Many readers have asked me what a
typical “work day” is like
for me here in Kenya, so I’ve put together an example of one. Admittedly, the
following is a hybrid of “typical” things I work on at work, as my tasks vary
from day to day. I prefer having a job where every day is a new challenge,
because falling into a monotonous routine would quickly become tedious and
boring. Instead, here is just one example of what I get to engage in each day:
I leave my host family’s home at 8:30am (after being woken
up by a rooster around 6:30am, in time for my morning run and shower), say
muuga (“hello” in Kimeru) to the security guard as I exit the security gate of
Chogoria Girls Secondary Boarding School (our house is on-campus, as I live
with the Deputy Principle who works long hours at the school next door). As I
walk the approximately one block distance to my office, I have “regulars” I greet
every day on my way to work; Kenyan culture pretty much requires you to pause
and shake hands with anyone who greets you on the street. This took some
getting used to, as most Americans just ignore each other as you pass on the
street or nod your head in recognition that they are passing you; luckily I am
the type of person who would wave and say “Hi” to just about every single
person who crosses my path, so the only adjustment for me was the handshake. I manage to only stop a few times on my
way, but EVERY single person along the street stares at me unabashedly, so I
get a little self-conscious. I make an effort to give everyone (especially the
children) a kind smile and continue walking at a quick pace to my destination.
Regardless of my efforts, this 5 min walk takes me 15 mins each morning. When I
finally get to work, I then have to officially greet each staff member, with
the formal handshake with each individual, of course.
I prepare for one of my weekly meetings, which are scheduled
to begin at 9:15, but people don’t usually show up for until 9:45, as everyone
runs on "Kenyan time” (which implies being a MINIMUM of 15mins late). On
Mondays, I attend the Department Heads Meeting in the office of the founder and
CEO of HopeCore (we all call him “KK”), along with the Financial Manager
(Wafula) and Micro-Enterprise Program Coordinator (Sam). We go over each of our
schedules with our Weekly Reports on the previous week and Weekly Action Plans
for the coming week. This meeting is really informative, but always seems to
end “on Kenyan time” too, so when it let’s out at around 10:45am, I hurry to
get the entire Public Health Team to finish their morning tea, pack up their
gear, load the jeep, go to the bathroom (there are no flush toilets at the
schools), and try to leave by 11am (even though we are supposed to leave by
10:30 each time we have a mobile clinic scheduled- which is 3 days a week). I
have now worked for HopeCore for a month and we have not left on time once.
The 30 min jeep ride feels just like being on that Indiana
Jones ride at Disney Land, with so many potholes and steep inclines that you
have to hold on to something with each hand. Boy am I glad I don’t get motion
sickness! We actually have a fantastic driver, Micheni, who accomplishes
incredible feats with our old hunk-of-metal jeep each day and manages to keep
us all from falling out of the doors (some of which don’t close all the way).
The team is very positive and there is always laughter in that jeep, which
makes the stress of getting us all in the jeep melt away.
When we arrive at the school (which always has a cool name
like Gianchuku or Mbogori), the team waits in the car while I go
greet the Head
Teacher (that’s what they call the Principle of an elementary school)
with the
formal handshake AND by signing their school guest book, which they get
incredibly excited about (probably because very few people can make it up the
steep overgrown pot-hole ridden paths just to get to the school). The Head
Teacher then introduces me one-by-one to his (or her) entire staff, class by
class, and then I get to introduce my team to them. Only then, can I request 2
classrooms for us to use.
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| Public Health Mobile Clinic TEAM! | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | (L to R: Lennah, Jeff, Winjoy, Morris, me, Harriet, Charity, Jeddy, Micheni) |
We use one room to provide clinical services to all children
and teachers suffering from illness, calling them in class by class. The most
common ailments include: intestinal
worms, ringworm (on their foreheads), Malaria, Typhoid, Gastro-intestinal
issues (diarrhea caused from drinking unclean water), and stomachaches.
