Tuesday 6/5
So yesterday's entry was done in the morning, and since then SO MUCH has happened!! First
we must go back to Monday. Monday I met with the nurse, Magdalene, to try and
find a place for me in the clinic. Unfortunately, they really don’t need much
help, which is kind of disappointing but oh well. I’ll be helping with their
after school reproductive health program after school twice a month, and I also
have a project of my very own. In short, my project is water. In our meeting
with Magdalene Alphonce asked if there was a public health area I could work
on, and she said they were having a big problem with the children not using
clean water in the schools, even though it is available. So that is my project:
working to change this. We created a survey about the water and sanitation
practices at school, and planned on asking a focus group of 12 students and
(separately) one teacher at four of the local schools.
So Tuesday morning I was
having breakfast with Alphonce and Mark as usual, when a gecko fell from the
ceiling directly into my tea! Like right into the cup of hot tea. Don’t worry,
he jumped right out and scurried off completely safe, but it was a real
surprise. I found it hilarious, and bizarre, and Alphonce told me it was good
luck. Well boy was he right. This afternoon I was in the office, writing
e-mails about the sponsorship program, when a mzungu came in. First of all, I
was shocked to see another white person. I know this is funny because 1) I
myself am white, and 2) I’m not the only white person on the island, but it was
surprising nonetheless. His name is Martin, and he is a teacher from the North
of England. He and a group of 10 other teachers from his area did a sort of
exchange program with teachers from Kenya. So they were visiting one of the
schools on the island, and brought with them these water pumps. There were 10
small (to serve 20 people/day) and one large (to serve 500 people/day).
Considering yesterday we were brainstorming methods of getting clean water
readily available in the schools, the timing is nothing but providential. So
this evening Magdalene, Mark, Alphonce and I went to where this group of
teachers was staying for a demonstration of the pumps. The smaller one, or
family size pump, looks just like an air pump. The larger one, or community
size, is a bit more complicated, but is still essentially a hand pump. Truly,
they sound too good to be true. They are supposed to clean the water using a
system of microfibers; they last for decades, and require minimal upkeep. They
can even clean water that is visibly dirty and make it perfectly safe for even
non-natives to drink. It all sounds too perfect really. This group wants to get
one community sized pump in every school, and then students could take the
cleaned water home to their families and the clean water would be available to
the community for use. It looks like the biggest obstacle, and it is a HUGE
obstacle, would be getting people here to accept and actually use these pumps.
Martin and another teacher named Charles want to get a community size pump for
each of the schools on the island, and plan on asking businesses in their area
to donate money and sponsor these pumps (which cost only about $300 for the
community size and $30 for family size). Exciting stuff, and these pumps truly
sound like a great asset to the community, but the pumps alone are not the
answer. There also needs to be habitual changes in how water is drawn, as well
as hand washing practices. These are the types of things we need to consider as
we move forward with the water and sanitation project. One of the Primary
schools on the island has actually had one of these pumps for the past 9 months
or so, and I am eager to hear about their experience with it. Also adding that
to my to do list. When we left the
teachers the 4 of us went to eat at a place called Rusinga Guest House. I
really enjoyed having the time to get to better know Magdalene, and it is
especially good to better understand what she expects from me. She is just a
wonderful person and I really look forward to getting to spending time with
her.
