rs. Traffic is quite heavy in the streets of Nakuru, but somethimes you also see some unusual sights as these two camels walking through the streets - it looks like the mother and her child. In fact it is the first time that I see camels here in Nakuru. - Click on the picture to see it in large size (as published on the Photo Blog Kenya Photos)
rs. Today I was in Nakuru to ask for the printed matter we ordered but unfortunately they were not ready. Then I met Nikolas who is selling pineapples in the streets of the city. Although I am not very fond of this fruit, I bought two of them, to help him finance his supper. Nowadays there are very few tourists and business is bad. And the locals have no money for this. I also met Tomi, the shoemaker. They are doing everything by hand here, but at the end the shoes are better off than machine made. In the town I had to be very careful because there are so many thiefs around who are waiting for opportunities...
rs. On Saturday we had a family planning meeting with the IDP's. Our nurses and doctor John explained to the mothers nutrition and hygiene and together with Fundi we did our plans for the coming week. We intend to establish a garden so we can grow our own vegetables. At the same time some of the displaced people would get a littlem bit of work. We also spoke to the men that they could only stay here temporarily, they should find new jobs. There is not much progress in he economical situation of the country. The Government thinks that the poeple would feel more safe, but it is not true. Many who wanted to return home, were brutally attacked and injured. Houses are burnt and poeople in Nairobi, Eldoret, Kisumu or Nakuru are not satisfied. The wet season makes the ground unpleasant. In the night it also gets cold and can get down to 12° C. And people have no heating and no warm clothes.
rs. This morning we went to Nakuru to get the ordered 200 mattresses. They were already waiting for us in front of the warehouse. After counting them we loaded them into the truck and had to wait quite some time until the driver was ready beacuse he needed to fill up his tank. Anyway, everything arrived at our place in good condition. After storing the mattresses in a tent, a mother with her three teenage boys grabbed my attention; her husband had been killed and all she has is a small oven, some dishes and some clothes. Luckily we now have the mattresses so that people like them can get a place to sleep. Still many refugees have to rest on a piece of card board or a plastic sheet. I finally gave them some food enough for today and tomorrow. Later in the afternoon again the daily thunderstorm seemed to be imminent. Not that I fear the rain, but with the water the streets are transformed in a dangerous slippery path and even with my Landrover it's hard to stay in line. In the car I got a call from Fundi who told me that the woman with the 1 month old child just arrived. So many things are waiting to be done and I don't think I will have a long weekend...
This is one of our patients: a 85 year old woman who suddenly had several health problems. Only last week she still was carrying 20 liter water containers from our hospital to her home. She was happy to be outside the building for a short time and was assisted by our doctor and one of our nurses.
Cooking for our crew
On the way back to Nakuru we had a heavy thunderstorm and flooding. Many cars were blocked by the water masses.
The refugees were already waiting in masses. First we registred them, then we started with the food distribution, directed by Mama Matata herself. We also had a visit to the hospital: Mr. Harald Nordby from Sweden (see picture below), who is responsable for the UNICEF logistics in Nakuru. He could witness all our activities in and around our facilities. He was amazed to see Mama Matata and our hospital crew and told us that he is planning to invite people from other humanitarian organisations to watch and learn how to handle the masses of refugees. Finally we gave out food
for 3,200 refugees and also activitated the works at our central fire places at the camp site (see picture right). We got the help of two additional workers for the coming 2-3 days to finish everything as soon as possible. Later in the after- noon a heavy thuderstorm urged us to quickly return home. -Stephan Holderegger
rs. This morning I went to the office of the Health Ministery in Nakuru. I learned that our hospital now belongs to the Naivasha district, that means from now on we have to get our vaccines from Naivasha which is two times as far as Nakuru. I was not happy but couldn't change his mind. So this meeting was not very fruitful and constructive for me. In the hospital there is a lot to do: Many patients came with stomach upsets, fever and open wounds. Some even come without any illness; they just need someone to tell their sorrow. Many only realize with the time what they had lost. Our cleaning ladies (see picture) show us that different tribes easily can live and work together: on the left side is Serea, a Massai; on the right side Ann, a Kikuju. They took the opportunity of a dry day to do our laundry. One young patient was in observation because of a possible malaria infection. Her blood is now being checked by our medical crew. At 5 pm I wanted to go to Nakuru to buy some food but it was so chaotic on the streets that I quickly returned - I will have to accept what I have at home...
rs. This morning I went to Nakuru to make some payments and was looking for mattresses, but I couldn't find any. Before the elections, normal foam mattresses cost 235 Kenya Schilling, now they are 3 x more. It's unbelievable how the prices rose, also in regard to food. People try to steel money wherever they can, especially those who are not town residents, but come from other villages and from the show-ground. You have to be very careful when walking in the town and you have to carefully close all zippers of your jacket. The situation in the street is getting very unsafe and quickly I went back to my car where my boy "body guards" took care of my car. As recompense they usually get milk and bread. After returning from town I quickly checked the hospital before returning home.
