally as Russia hospital because it was built through funding from Russia. We got a case of powdered milk and 40 rolls of toilet paper. We had to go to two different places for the supplies and it took a long time for them to complete the paperwork.

We got back to the flat about 7PM and Rom’s daughter Julie had cooked fish and ugali and sent it over for us to eat.

Wed April 14, 2010 I worked on forms and downloading photos in the AM. Rom came again in the PM and we went shopping for straight canes for Buburi Health Center and bar soap for Russia hospital. We got a good price on the canes – about $1.75 each. I got 10. The soap comes in long bars about a foot long. We got a dozen for about $8.00. They will cut the soap into pieces and it will last a long time for the children. I still find it hard to believe that a hospital does not provide toilet paper and soap for the children. I know it is the custom for the family members to supply food but these children do not have families nearby to support them. There are not enough beds for all the children and they are doubled up and some sleep on mats on the floor. Russia is considered the better hospital in the area- imagine!

Again we got back to the flat about 7PM. Paul, Rom and I went to a nearby restaurant called RK’s hotel and had some supper.

Thursday, Jackline the volunteer teacher at Russia hospital, came to the flat about 10 AM. She is also sponsored for hairdressing. She goes to classes for that from 8 AM to noon and volunteers at the hospital from 2-6PM. We give her about $20/mo to help her survive. She has a daughter in Grade 7 and is hoping she will be able to be sponsored when she reaches secondary school. She requested assistance to pay her rent this month. She pays about $35/dollars/month rent for a very small one-room place. Of course there is no water, electricity, bathroom etc. I gave her half of the rent money.

Jackline and I traveled to Russia hospital and delivered the supplies. Then Rom and I went to a large busy open-air market nearby called Jubilee. We went with Walter who owns a station wagon he runs as a taxi. I waited in the car while Walter and Rom went to negotiate a price for the chickens. If they see me they charge a higher price. Rom calls it “skin tax”. After about 20 minutes they came back and I went with them to get the chickens. They had the 15 chickens, 10 hens and 5 roosters, with their feet tied together in groups of 5. We each carried 5 chickens upside down by their feet to the car. I was a little hesitant when they handed me the 5 chickens to carry. It seemed very mean to treat them that way. We placed them in the back of the wagon and took them to Usoma to the 4 families. We were told there were 5 families but I was misunderstood. Rom kept the extra three chickens at his home for now. Each family received two hens and one rooster. It is hoped they will prosper and produce more chickens and many eggs. Rom instructed them in the need to feed and water them rather than just letting them free feed.

One of the recipients of the chickens is Anna Omedo who I mentioned before. She was the one with the sore leg. I had given her Motrin and a heel cushion about 10 days ago. She said she felt much better. I taught her two simple stretching exercises to do and gave some more Motrin. I hope they help.

We tried to go and see about getting a dairy cow but the place is only open in the AM so we returned to the flat. The car Rom had been using was being repaired so Walter dropped him off at the shop to pick up the car and took me back to the flat. He requested 2000KS for his work driving today. I thought that was too much so I asked him if Rom had agreed on that price. Of course he said yes. I had already given him 500 KS for gas earlier. I gave him the money because he insisted that was the agreed upon price. The next day he told Rom he charged me 250 KS- He outright lied. Rom called and talked to him but without any success. We will not call on him again. He was with us for about 3 hours and received about $35 dollars. Back home that would be reasonable but not here.

I got home about 6.45PM and had dinner that Julie prepared – rice and tilapia. I visited with Pamela and Mamma Julianna, her mom, for a while.

Mamma is in her 80’s and has a terrible chronic cough and many aches and pains. I massaged her back and did a Reiki scan and treatment. She said her arms and shoulders felt much better but not her legs. However she said she slept better than usual. Pamela and I sat up talking until about 1 AM and then I went to bed

End of Journal Entry 10

News from Kenya - #9

2010-05-20T06:07:00.000-04:00

Journal Entry 9-Day 15,16

April 12, 2010 Monday 10.30AM

Yesterday, Sunday, Paul came to “pick me” to go to his village, Usoma, for 10AM Mass. They have Mass in the various villages once/month. One of the priests from Kibuye Church travels to the villages if there are enough people to make it worthwhile.

The Church in Usoma is constructed the same as the village houses, a wooden frame made from tree branches filled in with mud mixed with cow dung. It has an iron roof and a rocky mud floor. There are long benches to sit on. The altar is a regular table. When we arrived at 10AM no one was around. The priest had not arrived yet.

Shadrack Ouko, age 17, is sponsored by the CME choir at St. Joes and lives very close to the Usoma church. We walked over to meet with him before the Mass. He is in form 4, his last year of high school. He improved from last year on his first term report scoring an overall average of B-. He still has E’s in math and chemistry. He has to walk an hour and a half to get to school. He leaves about 5.00 AM. He has a long day of classes and has football (soccer) practice every day from 4 to 6PM. He usually gets home about 8 PM. He requested help with lunch money because lunch is not provided for the children in day school. He often has nothing to eat all day until he gets home at 8PM. I encouraged him to eat something in the morning before he leaves. He said there is nothing prepared because it is so early. They do not have snacks or juice he can just grab and go. They usually have porridge for breakfast and that requires making a fire and preparing it.

He said it would cost about 1000-1500KS/month (15-20dollars) for him to buy some ugali and kale for lunch at the local “hotels”- (very small restaurants made of iron sheets that are common). We will give him something toward that but cannot promise him ongoing support because there are too many other very pressing needs to respond to. He also requested new shoes, workbooks for school, and a backpack so his books don’t get wet on his long walk to school. He stated his eyes burn all the time as he studies by the light of a small kerosene lantern. He showed me the lantern. I could not believe it. It is so tiny - simply a tin container smaller than a tuna fish can and about the same height. It has an open wick. We bought him a larger kerosene lantern with a glass cover. It cost about $5. We gave him 3000KS (40 dollars) for the shoes, books and backpack. He lives in Paul’s village so he will show Paul the items after he buys them. We will try to buy him a bicycle and that will cut his travel time in half. The roads in his village are mud, very bumpy and full of holes so he cannot bike very fast. I met Shadrack’s grandmothers and some of his other relatives. Their house like most of the villagers in Usoma has been rebuilt because of the airport expansion. They therefore have a good house with plaster over the mud and cow dung walls and a real floor instead of the usual mud floor.

The Priest finally arrived about 11:45AM. The church was filled to overflowing. They brought a chair for me to sit in and that was very nice.

The Priest is Father Charles. He is rather young, maybe 40 or so. He is a local Kenyan. He welcomed me at the beginning of Mass and stated he had been to the USA when the Pope was in Toronto in 2002. He stayed in Rochester for a short while. I told him I was from Buffalo and he had been there. He invited me to come up and address the congregation. Paul translated and I told them a little about my church at home and what I was doing in Kenya.

Fr. Charles also informed the villagers that the diocese had assigned them a catechist. It was a big cause for celebration because Usoma village had been requesting one for a long time. He will live right in the village and instruct people, especially the children, in preparation for Baptism, first communion and confirmation. He will also meet with couples to prepare them for marriage. He came to the Mass and was met by the villagers for the first time. They were very welcoming clapping and ululating. They had a special collection for him so he can purchase cement and supplies to build a house to live in. The people will all help him build the house next to the church. In the meantime he will rent a place nearby.

The Mass finally began at 12.00 noon and ended at 2 PM. I am still getting used to “Kenyan time”. We took a Tuk Tuk back to the flat and I had some peanut butter and bread for lunch with some juice.

Paul and I talked for a while and then we both fell asleep in the living room chairs. We walked over to a nearby restaurant for supper.

I didn’t write anything about Saturday, April 10^th. It was a quiet restful day- needed after the hectic schedule in Buburi. I was alone at the flat most of the day. I did some reading, praying and thinking. I worked some on forms we are trying to develop to use for reports with FIOH-Kenya.

Paul came over about 4 PM and we went to Kiboko Bay for dinner. It is also know as hippo point. He had never been there before. It is a resort on Lake Victoria with a nice restaurant. It is frequented by mwzungu’s (white people) as well as locals. I have been there each time I’ve come and it is very nice. We watched the sunset over the water and had a nice dinner. It is more expensive than the little local restaurants we usually go to but our dinners including banana boats (splits) for dessert came to about 20 dollars-still quite reasonable. It was a nice relaxing Saturday.