We use the second room for health education using a PowerPoint
presentation from our laptop and projector, charged by a generator we run an
extension cord to. Lennah (whose job title keeps changing between “Assistant
Health Program Coordinator” and “Health Educator”) does the presentation for
the lower primary classes (nursery and classes 1-3) in Kimeru (because they
have only just started learning Kiswahili and/or English), and then one of our
3 Peer Educators (who are nursing students looking for work experience)
presents for upper primary (classes 4-8). I must say I am very proud of what
powerful and engaging speakers they are! Some of the content, however, seems
inappropriate for this audience… for example: when one of our Peer Educators
was giving a presentation on Hygiene, the kids got uncomfortable and started
whispering to each other. When he asked the class what was wrong, they told him
that they couldn’t possibly follow the recommendations he was giving them
(which was to wash their towels once a week and not share towels with other
people) because none of them had their own towels (most large families only had
one to share) and they also couldn’t wear clean underwear every day, because
many of their families couldn’t even afford to buy them a single pair of
underwear to begin with. That was awkward… but at least I’ve identified one way
I can improve the current presentations (i.e.: providing hygiene goals that are
more realistic and achievable), because the presenters are already outstanding!
After the presentations, the school provides our team with
afternoon tea and sometimes a whole meal (Although a few of the 22 schools we
serve are unable to afford to provide lunch at school). It is important to note
at this point that while these schools clearly need the food more than we do,
it would be rude and culturally unacceptable to refuse this kind gesture. In
fact, accepting the school’s offering graciously is the best way you can show
your appreciation and avoid hurting the pride of the teachers there, who are
unable to provide the medications or show flashy PowerPoint presentations like
we do. Besides, we don’t know which schools even want to provide lunch to us,
because it would be rude for us to ask ahead of time and they serve us each
full plates without prior warning.
After we eat, the whole team pitches in to finish seeing the
remaining patients using a triage system (aka sending the serious patients
directly to our licensed nurse). Then we pack up, I give the kids high-fives as
they crowd around me, and I give the Head Teacher a gift of 12 soaps for
students and teachers to use (hopefully every time they use the bathroom or are
about to eat) and a final official handshake.
When we get back to the office, I need to pay each staff
member lunch stipends (which they get regardless of whether the school provides
lunch or not—mainly because HopeCore doesn’t provide medical benefits and this
keeps our staff happy), transport stipends (for those who live outside of
Chogoria and have to commute), salary for those who work per diem, vehicle
fuel, and funds to replenish our medical supplies and pay a lab to run tests on
the blood samples we’ve collected.
Then, I make coffee and work with Lennah to improve our PowerPoints and fill out the necessary paperwork for financials and input data on
how many students we helped that day at our mobile clinic. I am also starting
to work on writing blogs for the HopeCore website and finalizing an incoming
grant from Planned Parenthood Global to add HIV and unintended pregnancy
prevention to our health program. On
Tuesday nights, I also attend a grant writing class via webinar through the
Segal Family Foundation.
It sounds hectic—probably because it is—but I love every
minute of it! I have a lot of responsibility and a lot of say over the future
of the health program, as well as a determination not to let anyone down.
HopeCore was able to supply eight health
clubs with pairs of rabbits to rear as an income-generating activity for their
health projects. Rabbit meat is very valuable, nutritious, and easy to
produce. More rabbit meat can be
produced in a shorter amount of time and smaller space than any other meat. It
is also worth more than chicken or beef, as it has a greater nutritional value.
In preparation for the rabbits’
arrival, each club worked together to build a platform for the rabbit cage to
stand on. (Elevating the cages helps protect the rabbits from predators and
allows their waste to exit out of the small openings on the floor.) When the
platforms were complete, HopeCore delivered rabbit hutches to each school with
security locks on them. And a few days later, the children were thrilled to
meet their new pets. 
The students listened attentively,
as HopeCore staff explained how to care for the animals. While rabbits love to
eat a wide variety of plants that already grow near the school as weeds, each
school was asked to supplement this diet with food pellets they could purchase
in town. There is one type of weed, however, that is poisonous for rabbits to
ingest; our team brought one to pass around as an example. The clubs were
instructed to keep the rabbits in the two separate compartments of the cage
until the rabbits would be old enough to mate (in 4 months time). Each school
was left with an instructional pamphlet, issued by Kenya’s Ministry of
Livestock, to refer to as questions arise.
