Jambo from Kenya! (I say Jambo to you all but really that is just a greeting for tourists) I have been here in Eldoret about a week now and am getting settled. I am greatly enjoying my time here. I am living at a place called the IU House - where other students/physicians/faculty are living who work with AMPATH and Moi University's teaching hospital. We walk daily to Moi's campus, which is about a 15 min walk in the dust! The first day I was here, it was raining and rather than walking in dust, everything was quite muddy. I definitely prefer the dust to the mud! But the area is very pleasant & beautiful - the town is smallish and quiet (unless you go downtown). The weather is so very perfect - warm sunny days (not hot, with no humidity) and chilly nights. I will be sure to include more pictures of the town & where I live sometime soon.
This past weekend, I went with a few others to Umbrella Falls, about 30 mins from Eldoret. We hiked down over rocks & boulders to this beautiful waterfall. You can walk around the falls and underneath is a large cave where you can stand behind the falls & have a great view.
I have begun my work with the University's public health school. I will be working on their COBES (Community-based Education and Service) program. It is a program where all of their medical, nursing, and undergraduate public health students go out into the surrounding communities to live, do a needs assessment, research and finally provide health interventions for the community members. I will be helping to design a research study for the program in order to assess the major health issues in the specific communities that the COBES program serves. I had the privilege of going on rounds with one of the Pediatricians last week through the pediatric wards in the hospital. This was very exciting for me, as we saw many young babies. Even though one may be prepared for extreme illness & poor resources, it is always a bit shocking to see children who are suffering so much. It was interesting getting a glimpse into the way that both the medical and nursing fields operate in places where there are fewer resources. They definitely learn how to be creative!
Kwa heri (goodbye in Swahili) for now.