The weather has been very hot (mid 90’s) without very much rain.

End of Journal Entry 9

News from Kenya - #8

2010-05-20T06:05:00.000-04:00

Journal Entry 8-Day 12,13,14

April 8, 2010 6.30PM

I’m writing from Buburi Health Center. I came here yesterday. I just finished a fairly busy day working with the staff at the center. The center is much more organized and better equipped due to wonderful assistance from Joanna and her friends who lives in the UK. She is a nurse and I mentioned her in my first journal entry. The center now has testing kits to check for malaria. This is a wonderful step for the center. They taught me how to do the testing and I spent much of the day testing all different age patients, from babies 3 months old to adults as old as 85 years. I had to stick their finger or heel with a lancet and it was very difficult for the young ones. Not only were they afraid of my white skin but I had to hurt them on top of it. Once the blood is there I needed to use a tiny plastic ring to collect 5 micro liters of blood and put it on the testing instrument and add 4 drops of solution. The hardest part for me was getting enough blood onto the plastic ring. It is sort of like getting the solution for blowing bubbles to stay in the ring only much smaller and I have to swipe the blood not dip it. Often the child was screaming and trying to pull away their finger. I felt terrible for scaring and hurting them. At the same time I was very happy that they could be tested and treated effectively. After 20 minutes the results are obvious. If there are two lines the person has malaria. If only one line it is negative. We tested 35+ persons and all but 3 or 4 were positive for malaria. They are then given a course of Artifan, the drug of choice for treating malaria in this area.

I also treated several persons who had complaints of back and knee pain and general joint problems. Most of them have had the problem for years and I knew one treatment would not make a lasting difference. Shortly before coming to Kenya I took a course in Reiki, Japanese energy medicine, from Carolyn Musial. It was very helpful today. I used it on all the people I saw. All said they felt better after the treatment. I also used some massage techniques. One woman was sent to me due to a complaint of leg pain but with evaluation it became obvious the cause was from an unhealed surgical wound on her foot. She is a diabetic and had two toes removed in 2007. The wound is small and would have been easy to miss as it was filled with dirt from the road. She used to come for treatments and it had closed but was now open again. One of the staff cleaned the wound with sterile water and dressed it. She will be started on antibiotics and was instructed to return to the clinic in a few days. Hopefully she will follow-through.

Saturday April 10, 2010

11:30 AM

I am in Kisumu and grateful to be back to “civilization”. I am feeling better. Thank you for your prayers and concerns. I finished the antibiotics and I think things are on there way back to normal. The weather has been dry and hot the last 4-5 days. The mosquitoes this time of year are more active and/or plentiful than when I’ve come in the summertime. I have many bites. I hope the Malarone medicine I’m taking for malaria is effective. I have used the repellent Deet that I brought but it irritates my skin and I have difficulty breathing shortly after I apply it. I therefore have not been using it much. I do sleep under a net.

I just came back from buying water and milk at the Nakumatt. Otherwise today is going to be a quiet day I think. I met up with Rom’s wife
Connie at the Nakumatt. She stated Rom just left by bus for Nairobi to meet Connie’s sister Pamela who will be arriving tonight from London. She is coming to stay for a week to visit her mother, “mamma”, who is very elderly and in poor health. Mamma lives with Rom and Connie now instead of in her remote home village of Awasi. Pamela will sleep here at the flat with me. It will be nice to visit with her. I met her and her family the first time I came in 2003.

Now, a little more about my visit to Buburi health center. The compound where the health center is located is Rom’s family home. (Paul explained to me that in Kenya the words home and house are very different. A home is a whole group of houses - the family compound. A house is a single dwelling.) Rom’s sister, Francesca, is the main person living on the compound. She has an adopted daughter, Lorna, who is in class 4. Others live on the compound but I don’t know who they all are. There are several excellent volunteers who come to assist in the work of the health center. They go out to the villages and teach about diseases and how to prevent them, especially malaria. They usually volunteer two days/week and they come on different days so there are almost always volunteers present. One of their two volunteer days they prepare the mosquito nets by dipping them in the preparation that keeps the mosquitoes away and lay them out to dry. The other day they deliver nets and teach families. Joann has provided them with purple or pink T-shirts that say FIOH-Kenya on the front and Friends of Buburi on the back. They seem very proud to be volunteers and their work is valuable.

After my busy day on Thursday at the center I ate chapati and green grams. They are small peas-also called dengu. The people live and eat very simply. I don’t think I could manage their diet over the long run but everything is very fresh as there is no refrigeration or electricity in Buburi. They eat outside sitting on benches or small stools or on the ground. There was a large windstorm on the Thursday before Easter and part of the roof was blown off Francesca’s house. Two walls plus the roof were destroyed on the kitchen. By Thursday evening the roof had been repaired on the house. They were still working on the kitchen.

Rom and I discussed some of the concerns of the center while we ate. Lorna came in and I helped her play some educational games on my ipod touch. She had never seen such a thing and really enjoyed it. When we did the spin art she kept looking at her finger to see if the color was there on her finger. She speaks some English and did well with the games involving letters, colors and numbers in English.

I went to bed about 10:00PM. My portable toilet worked well and was like have a bedside commode. I slept well. There is a beautiful bush called Rose- something that opens at night with white flowers. The scent is wonderful. It reminds me of honeysuckle but even sweeter. It came in through the window as I was lying in bed listening to the night sounds of crickets and many other night animals.(No-not lions or rhinos or hippos ;-). I felt snug under my net and there was a nice breeze.

I got up around 7.30AM on Friday and had some Kenyan tea and a granola bar that I carried with me from Kisumu. I had some small bananas too. They are very good and sweeter than the large ones. I washed up using “wet ones” that I brought from home. We planned to leave for Kisumu about 10.30 AM but there were many people at the center for treatment so we decided to stay until about 1.00PM. I treated 7 people with muscle problems. I taught Rosemary, one of the staff, some simple range of motion exercises. I also taught her some basic back and knee exercises to use with the patients. Almost everyone has the occupation of “digging”. They work in their vegetable gardens and of course everything is done by hand. They are in a forward bent position most of the time. I worked mainly on some extension exercises and shoulder flexibility as most of them were very stiff when trying to raise their arms overhead. I also used my Reiki techniques on all of them. Most reported feeling better after the treatment.

I felt sort of funny sometimes because the staff members would often introduce the patient by saying “here is an old woman with … problems” When I found out the persons age it was usually between 55 and 62. I am 62, and although I know I am getting older I do not consider myself old. Life expectancy here is much shorter. However, I met several patients who were 85 or 86 and getting around quite well. Cataracts are a big cause of extremely poor vision here. They cannot afford to have them removed so many older individuals have very thick cataracts. I wonder if Doctors without Borders or some organization comes and does blitzes of cataract surgeries? I just had a cataract removed and I know what a difference it can make.

I will buy 10 canes for them to be able to give away at the clinic. Some I met used a rough stick or nothing and they needed support. I instructed the staff in fitting the cane to the patient. Rom says they cost about $2.50.

Lorna and David, a neighbor child in class 3, traveled with us in the car back to Kisumu. They will visit with their Aunt for the rest of the Easter holiday. We talked some, but their English is very limited. I arrived back at the flat about 5 PM. It felt good to get washed up. I ate some soup and turned on the TV and listened to the news. Then I watched the movie CONTACT on my computer. I had seen it before but it is one of my favorites and I enjoyed watching it again. It stars Jodi Foster. Then I played some computer games for a little while and went to bed.

End of Journal Entry 8

News from Kenya - #7

2010-04-18T15:51:00.001-04:00

Journal Entry 7-Day 9

April 5, 2010 10.00PM

I stayed home all day today. I wasn’t feeling well. A woman named Jane Osodo came to wash my clothes. She is HIV+ and has three children, one in secondary and two in primary school, at home that she supports. She does tailoring but her shop was damaged during the post-election violence. She has reopened but her business has not picked back up. She mainly sews school uniforms. She is part of the Committed Friends Women’s group. She speaks pretty good English so we were able to chat. She came at 9.45AM and stayed until 6PM. I asked Rom what would be a fair amount to give her for her work and he said 500 KS ($6.00). I gave her 600 KS and she seemed truly thrilled to receive that amount. She is coming back tomorrow to finish up a few things. And she even ironed all the clothes using the coffee table as an ironing board.