Today marked the last day of our stay in Nakuru, that means of Nicolas Senn, his mother, Gaby from the Swiss TV and myself (Stephan). Tonight we will return back to Switzerland via Nairobi. We had again an active day giving out the food for many 
refugees in the hospital area. It is always a big task to handle the masses but Ruth Schäfer has the needed poise together with a hidden firmness to keep the situation under control. As a last excursion Nicolas and myself went a little up the mountain to make some shots from the Rhein-Valley Hospital ground with the tent camp.
ns. Today the Swiss delegation (Gaby from the Swiss TV, musician Nicolas Senn and Stehan Holderegger) went to the Aequator and visited a village where Nicolas had a concert last September. The locals immediately recognized the Swiss dulcimer player and showed autograph cards from last time. Gaby filmed the meeting and could make several interviews. We even plan to organize a big concert together with Kenyan dancers. Fortunately we had no rain on the way back to Nakuru. Soon the rain season is expected to start here and we already had first showers last night. Let's hope that the thousands of refugees in the camps will survive! The conditions will get worse and worse.
sh. Today we were in Nakuru to buy the food for the 3,500 refugees that are expected to come to the Rhein-Valley Hospital on Saturday. This will be an important day. Swiss musician Nicolas Senn and a Swiss TV crew will be here. Many school children will came from Thugunui
and Kasambara and there will be a big concert for them. While staying in Nakuru we could visit a sewing factory and were quite shocked about the working conditions there. On the streets we were protected by our boy body guards who also look after our car. Life in the streets is also not easy to digest for us Europeans. It is impossible to mention all details here. The street boys are always on good terms with Mama Matata and it is amazing how she can accept the situation. For me (Stephan) it is a bit more difficult because of my week immune system. I have to keep some distance.
sh. Today we visited the refugee camp in Nakuru, where 8,000 to 13,000 people are stationed. We learned about their sorrows and their lack of perspectives for the future. They have always the same question in their minds: where should they go, because there seem to be no possibilities of returning home. At the same time they are happy that some white people take care of them. Some refugees not only let us watch the situation but also had a long conversation with us, in which they explained their situation. We promised them to come back and we definitely learned that things are not going well but we do not know who is responsable.
km. This evening the popular Swiss local TV station TeleZüri invited the founder of the Rhein-Valley Hospital Stephan Holderegger for a 30-minute live interview. They also broad- casted recent video footage that Stephan took in Nakuru. Ruth Schäfer, the director of the Rhein-Valley Hospital and partner of Stephan, joined them on the phone from Nakuru. It's great to see that Tele-Züri fully sympathizes with the project and asked the viewers to participate with a donation. At the end of the interview Stephan also mentioned that all the donated money is used 1:1 for the help in Kenya. The full interview can be seen as podcast here.
rs. Stephan and Hennie left Kenya and went back to their countries. So here I am back alone with all the burdens at the Rhein-Valley Hospital. Fortunately the air cargo delivery with baby food arrived today and we were busy unloading the truck. We had to wait 4 weeks to get it through customs in Nairobi! Next week we will transport the food boxes to the hospital and distribute them to the mothers.
sh. Today we had a hard job at the Rhein-Valley Hospital in Ksasambara. Around 4000 people got their food and water. The whole hospital staff was occupied all day. At 5:30 pm the last family was served. Some additional helpers took care of the registration of the refugees. If you are not here you cannot believe the current situation and feelings. Again a day has passed without a real hope at the horizon. We are all tired. Not because of the hard work but because of what we watch. We can only partially help the people in distress.
Today a lot of police and military is present. The situation in Nakuru re- mains very tense. And in the Lake Nakuru National Park until down the hill to the lake a fire erup- ted. We have no further details what the reason is. Our daily pictures show the fire region and some local boys that usually help us guard our card and as recompense they get 1 liter of milk and a large loaf of bread!
sh. Today we me the head of the Red Cross in Nakuru and had a meeting for 1 1/2 hours discussing the situation around the Rhein Valley Hospital. They were surprised hearing all the figures of the hospital's aid programme and how much Ruth Schäfer already did for the people at this mountain region. They were full of gratitude for all the help and requested that we would speak with the refugees to convince them to be transfered to another camp in Naivasha. The people certainly will not be forced, but it would improve their situation. The Red Cross promised to support us, but should have some patience
be- cause everybody seems to be over- burdened. The pho- to above shows an empty street in Nakuru where there is still a curfew from 7 pm to 7 am; the picture below is from today's meeting with the Red Cross offi- cials. All photos by Stephan Holderegger.
