Today, Wednesday, was our first day in the hospital. We are working at Kenyatta National Hospital, which is a 2000 bed, high acuity facility. It is the biggest hospital in East Africa, and they receive all the patients too sick for other hospitals in the region. I got placed on the pediatric floor today! It was so inspiring to see how the nurses innovate and adapt and provide care, despite their limited resources. I asked a nurse about a procedure and her response was "Honey, this is Africa." All the nurses I met today were incredibly dedicated and hard working and eager to improve health care in Kenyatta.
The patients were pretty adorable and reminded me that all over the world, kids are kids. Chloe and I quickly made friends of a crowd of boys who followed us all over the ward, playing with our stethoscopes and hand sanitizer.
One of the nurses I met today told me to go mingle with patients while she charted. "Just go say hello," she said. "Some of them might speak English." It was kind of a surprise to me how few children speak English. The official national languages of Kenya are Kiswahili and English. Most people speak Kiswahili at home. Luckily, our awesome driver, Mesh, has been working hard to ensure that by the time we leave Kenya we all have a basic understanding of Kiswahili.
Every morning he greets us "Habari Yasabui (how are you this morning)?" And expects us to reply "missuri (good)." He gives us lists of words while we're stuck in the jam, and is super good at answering all our Kenya related questions. Despite his best efforts, I know just enough Kiswahili to respond when people shout "Mzungu (white person, literally aimless wanderer)" with a "jambo" and a cheerful smile.
Tuesday, we visited an orphanage and a workshop where women make jewkery and clothing. The clothing company, Judith and James, is run by a group of widows and supervised by our host, Nikki Hyodo. The jewelry company is run by a Texan, who gives a group of poor women a good wage and a lot of skills. The orphanage, or children's home, was super clean and nice and it was clear how deeply the staff and volunteers cared for the kids. It was fun to play with babies and school agers there!
We're heading out to the bush to do a medical camp tomorrow morning. We will be assisting Kenyan doctors and nurses with all sorts of screenings and interventions. It should definitely be an experience! Pray that the 8 hour car ride doesn't do me in though!
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