David Osino, who I know from previous visits, came to see me about 10.15 AM. He works for a computer company with offices here in Kisumu and Nairobi. He was working in Kisumu during my previous visits and sometimes helped us out with computer problems. After the post-election violence in 2007-2008 his office in Kisumu temporarily closed. He went to Nairobi for additional computer training and tried to find another job. He had one all lined up but then he did not get the position because he is of the Luo tribe and in Nairobi most people are Kikuyu. It usually doesn’t make much difference but right after all the violence the two tribes were fighting and treated each other as enemies. Luckily he was able to get a position in Nairobi with the same company he had been working for in Kisumu. It is now a salaried position whereas before it was strictly commission. He explained that after the violence and losing his job he was having a very difficult time coping with life. He states he is doing OK now and feels much better. He lives in a very small one room place about 10’ x 7’. He states he likes it especially since it has a toilet (pit style) right in the room. He has pipes for tap water but they only turn the water on once a week. He fills up containers to last him for the week.

He traveled from Nairobi back to Kisumu for the Easter holiday and also to work on some of his company’s contracts here in Kisumu. We visited until about 2 PM. I felt bad that I wasn’t better company because I was feeling so poorly. I laid down after he left until Rom came about 3 PM. We were going to go to the Kisumu Museum. It is a tourist attraction and I’ve never been to it in all the times I’ve been here. He said he was taking the TV to be repaired and would be back around 4 PM. I went back to bed and never woke up until 6 PM. Jane was still here ironing and she said Rom waited over an hour for me to wake up. I said they should have called me but they didn’t want to disturb me. Again I felt sorry but I guess I needed the sleep.

Paul came over about 6.30 PM and brought a DVD of the winners of the 2002 high school and drama competition. We watched it for about 45 minutes. His students were scheduled to perform tomorrow-Tues.- but the organizers of the competition were informed that President Kibaki was coming to officiate at the competition Wed instead of Thursday so they moved all the competitors up a day. The winners will be announced tomorrow and President Kibaki will be able to watch the winning teams perform again while he is here on Wed. Paul’s students therefore performed today and I missed the performance. Paul was really hoping I could see them perform and I feel sad about missing it too. If they win the dance division maybe I will get to see them perform for the President. It would be like President Obama coming to Buffalo to see something. It is a very big deal.

Paul left about 7.30 PM and I spent some time entering notes from the interviews I did yesterday into the computer. About 8.30 I decided to play one of the movies I brought with me on my computer. I watched Losing Isaiah starring Halle Berry. It was very good. That brings me up to now.

Yesterday, Easter Sunday, after Mass we went to Usoma Village where Paul comes from. I’ve visited there each time I’ve come. Both wells that FIOH-USA funded in the village are working and providing clean water for the people. The area around the second well is building up. It used to be just a field. Now it has a store and two rows of apartment houses. It also has a vegetable garden.

When we arrived in the area there were only young children around. All the adults were still in church. I was surprised to see about 8 children – mainly aged 2-4 left alone with the oldest child age 10. He was washing dishes in a plastic pan. I asked Rom if it was safe to leave so many young children without adult supervision. He laughed and said, “These are African children” Most of the very young ones were afraid of me.

We walked over to the other end of the village where the first well is located (St. Patrick’s well). All the homes have been relocated and rebuilt due to the airport expansion. The houses are improved with 3 rooms each and plaster over the mud walls and plaster rather than dirt floors. FIOH-USA funded the relocation of the well as the airport refused to pay for that.

The adults arrived back after Mass and I interviewed several of the HIV+ women who participate in our transportation program.

(I’ll write more about that tomorrow, as I need to go to bed now.)

Tuesday April 6, 2010 10.15AM.

I slept well and had some breakfast. Jane is here ironing.

While I was at Usoma Village on Easter I met with 5 participants of our HIV/AIDS transportation program. One is only 12 years old, Stephen, a cousin of Paul’s who I’ve mentioned before. He stays with Paul and is in class 4. He has been + since birth and is doing better now that he is taking the ARV’s.

The others are 4 women. Anna and Jane Omedo are co-wives whose husband died of AIDS many years ago. Anna is very industrious and has initiated an informal support group among the women of Usoma with HIV. They have been meeting to discuss their problems and brainstorm about ways to improve their lives. They requested a dairy cow. They stated they would work together to care for the cow. They would use the milk to improve their own nutrition and have some to sell. I said I would talk to Rom about getting a cow. I also suggested getting chickens as they could sell the eggs and eventually eat the chickens when they get old or sell the offspring of the chicken. Paul suggested giving the five families involved 2 hens and one rooster each for a total cost of about $75.00. The women expressed that their chickens usually are stricken with illness about 2-3 times/yr and all die. Rom stated they need to be vaccinated. We will arrange to have the chickens vaccinated before we give them to the families. Rom says it is not very expensive and he knows someone who will do it. We will also have to assure ongoing vaccination for the offspring. Anna has had left leg and foot pain for several years. She has seen the health care staff at the clinic she attends to receive her ARV’s. She takes a mild pain killer without much relief. I think it is plantar fasciitis or a heel spur. I gave her some motrin to try for a week to see if it helps. I will show her some stretching exercises also.

Two of the women have bad teeth and active toothaches. I gave them each 500KS to travel to the dental clinic to be evaluated and treated. I will give them more for follow-up as needed. Jane, Paul’s aunt, the mom of Stephen, is only 27 yrs old. Her teeth are falling out. Her four front teeth are gone. I hope they can help her at the dentist to prevent further loss. I think dentures may be too expensive for FIOH-USA to fund.

I interviewed one student in form 3, Frederick Ogecha, sponsored by Bob Swiatek. He scored slightly below average on his first term and works very hard. He gets up at 4.30 every morning to study and rides his bike 20 minutes to school. He usually gets home about 7 or 7.30 PM. He needed new school shoes, a math set and a scientific calculator. I gave him 2200KS to purchase them (about 25 dollars).

We came home from Usoma village about 6 PM and Paul, Rom and I visited a while and they left before the rain came. It was a very different Easter Sunday for me.

I wrote some emails and Skyped my nephew Mike and his family, Debbie and Ryan (age 3) I was thrilled that it worked. I was able to hear them very well and though the picture was very blurry, I could tell who was who. They said they could see me very well. It’s amazing – all the way from Africa using a modem right here in the flat. It was very good to connect with my family. I miss everyone back home but am glad to be here trying to do some good.

End of Journal Entry 7

News from Kenya - #6

2010-04-04T15:18:00.001-04:00

Journal Entry 6-Day 8

Easter Sunday April 4, 2010 11:15AM

I just returned from Easter Sunday Mass. It was scheduled for 9.00AM but they started at 8.30 AM. Luckily we got there about 8:40 and only missed part of the opening song. The Mass was in Kiswahili and the singing was wonderful. I was sitting close to the choir. (They sing from the pews accompanied only by drums) They did sing the Lamb of God in English today so I was able to understand something. It was the main celebrants 45^th birthday so toward the end of Mass after communion everyone came up to receive an individual birthday blessing from him. He simply placed his hands on each person’s head. The Mass ended at 10.30AM. The next Mass was scheduled to start at 10.30 and many people were lined up outside the church waiting to come in. It will not start until 11AM. Time is rather fluid here.

Yesterday, Saturday, I went to the village of Kaloleni as scheduled to see the Posho Mill, the borehole well behind the mill, and to interview students. The mill is doing well and making a small amount of money. They give much of their grain away to people who would otherwise starve so they don’t make any real profit. They requested FIOH-USA to purchase two 90 Kilo bags of grain for them. It will cost about 40 or 50 dollars and I agreed to this.

Many villagers came for the free porridge flour and to fill up their buckets or Jerrican’s at the well (holds 20 liters). They pay 2 shillings for the water (2-3 pennies). About 75KS = 1 dollar depending on the exchange rate. The water is clean and has made a big difference in the health of the village.

