We accomplished much today. We (Jim, Noel and I) started in Kisumu with the travel agent. We got a quote on the transportation for both St. John Fisher contingents - 2 groups from Kisumu to Maseno, then from Maseno to Masai Mara, then to Nairobi. Although we were hoping to use just one vehicle to transport 20 people each trip, we were informed that they only have buses that hold a maximum of 10 passengers. Two buses still worked out to be reasonable, so we moved onto our next agenda item - a vehicle for Jim to buy (we'll head back to Kisumu tomorrow to press the travel agent to find a larger bus).
Much like we tell Karen, "Don't swing at the first pitch," we should have told Jim, "Don't buy the first car you see." Too late. He's happy with it, so that's all that matters. It should be in his possession within 5 days, and he'll begin to try to sell his motorcycle. He liked riding it on the back roads, but it was very dangerous on the street.
We stayed in Kisumu to grab some supplies (mainly water) and lunch. Our favorite spot, Mon Ami, was closed for a private party, so we went to a place next to Tusky's. Tusky's is on of the two (the other being Nakumat) grocery/department stores in Kenya. There's a little restaurant located right next door that we've been to before. Noel and I, along with our driver, sat at a table drinking cold sodas while we waited for Jim to return from inspecting the car. We waited quite awhile. Joshua, our driver, had a Coke, Noel had an orange Fanta (the only kind of Fanta there is), and I had a Stoney. Stoney's made by Coca-Cola here. It's an opaque soda with an intense ginger flavor... nothing like ginger ale. If you inhale while you're drinking a Stoney, it will take your breath away, and you immediately begin coughing. Delicious. Jim finally showed up, so we put in our order. Jim decided to pass on dinner as his stomach continues to be uncooperative. Joshua and I ordered kuku (chicken), and Noel order a hamburger. We had to leave in 10 minutes, and the food hadn't arrived yet. Suddenly, up walked our waiter carrying 2 hamburgers and 1 chicken. Yup, I ate a hamburger. If a bun makes the burger better, this one needed a better bun. It had cucumbers instead of pickles, which was fine with me. The bun was the showstopper, though. I'm not sure how long it waited before the meat was place on it, but it was sometime before I arrived in Kenya. I was pretty hungry, though, so I devoured it anyway. I assumed that the nun who was eating one at the next table wouldn't stear me wrong. She did. My stomach was doing cartwheels for the remainder of the day.
We then started our 45 minute ride to Kumbaywa to see the Public Health Minister. Saw some great scenes along the way. When the trees are flowering, they are absolutely beautiful. These trees line the road out of Kisumu. They're quite striking. Most animals grazing along the road side are very well behaved. I don't know how, but they always seem to stay just ahead of their shepherd.
On the other hand, some apparently aren't as well behaved.
This is a typical marketplace in Kenya.... here you can buy anything you would need to survive.
The Public Health Minister was very helpful. She provided us with some information that we weren't aware of... apparently, once the Health Ministry approves the dispensary, THEY will be responsible for staffing it. That's a huge burden off of our shoulders. The only bit of bad news was that we will probably be unable to do the health screening in May. It's not a definite "no," but it sure looks like one. We have to play by their rules in order for this to be successful and self-sustaining, so we may have to wait. The meeting only lasted 30 minutes, and we were off to see the administrators at the mission hospital.
This, too, was very encouraging. The head of the Maseno Mission Hospital nursing school was looking for the same answers that the faculty from SJF were looking for. They are very excited about the exchange of ideas, ans are eager to make this program a success. The staff is pictured below. I'll add names later, as I'm utterly exhausted, and need to get some shut-eye before waking up 2:30am to call my family
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We talked about getting the faculty/staff from both countries together for a "meet and greet" lunch upon their arrival, and how each group could help their counterparts. Marilyn Dollinger and Nancy Wilk (Wegmans School of Nursing at SJF) should be hearing from the chief administrator shortly. "It sounds like the ball's in our court," he said as we finished. If I'm not mistaken, there are 120 nurses enrolled in the school (year 1-4), and all of them learn out of ONE classroom. They began to build a second one, but ran out of funds. You can barely make out the slab off to the left of the building. Most of it is covered with grass now.
Lastly, we found some of the more common locals. These little guys are in abundant supply. Although their usually pretty skittish, this group was happy to let us get within 10' of them before scurrying away.
As we were leaving, we met a missionary worker from Martha's Vineyard who's been a faculty member at the University for years. She was a vibrant and charismatic woman who is anxious to hear more about the joining of these two schools. It might be a good idea to have her correspond with Marilyn and Nancy as well... but we'll leave that up to them.
Ok, that's it for now. We did eat dinner... I finally got my kuku... I just hope it was cooked enough. I'll be sure to let you know tomorrow.
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