Unrest in Nairobi, quiet day at the hospital

rs. The situation here in Kenya is still not very promising. Yesterday there was report of another riot in Nairobi after a student was killed. The students went on the street and demonstrated. Today another demonstration was announced in the Uhuru park. We can feel a lot of dissatisfaction in the country.

This morning I waited for a call of Maina Muhia from the WFP but there was none. I then went to the hospital to check everything there. Some relatives came to visit patients and brought cakes which is certainly not the right thing for the diabetes patients. Anyway it is not allowed to bring food to the hospital from outside. In general it is a quite day here at the Rhein-Valley Hospital and I am heading towards home when the daily rainfall is starting. Many things wait to be done at home too and I have to look after my health; I catched a little cold. So I will have some time watching the first fooball matches out of Switzerland.

Building swings for the children

click on the picture for a larger view

rs. On the way to the hospital I stopped by a shopping center to buy some string for two swings we are building on our ground. I was the first to test them and even took a child on my lap. Everything was fine, so we invited the children and they have now so much joy and used them the whole day. I used to have a similar swing in our home on the countryside in Switzerland where I grew up and I got back all my remembrances...

Photos: Ruth Schaefer

Refugees don't want to go back

rs. Today we had a visit of the assistant mayor of Nakuru. He wanted to discuss the future with the refugees of our camp. The answers of the people were the same throughout the group. Nobdy saw the possibility of a safe return to their homes. Even if they get 10,000 KSh, as heard from some sources, it will not help substantially. The rents and food prices went up considerably and without a job you are lost. As came out of the discussion, the majority of the people want to stay here as log as possible. When and if we close the camp will be our decision at the Rhein-Valley Hospital. The assistant mayor stayed for four hours and then said he planned to come back next week - for another round of discussion ...

Children's vaccination day

Weight control for babies

rs. Today it was chilly an cloudy, around 17°C. In the morning I wrote a few letters and then I went to the hospital. Today is vaccination day so we had many mothers with their babies here. Some of them came early because they know that in the afternoon it starts raining and then it will be complicated to go home - a 4 or 5 hour walk is no exception. At 1 pm the big rush was over and also our medical staff could pause for a lunch break. I took the chance to speak with doctor Wanjara about the organisation in the camp. We have to make it clear that they don't have a permanent home here; they have to start making plans for the future. Also the hygienic standard, especially of the women, is not very high. So it is not easy to make them understand how we act in the civilization; many origin from the bushes and are difficult to teach. We make our best to bring some order and purity in the camp life.

Small crops expected for this year

rs. The weather is quite funny. Although it is raining daily, it is not enough to let the corn crop flourish enough. It has a height of not even half a meter and already starts to dry out. As it is the case in other parts of the world, a shortage and a prize increase of various food products is predicted. As many farmers had to leave their fields after the clashes in Kenya, not enough seeds could be sowed. Many fields are empty. When I went home there was a special atmosphere. A thunderstorm was arriving and the last sun rays created a nice rainbow. I have to hurry to send my report before the power collapses again. Luckily I have some laterns to make my daily office work and to fill out my tax forms...

Today is Kenyan Holiday

rs. Many things happened today. Our Nurse Wilda was completing the medical history sheets, Carolin needed new batteries for an instrument and one new guest wanted to join our refugee camp. Today is a Kenyan holiday so the children could stay at home and were enjoying their playing. The women all were doing laundry at the same time and our doctor Wajara prepared new cards for the patients. Then I saw our grandma who is surprisingly better after many treatments she got. Her husband helped her walking through the garden. The boy who has weak muscles was asking for a better softer mattress. Fundi wanted to order charcoal, but I told him to wait until end of this month, we have to keep our budget plan. At 5 pm I went home while the first drops of the daily rain started to fall and one of the IDP's needed a ride to Nakuru because he wanted to visit his sister in the general hospital. He could come with me and I gave him some money for the way back.

Laundry lines booked out!

Every day new patients are coming to our hospital

Medicine from Minister of Health

rs. Today at 2 pm we got an unexptected delivery of medicine from the Minister of Health. As the driver had problems with his truck on Friday, he came today although it is Sunday. Before we put everything in our medical storage room, I asked Wilda to clean all the shelves. Hygiene is important, in our hospital as well as in the camp. That's why we check every day all our facilites. And from time to time we also have to tell the displaced people in the tents to get some sense of purity and order...