Alcohol is a problem, especially in Kaloleni village. People of all ages are frequently drunk.

The local alcoholic brew is called busaa. It is a common drink among the Luo and Luia tribes. It is made of fermented corn, water, and finger millet/sorghum. It is illegal to make and sell but the policemen are given a small bribe and then leave the people alone.

Cecelia Muthoni, the mother of several of our sponsored students earns her living by making and selling busaa. I wish she could find a different way of supporting herself but she has done it for a long time and she takes care of many children, is a very hard worker and helps out the people in her village.

I chatted with 6 sponsored students for about 30-45 minutes each. I really enjoy talking to the students and it helps me understand their problems and way of life. I am still amazed by the length of the school day for these children- from 6.30 or 7 AM to at least 5 PM- sometimes 6 PM.

Evance Ooko was first. He graduated from high school in December 2009 and scored a B on his KCSE. That is very good and qualifies him to attend University or college but not to obtain a government scholarship. He would like to go to Nairobi University and study economics but without a scholarship the tuition is $1200.00/year. There is a University here in Kisumu where he would also like to attend if he can’t go to Nairobi U. That tuition is about $900.00/year. He will instead be advised to take a 3-year diploma course as that cost is about $400/yr. When he gets a job after getting his diploma he can go back to school on his own to get a University degree if he wishes.

Paul and I were talking after I interviewed Evance and he helped me understand more about the Kenyan college school system. I will try to explain some of it here.

The score each high school graduate gets on the KCSE test is sent to the government. Any female student scoring 65 (B+) or greater and any male student scoring 67(B+) or greater is automatically sent a letter from the government telling them they qualify for a scholarship in the amount of 70,000KS/yr. ($933). They are also told which University they must attend and the course of study they must take in order to receive the scholarship. The total cost of University is about 90,000KS ($1200/yr). The student is expected to “top up” the remainder 20,000KS themselves plus purchase books and food. They are provided housing along with the scholarship. The amount we ask our sponsors to pay, 24,00KS($350) will cover the difference between the 70,000KS scholarship and the 90,000KS cost with a little left over for books and food.

However if a student gets at least a D+ in their KCSE they may still qualify to attend University or college but they must pay the entire tuition themselves. The system is then similar to that in the USA. They fill out an application for the college or University they wish to attend indicating their preferred course of study along with their KCSE scores. If accepted, they are required to pay the entire cost as outlined above.

None of the students sponsored through FIOH-USA can afford to pay that amount of money. Therefore, if they don’t get a scholarship, they need to take a three-year diploma course in their chosen field of study at a cost of about $400/yr. Then the sponsor’s $350 dollar donation will cover most of their expenses.

I feel bad that we can’t send Evance (and all the other students) off to University but we don’t ask our sponsors to pay that amount of money/yr.

I then interviewed Cecelia Muthoni who is in high school. She is doing OK but needs to do better if she would qualify for a scholarship.

Halima Hadifth is 25 years old and completed 2.5 years of high school and then did not have a sponsor. Now she is studying tailoring through FIOH-USA. A two-year course is usually $220. She wishes to open her own tailoring shop after graduation and would need her own sewing machine. That cost is about $150 for a foot powered machine.

Next I chatted with Mwanisha Athmani. She is in high school and is an excellent student. She ranked 4/86 students in her form 3 class.

Cecylia Nyambura is 25 and is a single mother with two young children. She did not finish high school. She would like to be sponsored for tailoring.

Lastly I talked with Elizabeth Awuor Odhiambo who is sponsored in college. She is studying Community Health and Development and will complete her course next month. It will take about 3 months to find out the results of her exams and receive her certificate. Then she will qualify for a job. She states she knows someone who works for an NGO and is hoping to get a job with the same NGO. She has a 16-month-old son named Michael Charles. She also has asthma and has to go frequently on an emergency basis to the hospital for a shot due to attacks. She cannot afford an inhaler. We will purchase one for her.

We returned briefly to the flat and then went to seven/eleven for dinner. I had a delicious piece of chicken with rice. I came home, “showered” and washed my hair and did some computer work. I went to bed about 11.30PM.

End of Journal Entry 6

News from Kenya - #5

2010-04-03T14:20:00.000-04:00

Journal Entry 5-Day 6 and 7

Thursday April 1, 2010 9.00AM

I had a quiet day yesterday, Wednesday. The plan was for me to have the morning to myself and then 3 sponsored students were scheduled to come to the flat for a chat in the afternoon. However it rained very hard and none of the students came.

I enjoyed the peace and quiet. I went to the Internet café and checked my emails etc. Then I did a little grocery shopping. At the time I was shopping I still thought the students were coming so I bought soda and snacks to offer them. They don’t normally get them and it is a special treat that I am glad to offer.

I came home and entered notes from my interviews yesterday and put the photos on the computer and labeled them (before I forgot who was who).

Mark Baetzhold, one of our Board members back home surprised me with a phone call. It was good to hear an “American voice”. We discussed working with a group from Nyamuswa, Tanzania. Max, the coordinator of an NGO called Zinduka, may travel to Kisumu to meet with us sometime next week. We hope they can link up with FIOH.

Paul came to the flat after school and we had a good discussion about goals and problems here in Kisumu. I watched a video he had celebrating the Sisters of the Blessed Virgin Mary 400^th anniversary. They founder came from Italy in 1610 and they have a large number of members here. They were singing and dancing and praising the Lord in thanksgiving.

Paul never ceases to amaze me. He is supporting three young boys who live with him in a house near his school. One is in primary school, 11 year old Stephen, and is HIV + since birth. He participates in our HIV/AIDS transportation program. The other boys are in Secondary School; Vincent Otieno, age 18, in form 3 and Maxwell Ogare, age 17, also in form 3. Paul is also supporting one of his grandmothers who is getting up in age. He gets a total of about $75.00/mo in stipends between his principal and FIOH-USA.

Francis Omondi stopped by unexpectedly around 8.30 PM. I know him from previous visits. He is presently out of work and is having a difficult time. We plan to get together next week. He would like me to meet his mom and siblings and see his home here in the Kisumu area. He only stayed about 30 minutes.

I was glad to have stayed close to home today as I am having diarrhea frequently. I don’t know if it is just due to the drastic change to my system or if I need to take a course of antibiotics. I have enough for two courses during my trip. I don’t want to use them up too soon. I’ll give it a few days to see if I adjust. I don’t feel sick, just more tired than usual. That could also be due to the adjustment.

Paul and I talked a little longer and he headed home. I studied the manual for my new camcorder and fell asleep about 10.30 PM.

Now I am waiting for Paul to arrive and we are going to watch some of the Kenya School and Colleges National Drama Festival. It is a competition of secondary and college drama performances from all over the country. They will continue daily until April 6 at two locations in Kisumu. He tells me it is addicting to watch the talent and he thinks I might want to go everyday once I see some of the performances. The festival is held yearly but the location rotates. It was last held in Kisumu in 2002. Students from Kanyamedha High School where Paul teaches qualified for the national competition. I plan on going to see their performance next Tuesday.

The official break from school starts today. Everyone is away from all the schools until the Tuesday after Easter. Then the remedial teaching starts with half-day sessions in most schools. It reminds me of our summer schools but it is mandatory for all the students.

Friday April 2, 2010 5.30PM

Today is Good Friday. I got back a little while ago from walking the way of the cross. Hundreds of people came and the priest led the way. It was good to finally see Robert and his wife Jennifer as they both came to walk with the procession. It was very hot. We carried umbrellas for shade but I was still very hot. We started about 11.30 and by 2.15 PM we had only walked up to the 8^th station. I was so hot I was about ready to pass out. I was wearing the hat I purchased at Ten Thousand villages that was made in Uganda and I was grateful I brought it. I had finished my large bottle of water. Gratefully Rom had a driver with a car on standby. He came and got Paul, Robert and I and we waited in the car under some trees until the procession reached the 14^th station about 3.30 PM. Then we came back to the flat. However the procession proceeded to the church for adoration of the cross and they are probably still in church as I write this.

