ruth thompson

June 28th, 2008 by Ruth Thompson

Jambo,
Well,it is June 27 and I have returned to Canada.
The last weeks in Kenya have been interesting..
Another volunteer joined the AMCA project on June 15,thus @ same homestay.A.is a U.S. student from N.Y. state.She is vegetarian so does not have to query some of the meat dishes served occasionally such as ‘intestines’-cut in small pieces.In the ‘developing world”,ALL parts of the animal are eaten-snouts,ears,all flesh scraped off the head and face.One day in Nepal, while walking through the garbage dump from town,I asked Ahkil[teenage boy] with me what he was eating.The answer-’a cow’s eyeball-I have another in my pocket,do you wish to eat it?’Fortunately, I had quickly become a vegetarian in these travels so had an appropriate answer.We ,in ‘the rich world’ are the wasters of meat parts.
I think the nurse had finally been convinced the removal of cast could be accomplished .Unfortunately the lady with the arm cast was not at home last week .The task was transferred to A., on return to that slum after I left.Good luck to her.My plan was 1 rst remove the arm cast ,then ask the ‘nurse’ to locate the man with the leg cast and remove it.The nurse’s acceptance of these long term casts was puzzling and unacceptable to me.The role of a ‘nurse’ is to be a patient advocate and it seems cast removable is included-even if not your client!Human to human caring is all needed.
The lady with the massive tumor,extending from pharnx-spine and up to temple was presented in teaching rounds @ Kenyatta Hosp. 1 wk ago and I was allowed to attend.The most recent CT scan and biopsy was explained .Unfortunately,the consult revealed that it has now changed to cancer and no surgery will be considered,only radiation.When I asked if anything could be considered if we searched in North America or other places in developed world-the answer was’No’.The next question was if I could have a M.D.’s name as a contact person-answer ‘No!’H-m-m-m, am I missing something here?Is this a hierachial problem-with M.D.’s,interference with a Kenyan decision,sexist,or the state of health care in cancer cases.This lady was 1rst diagnosed in 1975-surgery 1976,2001 and 2006.She has already had a massive tumor removed-size of small watermelon-she has O.R. photos.She is a real life ‘HERO’ as she carries on with all her daily,family tasks despite pain and constant stares at disfigurement.Fortunately she has a very supportive family-I met her husband and 2 sons.
Our ‘celebrity culture ‘,promoted for $$,of people’ famous for being famous ‘ and sport stars should be questioned -are they really ‘icons’ or ‘heroes’.'What are their values?Do you really wish the youth of today to emulate their behavior?Or is it the’ dumbing down of America.’?In France,MSF [medicins sans frontiers]-Doctors Without Borders ,have a comic book in all the schools describing their philosophy-free health care to all people despite conflicts,earthquakes,tsunami.40 % of students wish to join them as adults-in many positions, not just doctors.What values does our TV project to our youth?OK-time to stop the RANT!!
Will my fissured feet ever be clean again? Even though no hot water for shower for 6 days the last wk, despite daily scrubbing with a brush they remain black.Electrical problem for hot water.On our long walks,there are no sidewalks[ except in city ] that are level and dust/dirt free.Consequently,the dirt road sides are swirled up with the black exhaust from vehicles to envelop the walkers and in the slum travels it is the sewage to traverse.Unluckily,one time my foot was incorrectly placed ,slipped and covered in sewage but the health care worker accompanying me quickly obtained water from a fruit stand and assisted the clean up of the muck.The staff was always concerned re the volunteers safety in traversing the sewage.Actually ,one man stated it is fun after a rain as you slip and slide about in mud/sewage-they wear boots then!
There are so many fascinating things to experience/observe/witness in the country.There is no can opener @ our homestay-only fresh food.They eat no prepared food therefore a healthier diet than most N.Americans,thus no weight problems.Since so many live @ poverty level,there is no need for artificial exercise[jogging,gyms] since the people walk,take bus,can’t afford cars.Kids walk LONG distances to school as we did as kids -not 800 ft as discussed today.’Stranger Danger ‘is a popular myth that too many N.Americans have believed because of a ‘cute’ phrase when the actual stats show NO increase from 50 years ago!!PLEASE,would someone just come up with a catch phrase to dispel that myth so parents can encourage kids to WALK a mile each way to school to stop obesity.
One man stated that the poor were more caring than the rich because, the poor could see the suffering of their neighbors and the rich were more insulated from neighbors.That seemed evident as we visited clients.If alone, it was always the neighbors that assisted with food,toiletting,daily living tasks and alerted the very dedicated volunteer community health care workers[they also lived in slums] if a person needed to be seen by staff.
We should learn from each other-Africans and the ‘rich countries’.If the poor can gather charcoal residue,add water ,roll and dry charcoal balls to reburn for cooking and heat ,why do we continue to have no recycling in cities such as Atlanta???Perhaps ,if we all believed in reincarnation and we would return in the opposite world-’haves in haves nots world’-would we believe we should try to improve the lives of their world??
As our esteemed President F.D.Roosevelt stated”ASK NOT WHAT THE COUNTRY CAN DO FOR THOSE THAT HAVE TOO MUCH BUT WHAT CAN BE DONE FOR THOSE THAT HAVE TOO LITTLE!!’
Sorry,this is not supposed to be a RANT site or a SOAPBOX -Guess, I became carried away.
What a paradise to return to-Kingston,after a rainy June ,lush,green,clean-I can even walk,head up without checking feet for uneven surfaces to trip on.WOW!Do we appreciate where and how privileged we live??
Kenya is a safe country,the people are VERY happy to have you as a volunteer,so, pack your bags and get on the plane.It is a life changing experience and far more rewarding than being a tourist.One always recieves more than one gives!!This was my 6th trip as a volunteer to the developing world and I was hooked after the first one to Ethiopia during the famine of 1984-5 with a Kingston Medical team.
Good luck to all that join the volunteers,my thoughts and blessings are with you!
P.S. if going to Kenya, Wangari Mathaii’s[a Kenyan lady] book is a must-she won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004,also Ngugi Wa Thiong book ‘the River Between’-about the beginning of Christianity.
Kwaherini[goodbye] and thanks again to my wonderful family.Ruth