When we got to the flat, Julie, Rom’s daughter was there and had prepared Rice, salad and fried chicken. (Not like we have at home) I ate the chicken even though it was Good Friday because it would have been an insult not to partake of the rare treat of meat prepared especially because I was visiting. The chicken consisted mainly of wings and was tasty although very dry.

April 3, 2010 4.00AM

After I finished writing the above entry, I was falling asleep. Robert and Paul were with me at the flat and looking at a video that I had already seen. We visited a little while and they left about 7.30 PM. I practically fell into bed and woke up a little while ago.

Now, a little more about the drama festival: The drama presentations were wonderful with very colorful costumes. Most were in K'swahili, or D’Luo. Some were in English but I could not understand most of it. They spoke very fast and I had difficulty understanding the accent. However the dancing, acting and singing was fascinating to watch and listen to. The energy was amazing. I recorded a little of it on video. The stories generally portray some of the problems of Kenya including corruption or difficulty attending school. They usually have a happy ending.

I purchased a modem to use with our computers. It is about the size of a flash drive and plugs into a USB port. Abby suggested getting one when I was with her in Oxford. It cost about 20 dollars and I will leave it here when I leave. It allows using the Internet anywhere in Kenya including here at the flat. It will save them a great deal of time and energy instead of going to the Internet cafes. They can add to the modem the same as adding minutes to their phone cards but the modem does not use it up according to time but rather according to the number of megabytes downloaded or uploaded. A 12-dollar “top up” will last about a month if it is being used mainly for emails. You can search the Internet indefinitely without using up the megabytes unless you download something. This is all new to me but it works very well. The “top ups” expire every 30 days so it will take some practice to see how much is used in that length of time. If you buy too much it does not “roll over” and is just lost.

I am going to try to go back to bed for a few hours now. Later today we are going to the village of Kaloleni where I will evaluate the Posho Mill project and the effectiveness of the borehole well donated by St. Joseph University Church. I will also meet several sponsored students.

End of Journal Entry 5

News from Kenya - #4

2010-04-02T01:50:00.000-04:00

Journal Entry 4-Day 5

Wednesday March 31, 2010 7.00AM

Yesterday, Tuesday, was another full day. Paul came in the morning and we traveled by car to Kanyamedha Secondary School where he acts as Assistant Principal and teaches English and French. He is a volunteer as there has been a government freeze on the hiring of any new teachers for several years. His principal pays him a small stipend, as does FIOH-USA, for a total salary of about $50 dollars/month.

His school is growing very quickly. It started with only 15 students 4 years ago. There are now over 300 students. There are 10 paid teachers and 4 volunteer teachers. The government moves teachers from one school to another depending on the enrollment of the school. FIOH-USA sponsors 3 students at Kanyamedha School.

I met the principal, Gordon, and he showed me around the school. They have added two new buildings to provide classroom space for the additional students. One is still under construction. The children all wear uniforms and look very neat. The school has electricity.

I visited the well that was funded by FIOH-USA through Ron and Sue Schmitz. It is working well. Once in a great while it goes dry, but fills up again after a few days. They now also have a water catchment tank donated by the Episcopal Church. The rainwater drains off the roof of the school into the tank and is filtered. They hope to be able to lay pipes from the catchment tank to the well to provide continuous water even if the well goes dry for a few days. A good catchment tank system costs about the same as a well and they told me the well is preferred since it uses ground water and is not as dependent on the rain.

I had lunch at the school. They provide the children with breakfast and lunch and for most that is the only food they have all day. Breakfast is porridge and lunch today was kale and ugali. It is usually a vegetable and a starch- ugali or rice. Sometimes they have a mixture of beans and corn.

The schedules at the Day schools are, like boarding school, very long. They have to be at school by 6 AM and do not go home until 6 or 6.30 PM. When I told them our students finish about 3.30PM they all laughed.

All the teachers were very busy marking exams as it was the last day of the term and the children receive their reports tomorrow. In addition to each student being graded- they have to be ranked according to the points they scored for the term. Paul uses his computer to automatically do the ranking. He is quite skilled at using excel.

While Paul was marking and ranking, I was able to chat with the three sponsored students, Emmanuel Onyango, Winnie Sunday, and Beryl Adhiambo. I talked to them one at a time under a tree. The breeze was perfect with a temperature of about 82 F.

Emmanuel is a sophomore and is sponsored by K-Kids at Holmes Elementary School. He is an excellent student and ranked second in his class of 92 this term. Both his parents are dead. He lives about 4.5 miles from school and usually walks. He is the 6^th born of 8. Five of them live together in the usual mud house with an iron sheet roof. His house has only one room. They cook outside. They have access to a borehole well about 1/3 mile from their house. I asked him if there was anything we could do to help him. He stated his eyes burn all the time because he only has a small kerosene lamp that gives off heavy fumes, to study by. He requested a larger lamp and if possible a bicycle so he could travel back and forth to school quickly. Paul and I went shopping last night and bought him a better lantern. I hope to provide the bicycle but want to wait to see some of the other needs I encounter as my time here is just beginning. Emmanuel is very active in the drama and debate clubs and is a prefect at the school library. He won an award as the best male dancer in the drama competition. He hopes to become a pilot and would like to study in the USA. There is a pilot training program in Nairobi and that is probably a more realistic goal. If he cannot be a pilot he would like to be a journalist.

Next I talked to Winnie Sunday, also a sophomore. She lives nearby in Usoma village and is sponsored by Alan and Beth Dye. She is repeating her sophomore year, as she did not score enough points last year to be promoted. She was very ill and missed too much school. Paul explained that the school tries not to have the children repeat, but thought it was in Winnie’s best interest since she missed so much school. She would always have been way behind the other students if she had been promoted.

Winnie has a difficult home life. Her father is an alcoholic “ a drunkard” as Winnie puts it. He is verbally abusive to Winnie all the time and she is very unhappy at home. She would like to attend Kisumu Girls boarding school. We will assist her in looking into that possibility. She may not qualify due to her grades. Paul states she has improved a great deal so far this year and is a hard worker. Winnie is shy and very soft spoken. She would like to be a lawyer or a nurse.

My last chat was with Beryl Adhiambo, a freshman. She is sponsored by Sally Tower. She lives in the village of Kanyamony about 3 miles away and would benefit from a bicycle. Beryl has one brother in grade 7. She leaves home at 5 AM to walk to school. She hopes to be a journalist. Her father is also a “drunkard”. Her mother is what is termed a “casual worker”. She sells eggs and produce when possible to make a few shillings.

I talked with some of the faculty for a little while after chatting with the sponsored students.

The principal, who has his own car, drove us back to the flat and we arrived about 5.45PM. Paul and I started to walk to the bank but it began raining so we detoured to the plaza and used the Internet café to send some emails. We then proceeded to the bank in a soft rain. We went to the seven/ eleven restaurant for dinner and I had whole tilapia and chapati. The fish looks terrible to me but it tasted delicious. I let Paul eat the head area. He says it’s the best part but I don’t like looking at the eye. We shopped a little at the Nakumatt and I got home about 9.00PM. I did some computer/paperwork and went to bed about 10.30PM.

End of Journal entry 4

News from Kenya - #3

2010-04-02T01:48:00.000-04:00

Journal Entry 3-Day 4

Monday March 29, 2010 9.30 PM

I’ve had a good day and it almost went as planned. That is highly unusual here, in my past experience. Julie, Rom’s 22-year-old daughter arrived about 11 AM to show me how to make chapatis. We used a charcoal burning jiko right in the flat. We initially lit it out on the porch but as the coals became hot we brought it into the kitchen. Julie prefers making them on the jiko rather than the stove and the stove is also out of gas. It uses a large propane tank and it needs to be refilled at quite an expense.

She poured about two cups of flour into a pan of salted water-maybe a little over a cup. Nothing was actually measured. That was stirred well. Then vegetable oil is usually added but we only had tub margarine so we used that. About the equivalent of half a stick. They are then mixed well and formed into soft round balls about 4 inches in diameter. A round wooden cutting board with short legs was placed on the floor and she used a rounded piece of wood as a rolling pin and flattened each one to about a 7-inch disc. It was then placed in a heavy iron “frying pan” – a round concave disc about 10 inches in diameter-and cooked over the fire adding more oil as necessary until they are partially brown. She flipped it frequently during cooking. She then places the cooked chapati in a plastic bag to keep it soft and warm and continues one at a time. We only made 7 and I made the last one “all by myself” but she said she usually makes 35 or 40.

She also cooked beef but she had purchased soup bone meat and it was very tough, even for Kenya. It tasted good though and the juice was nice for dipping the chapati.

We didn’t get finished cooking until about 1 PM and Jackline from the hospital came to “fetch me” at 1.30 PM. She joined us for lunch before we left.

The hospital is about 2 miles away near the church. We took a Tuk Tuk. The children are housed on ward 5. Today I taught 15 children, 7 girls and 8 boys, ages 5 to 12. Most are 7 or 8. Most have Burkitt’s lymphoma. Those of you who have read my journals before are familiar with this because I have worked on ward 5 each time I’ve come. It is sad, but they report that most of the children are now eventually dying. The chemotherapy treatments are not as regular and the nutrition is not very good.

The children’s’ main caretaker, called Mamma Toto, took me aside and requested that FIOH consider providing about 50 lbs of powdered milk, some toilet paper and bar soap.

I find it hard to believe that the hospital does not provide milk, toilet paper and soap but it doesn’t. The families need to provide it for the patients and most of these children do not have family or they live very far away. I will make sure they get the supplies they requested as I think they are very reasonable. Rom or Paul will help me shop to get a good buy.

As I usually do when I am with these children I taught English words including numbers, letters, colors, the days of the week and simple math. They are very well behaved and the ones able to write wanted me to correct their papers and write how they did on the top. Stickers would have been nice but I didn’t think to bring any. Smile faces work well.

I went by Tuk Tuk back to the flat and was going to “put my feet up” about 5.00 PM but Paul arrived about 5 minutes after me. He had talked to his friend about repairing Rom’s computer. He confirmed it did have a virus and he would uninstall and reinstall everything including a new antivirus program for 2,600 KS. That is about 35 dollars- He said he gave us a discount from 3,000KS. He includes a warranty on the repair. Not bad.

Jeanette Cassandra Oloo, a student sponsored by FIOH-USA came to meet with me about 6 PM. I had initially planned to take her to dinner, but I was so full from the chapatis at lunch that I gave her food here at the flat and we talked. She is a beautiful 16-year-old young woman. She attends Kisumu girls high school not far from here. It is now entirely a boarding school as they realize the students do much better that way. She is in form 3 – a junior. Their daily schedule is intense. They have to get up at 4.20AM and be in study hall be 4.30. If they are late they are “caned”.

They study until 6AM.

6.-6.30 breakfast and shower clean up etc

15 minutes to do a charge/work- Jeanette mops a hallway- it changes per term.

Required subjects are: English Kiswahili, math chemistry and biology plus three of her choice. She takes French geography, and physics.

Each class is 40 minutes and she has all classes every day - about 50 students/class.

Takes 4 classes - then 20 min break, 2 more classes then lunch.

2 more lessons - 10 minute break, 2 more lessons.

Classes end at 4 PM. Some of the required classes are double – 80 minutes. They have 10 classes per day for their 8 subjects.

From 4-5.15- they do different things on different days -exercises, health information, Thursdays is club day. Jeanette is in French club and 4 C’s Club-Change Choice Consequence, Character.- they act as counselors for other students with problems among many other things.

At 5.15PM she goes to her dorm area to do whatever she wants or needs to do. Her individual space consists of a bed and each student brings a suitcase with a lock to keep their belongings. There are nine students in each dorm “cube”.

5.45-6.20 supper

6.20-9.30 study

9.30-10.30 prepare for next day - must be in bed by 10.30.

Her school has electricity, and running water.

The weekend schedule is also fixed - Saturday- up at 4.20: Sunday up by 6.AM (wow she gets to sleep until 6!)

Saturday 6 - 8 time to prepare - must study by 8 am- has classes on Saturday, 8-10 the whole school has math; sciences from 10.30-12.30. Lunch 12.30 - 1.00 more sciences 1- 2.30; 2.30 - 4, Saturday classes are a discussion led by a prefect but the teachers are available to answer questions if needed. She states the teachers are very helpful and she loves school.

4-7 PM is free time with supper from 6.30-7PM. At 7PM they have “entertainment” - dancing, movies etc.

A little background about the Kenyan School system:

Their curriculum is very difficult. I was discussing the Kenyan Secondary school system with Rom and Paul. They think that one of the reasons the children often get poor marks is that they have to take too many subjects at one time. I was explaining to them that in WNY high school students would, for example, take biology one year, chemistry the next and physics the next-not all three at once, every year, as they do in the Kenyan system. I was looking over some of their exams. They are very difficult! Minimum passing grade is a D+. However the individual grades in each subject do not determine promotion. In order to be promoted from one year to the next the student needs to obtain at least half of the total points available for the years work. For example, if 1000 was the most points they could have obtained by getting perfect scores in all their subjects-they would need to get at least 500 by the end of the year. It is possible to fail individual subjects and still be promoted, if the total marks are at least half. If they score less than half they need to repeat the entire year not just the subjects they failed.

During holiday and breaks all children are required to attend extra classes for remedial work. If a student makes it through the Kenyan secondary school system they have an excellent education even if they did not obtain high grades. Early in their senior year every student needs to take the KCSE government exam. That determines if they qualify to graduate from high school and also determines if they are allowed to attend University or college. The words University and College are not used interchangeably as they are back home. They must score at least a B+ on the KCSE to qualify for University-mainly 4 year professional programs. If they score C - B they qualify for College-similar to our associate degree-two year programs. Most colleges here are three-year programs.

Another uniqueness about the Kenyan system is that students to not go to University or College the year following graduation from High School. Most have a whole year to wait to find out their KCSE scores and to be informed what career they qualify to study. The student may express their preference, for example to study teaching or medicine, however the government decides what course they are actually allowed to take. Paul states they usually try to honor the student’s preference.

The government pays a subsidy for each student in secondary school of 10,265 KS- about $143.00. This is not enough to cover the cost of attending and the student must pay the remainder, a cost that varies from school to school. It also varies if the student boards or attends day school. FIOH-USA requests sponsors to pay $350/year for students in Secondary, College or University. We presently sponsor about 30 individuals. They are in Secondary, College and/or vocational training programs.

So here I am on Monday evening-I’m again falling asleep and it is almost 11PM so I’m going to bed.

End of Journal entry 3.

News from Kenya - #2

2010-04-01T14:45:00.000-04:00

Journal Entry 2-Day 2 and 3

Sunday March 28, 2010 6 AM

I woke up about 3.00AM and decided I may as well get up. I spent some time organizing my things and did some computer work regarding our sponsored students.

Yesterday, Saturday, was a relatively relaxing day. I walked with Oda to the hotel where Joanna, a nurse from the UK, and her sister Joy were staying-very simple accommodations. Rom met us with the hired car and we went to the area where artists sell their handmade crafts. It is like a large simple outdoor Ten thousand Villages store with a great deal of Soapstone art, jewelry, fabric and even bamboo furniture. Joanna and Joy shopped and I talked to Protas, one of the artists I had met before, who creates from soapstone. He walked me through the process and encouraged me to take pictures. I also videoed him etching animals on a plate. He explained why he chooses the art he draws including that when he chooses animals he shows them interacting to remind him that people also need to interact and try to live peaceably together in love unity and harmony. He draws the Acacia tree to show the beauty of the environment and how he must care for it. He was very articulate.

We then went to pick up medicine that Oda, the senior nurse at Buburi Health Center, will carry back with her on a matatu. (about a 3 hour very bumpy trip).

Rom Paul and I went back to the flat to begin to discuss specific plans for my visit in order to accomplish FIOH-USA’s goals. Rom then left to get the car fixed and was gone several hours.

Paul and I went to the Nakumatt Plaza across the street and I sent a few emails.

The printer for the computer at the office was out of ink so I purchased replacement cartridges. We think Rom’s computer (Michele donated it in 2003) has a virus as it states the hard drive and memory is full but there is actually very little stored on the computer. Paul will take it to a friend with a degree in computers and see if it can be repaired. In the meantime I brought my Mac laptop and was able to install the software for their printer. At least we are “up and running” for now. They use the computer a great deal for organizing and documenting their work so it is important that FIOH-USA assist them in getting it repaired if possible.

About 5.30 PM I took Rom and Paul to dinner at a very inexpensive restaurant called Seven/Eleven. My favorite eating place during previous visits, Somi Snacks, is no longer open. Many of the occupants of the Nakumatt plaza had to give up their leases because the rent was raised enormously after the post election violence of 2007/2008. All prices went up and the people continue to struggle. Dinner for the three of us was about 15 dollars. I thought that was reasonable.

We came back to the flat and I gave them the equipment and supplies I carried from Buffalo. They left about 7 PM as it was getting dark. It’s a good thing because just a little while later the rain poured down.

I did some journaling but was falling asleep so I went to bed by 9.30 PM.

Now I am expecting Paul to come any minute and we are going to Kibuye church for the 9.00AM Mass. It is Palm Sunday so it should be especially beautiful. I plan on videoing some of the ritual.

6.30 AM Monday 03/29/10

Yesterday Paul and I took a tuk tuk to Kibuye Church. It is a 3 passenger “taxi”. They are very popular and more comfortable, due to more room, than the 14 passenger matatu’s that often crowd up to 20. It is against the law to have more than 14 but many still do it. Back home the van would be considered a 9 passenger vehicle. The matatu’s are less expensive- usually 10-20 KS/each. It cost 100 KS – about $1.25, for the two of us to ride in the tuk tuk for the distance of about 2 miles. All public transportation is more expensive on Sundays.

Palm Sunday Mass started outside, around an enormous pile of palm branches that the people carried with them from home. There were also volunteers responsible for cutting down branches on several palm trees on the church grounds. All the palms were blessed in a ceremony with singing and dancing.. They have three Sunday AM Masses. The first one is in D’Lou (the local tribal language), the second (the one I attended) is in Swahili, the third is in English. I therefore could not understand what was being said most of the time but the singing was beautiful. The bishop from the area came part way through the Mass and everyone cheered and greeted him. It is a great honor for him to come as his area is very large. He spoke part of his talk in each of the three languages so at least I could understand a little bit. The Mass was very long lasting about 3.5 hours.

Paul and I went back to the flat and had some lunch-peanut butter and jelly sandwiches on “brown bread”. Rom came over and we updated some of the sponsored student information and discussed concerns.

I was very tired and still in the wrong time zone so I took a nap for about an hour. It rained very hard during that time. Robert, the third person I will be working with very closely, arrived at the flat soaking wet. It was good to see him. We all shared for a while and they left about 7.30 PM. I had another P&J sandwich for supper.

I was able to put the video I took at the Mass onto my computer and I charged everything up for the next day. I tried journaling but again I fell asleep at the computer. I woke up with a whole page of “d’s” in front of me J. I went to bed about 9.30 PM.

I am expecting Rom’s daughter, Julie to come about 10AM and we are going to make chapatis together over a charcoal fire. I said I wanted to learn how to make them but I was thinking of over the burner on the stove. It should be interesting and fun. Then I’m going to Nyanza Provincial hospital for several hours to work with the children with Burkitts lymphoma and other cancers. Jackie, one of the volunteers, will come to the flat to go with me. About 5.30 PM one of the sponsored students is coming for a chat. I hope to sit down and talk informally with as many of the sponsored students as possible to better understand their situation, encourage them and be of greater assistance if possible. I also hope to take most of them to a simple dinner at the same restaurant I went to with Paul and Rom.

End of entry 2.

News from Kenya - #1

2010-04-01T14:36:00.001-04:00

Journal entry 1- traveling to Kenya and day 1

March 27 2010, 7.40 AM

I am sitting in the office/apartment of FIOH-KENYA. My trip here was very safe and I did not have any problems. ALL my luggage arrived in Nairobi. I got my Kenyan visa without hesitation and I caught my 8.00AM flight from Nairobi to Kisumu on time. Rom and Paul met me at the airport.

WOW all your prayer is truly with me- Thank You! Please keep them up.

I had a 12-hour layover at Heathrow airport in England. Abby White, an amazing young woman from Oxford England met me at Heathrow about 7AM. Abby is almost blind secondary to Retinal blastoma (RB) a rare childhood cancer affecting young children from birth up to about 8 years of age. Most cases are Dx by age three and affect only one eye. It is totally curative if diagnosed early, but once it becomes visible to the casual observer it is usually too late to save the child’s life. The easiest way to discover the cancer is to take a flash picture of your young child every month in low light. If the pupils show red, they are healthy. If one of the pupils appears white it is most likely that a Retinal Blastoma tumor is present and the child should be evaluated and treated immediately. It is usually necessary to remove the eye. Abby is the volunteer CEO of an organization called daisy fund dedicated to raising awareness of RB and other childhood cancers. She travels all over the world giving presentations and raising funds. Abby and I traveled by bus to Oxford (about 80 minutes). We walked and walked around and viewed some of the highlights including Christ Church, Radcliff Camera and many university buildings. It is a quaint beautiful VERY OLD city. Mike Thomas from Swindon, England, (about 30 minutes from Oxford), met us at 10.30 AM and we walked around some more, talked and saw the sights. We had lunch at “the Vault” near Christ Church. It is a small restaurant that has a commitment to serve food grown or raised within 50 miles. Everything was very fresh and seasoned delicately. We discussed Mike’s new book. Countdown. It is soon to be released. The first half talks about the problems humankind has caused harming the Earth and the second half suggests actions that can be taken to address these wrongs. Mike is the coordinator of FIOH-UK and also manages the main website of FIOH in an attempt to unite all the branches.

Abby traveled with me back to Heathrow and we sadly said our goodbyes. It was wonderful to spend time with both of them. I had expected to be sitting around Heathrow airport for 12 hours, so this was a welcome opportunity.

I boarded my flight to Nairobi without incident. I was sitting next to a man from Johannesburg and a woman from Botswana. We all shared a little bit. It makes the world seem smaller. I was able to sleep several hours on the plane. I fell asleep as soon as the plane began to taxi for take-off. I don’t even remember the take-off. I didn’t sleep at all on the flight from NY to London so I was very tired. I arrived in Nairobi at 6 AM and quickly obtained my Kenyan Visa and proceeded to get my luggage. Both my bags were there- a far cry from 2007 when I didn’t receive one of my two suitcases until three weeks later and much of my stuff was missing.

I caught my 8.00AM flight to Kisumu and Rom and Paul met me at the Kisumu airport. It was so good to see them again and they are so welcoming.

We went to the office/flat where I stay and dropped off all my things and had a cup of Kenyan tea and talked briefly.

We walked the short distance to Barclays bank and I was successful in using my Bankcards to withdraw funds for myself and FIOH-USA- that was a relief.

Rom and Paul both had to return to the schools where they teach so Rom called his 22-year-old daughter Julie to come and go shopping with me and assist me in carrying back supplies. She is hoping to go to college in Britain. She graduated from Secondary school in 2006 and has taken some computer courses and is taking a certificate course in English to better qualify her for a scholarship. She has an exam shortly and has to travel to Nairobi for the test. She is anxious about it. I think her English is quite good.

Julie and I went across the street to the Nakumatt Plaza and I purchased basic food and cleaning supplies for my stay including bottled water. I brought a special water bottle with me from home. It was recommended at the place where I got my travel shots. It has a filter that is supposed to make water safe anywhere in the world. I am using the tap water in the flat in that bottle and drinking it when I am home for now. I hope it really works and I don’t get sick. It will save money if I can use less bottled water and it is better for the environment. My credit card was accepted for payment (another relief) The Nakumatt is the only place where I can regularly use the credit card. It is good as I don’t have to carry around so much cash.

After shopping I was alone in the flat and began to unpack and try to get organized. Paul came back to the flat about 6.30 PM and said we were going to meet Rom and the two volunteers from the UK, that are leaving tomorrow, at the Chinese restaurant nearby (The only one in Kisumu and more upscale than most of our Chinese restaurants).

I really enjoyed talking with Joanna, a nurse, and her sister Joy from the UK and Oda from the local Buburi health center, while we ate dinner. Joanna and Joy had just spent a week at the center working very hard to assist the many villagers that come for treatment. They see about 100 patients/day-mainly for testing and treatment of malaria but also for other ailments. There is no doctor affiliated with the health center and they refer to a nearby hospital if further treatment is needed. However most cannot afford the treatment. Joanna gives as much money as she can for the emergency treatments. She also pays the staff salaries and funds basic medicinal supplies for the center. I will be traveling to Buburi later in my stay and visiting the center and helping with treatments especially for individuals with joint and muscle problems.

Oda came back to the flat after dinner and stayed overnight. We talked for quite awhile but I was very tired after my trip and the time changes so about 11.00 PM I excused myself and went to bed. It was a very full first day.

End of Journal Entry 1

Meet the Board of FIOH-USA

2010-01-20T13:40:00.003-05:00

From Left to Right, Sandy Warner-Treasurer, Louise Heubusch, Linda Glaeser, SSJ-President and Co-founder, Barb Diebold, Sharon Charleson, Mary Ossei-Anto, Mary Ellen Dye-Vice-President, Michele Sprada-Co-founder, Sue Schmitz-Secretary, and Mark Baetzhold.

Article in WNY Women- Winter 2009

2010-01-17T23:37:00.004-05:00

This article outlines some of the amazing work the people in Kisumu Kenya are able to do with financial assistance from FIOH-USA.

Don't Google - Goodsearch your searches

2009-11-23T18:58:00.003-05:00

We have something new and exciting we'd like to share with you! It's the
new Future In Our Hands toolbar - once added to IE or Firefox, each time you
shop at more than 1,300 stores (from Amazon to Zazzle!) a percentage of your
purchase will automatically be donated to Future In Our Hands - at no cost
to you (and you may even save money as the toolbar provides coupons and
deals as well!). The toolbar also has a search box and each time you search
the Internet, about a penny is donated to Future In Our Hands.
Just click the link to add Goodsearch for Future In Our Hands to your toolbar.

And please pass this along to all of your friends. The two minutes it takes
to add this toolbar to your browser can make a lifetime of difference!
Thank You for your support.

Give a Gift that keeps on Giving

2009-11-20T11:11:00.009-05:00

The holiday shopping insanity is well underway. But do trendy accessories and gift certificates really celebrate the connection we share with our loved ones?

This year, I hope you'll consider sharing something a little more personal and a lot more meaningful: Give a donation to Future In Our Hands-USA in honor or in memory of a loved one. Just click the orange "donate" button in the column on your right.

It's not a gift that will simply be opened and then forgotten. The donation you make in your loved one's name will help individuals in Kenya or Tanzania step out of poverty. It's not charity, it's justice.

Holiday cards for you to give in honor or memory of your loved one will be mailed to you for a donation of $10.00 or more. The image is a sample of one of the cards. Email Sr. Linda Glaeser, SSJ at lglaeserssj@gmail.com with your requests.

Harambee a huge success - THANK YOU !!

2009-09-27T01:50:00.002-04:00

Sonoma Grille was filled to capacity as 215 wonderful supporters came to FIOH-USA's first fundraising event. Cold Blues Band was great and we had 101 theme baskets to give away to the lucky winners.

We cleared over $5000!!

We are very grateful to everyone. This money will allow our work to continue. We have been in close communication with FIOH-KENYA and FIOH-TANZANIA to determine the best use of the funds.

Metro Source article on women's groups

2009-09-27T01:47:00.001-04:00

Read about Harambee in Metro WNY

2009-08-23T10:39:00.005-04:00

Please Come and invite your friends

2009-07-30T00:14:00.002-04:00

We hope you will come to our Harambee. It is the Swahili word meaning pulling together. In this time of economic crisis we all know how important pulling together becomes. Let's pull for people who often have no clean water source, and earn less than one dollar a day.

Please invite your family and friends to come too. It will be a fun evening and you will feel good about the difference you are making in the lives of very real people just like you. We can't do it without you.

DON'T FORGET THE DATE !

SEPTEMBER 11 2009 6-9 PM

PLEASE SAVE THE DATE

2009-06-29T23:05:00.013-04:00

SEPTEMBER 11 2009 6-9 PM

Future In Our Hands -USA is having its first fundraiser!!

Please join us for a fun evening featuring:

Live Music by Cold Blues
Theme basket raffle
Door Prizes
Lots of good food and beverages
Cash Bar

All proceeds will go towards projects funded by FIOH-USA in Kenya and Tanzania. As you know we have a very close personal relationship with the people we assist. The event will be held at Sonoma Grille, 5010 Main St, Amherst, NY 14226. Cost $20.00/person
Contact Linda Glaeser, SSJ for tickets or to address any questions - lglaeserssj@gmail.com or 716-837-4898

The Gift of Water- Bore hole wells In Kisumu Kenya

2009-06-17T17:33:00.004-04:00

Future In Our Hands - USA has funded 17 bore-hole wells in the area around Kisumu Kenya. This video shows some of the wells and the difference they have made.

New Issue Of Harambee Newsletter

2009-03-28T17:25:00.007-04:00

The March 2009 issue of our FIOH-USA Newsletter, Harambee is "hot off the press". We hope you find it informative and interesting. We need donations in order to continue our work. You can donate securely online by clicking the orange button. Any assistance you can offer is greatly appreciated. You can be confident that 100% of your donation goes directly to those we assist.

Over 1000 Families Benefit From Well

2009-03-06T08:30:00.005-05:00

The photo, taken in 2007, shows the new well in Raroki village donated by the 2006 Golden Jubilarians of the Sisters Of St. Joseph, Buffalo, NY

Jim Adede from Raroki village emailed FIOH-USA on March 2, 2009 stating:

"Raroki Project is doing very well. The well is doing very well. You will not believe this: at the moment there is a lot of drought at home and our people are really affected. The ponds that have always assisted people have also dried up. The Well that you assisted us to rehabilitate is now the only source of water for both domestic, drinking and animal use. It's serving over 1000 families daily, and with very long queues. Because of the dry spell, and the large number of people it serves, it now operates for nearly 20 hours every day! It has saved us a great deal, thanks to you and Michele, and The Future in Our Hands fraternity! It has also really helped, especially women and children to save time, instead of walking for 3 hours for nearest source of river water (which is contaminated), by increasing time spent with family members, while school going children can concentrate on their studies. We will forever remain grateful."

VIOLENCE VICTIM GETS NEW LEG

2009-02-24T13:03:00.008-05:00

Mr Albert Odhiambo received a new prosthetic leg thanks to a generous gift to FIOH-USA from a donor in Pendelton NY.
The leg cost $650.00.

Albert wrote to us in February 2009 stating:
" My name is Albert Odhiambo. I am 22 years old. I completed my Secondary Education three years ago and was employed to work at Migosi hardware as a loader of timber. During the post election violence on December 31st 2007, I was guarding my bosses premise, on this fateful day. At about 4.00 PM the police shot my right leg below the knee at a close range outside the timber yard. The wound stayed long before medication was administered as I did not have the money to pay for it. Therefore by the time I was getting medication it was too late and I had to be amputated in order to save my life. Then I was to be given a prosthetic limb to assist me to resume walking. My life has since changed. I now cannot do the hard jobs that I used to do or walk long distances. I am also in the process of learning how to use the new limb. I now work as a cashier in the hardware. Thank you very much for the assistance you gave me"

Top Photo- From L to R, Rom Wandera, coordinator of FIOH-KENYA, Albert Odhiambo, and Paul Odhiambo, a volunteer and Board member of FIOH-KENYA stand with Albert wearing his new leg.

Bottom photo - L. to R. Rom, Paul and Albert. Albert is showing us his new prosthesis.

Free Book Downloads from FIOH-USA supporter

2009-01-30T22:10:00.004-05:00

FIOH-USA supporter and author Bob Swiatek says: "All my books are now free downloads from my web site, as of yesterday. Tell others. Thanks."

Future in our Hands - The Inspiration

2009-01-24T11:47:00.008-05:00

The FIOH Movement was inspired by the book, Future In Our Hands, written by Norwegian Engineer, Erik Dammann in 1974. This book is not available in the Buffalo Public Library, but it may be acquired inexpensively using the link in the prior sentence. Read more about Erik Dammann.