Student from Eldoret visits our place

rs. Today Alice Kwamboka, a student from the Public Health Dept. University of Eastern Africa Baraton, came to visit our hospital and the refugee camp. She was very surprised about our activities and thanked for what we are doing for the population. She also praised our staff and said that she wished to work in such a nice family-like team. After 4 hours I brought her back to Nakuru, where she continued her way home. At the end she said she would be inspired to come back. I said yes, everybody is always welcome.

Organizing work for the refugees

rs. Today we planned the work for the refugees. We want them to participate in our activities. Some should clean the flower garden, others will start with cutting the grass tomorrow. Grownup childs could help in the kitchen. So together with Fundi we established a shopping list so that we can buy the needed tools. Some enjoy helping, for others its a duty, but that's the only way to have a functioning community. Finally we got some food items for the children out of our storage container.

A visit from Switzerland

rs. Today we had a visit from Switzerland. Felix Moser and his family came to Kenya to celebrate a real Kenyan wedding which is on a much bigger scale than we know it from Switzerland. His wife Eunice' origin is from Nyeri, a typical Kikuiu region, about 180 km north of Nairobi. Eunice brought her sister with her who has a 4 year old girl that cannot walk and also has some eating disorder. I learned that she didn't get enough oxygen at birth time. Our doctor Wanjara check ed the girl and gave some advice. I personally think that with intense physiotherapy the condition might change. I also offered the mother to stay here for a month and our doctor could try to help.

Busy laundry day

rs. Today many refugees were washing their clothes. In fact there were too many and the laundry strings could barely hold the weight. It is funny: if the Kenyan start to do something, all others follow. It is the same with food stands in Nakuru City. There are dozens of pineapple sellers but no other fruits are avaibale. If they would discuss among them who sells what on a specific day, the market picture would be more diverse. In the afternoon, some men wanted to play football but the rain announced itself early so they probably have to play another day.

Reloading corn bags to a safer place

rs. Some of our corn bags have been damaged by mice so we had to reload 12 large bags to a better place which is our storage container. The helpers preferred to carry them on their shoulders instead of using pushcarts. Unfortunately they don't care enough about their bodies although I told them many times that they have to be careful in the youth so that they will not suffer from back pains later.

Chapati lunch in honour of Maina

rs. Today our kitchen girl Ann was in charge to create some kind of Chapatis in honour of Maina's birthday. So we had a nice time together. As the needed flour is very expensive here, this is only for special occasions. It is also important to balance all the stress of the week!

Young student with paralyzed side

rs. We have a new patient. She is a student. Her parents live across the street. Her father is a policemen in pension. One of his daughters went to the Nairobi University. At the end of the semester she slumped down, but could raise again by herself. When she went home, she slumped again when she left the bus in Gilgi. For 10 minutes the people could not speak with her. Next morning at breakfast time she again fainted. Finally the mother asked for help and our doctor Wanjara came over. Now she was brought to our hospital and we have to check her. For the moment it is not clear what causes her weakness but her left side was kind of paralyzed. Let's hope our doctors can help her.

Baby day is always very intense

rs. Today we were active weighing and controlling the babies. Wanjara and the male nurses Mathew and John did the main job, but the whole crew helped them. The reaction of the babies on the scale is very diverse: some are enjoying it, others are crying. What always amazes me, how helpless some of the Kenyan mothers are. The correct care of the babies is certainly not one of the strong sides of the mothers. Here in the hospital we can be of help but I wonder how they are doing it at home.

Reparation of floor plates

rs. We had a lot to do because the PVC floor got damaged due to the strong disinfection chemicals we are using in the hospital. Small Peter was also present when we worked. The new plates were prepared outside of the house, then the glue was applied, before we could place them in position. This kind of work smells quite bad so our doctors are happy when everything is finished.

Bora Bora Taxis: cheap but not very safe!

rs. Yesterday I was in Nakuru City to get some mail posted. I was also looking around and found this truck overloaded with mattreses - the Kenyan way. Then I recognized these so called Bora Bora Taxis. These are bicycles that are used to transport people. Not very comfortable but cheap: you pay between 0.05 - 0.15 $ for a ride! Unfortunately these rides are not very safe. There are a lot of accidents, not only between bicycles and cars but also between the bicycles themeselves. Everybody is driving like crazy...

No news because of internet problems

We have this nice picture for you taken today in Kasambara, but unfortunately no news due to internet problems. We hopefully will be back tomorrow!

Eldoret ist still unsafe

rs. Paul went to Eldoret on Monday to check his property. The neighbors were not happy to see him and said that they didn't want to see him coming back. He told me about his negative experience and concluded that he has to sell his property and get something in the Kikuiu land. The situation in many places is still very unsafe. Also in Nakuru there is still a lot of criminality.

A Kikuiu bible for Joseph

rs. For many weeks this man asked me for a favour. He was looking for a blible in his Kikuiu language. Joseph is a former employee of the Presidential Guard. Now he is in pension. He lost everything during the turmoils and came into our camp. Today, on the way to the hospital I found a bible in his language and bought it for him. He was more than happy and thanked many times for the present.

The container is finally in position!

rs. Our whole crew waited for the arrival of the crane truck. At 10.10 pm local time we finally saw the first lights of the truck and half an hour later it arrived. At 11.15 pm the container was placed in position, where we had prepared it. So a long adventure came to a happy end!

Breaking News: Crane arrived

We just got a call that the crane vehicle arrived this evening and now they all have a lot to do to prepare the field to place the container which arrived yesterday . The work will continue in the night and we will bring you the first pictures in the early morning . -Blog Editor

Now we are waiting for the crane!

rs. The container arrived at the Rhein-Valley Hospital ground but what is lacking is the crane with its driver. He had some problems with the engine and is waiting for some spare parts- Hopefully he will arrive tomorrow so that we can place the container on our prepared spot. It was a question of inches that the truck with the container made the passage through the main gate.

The laundry lines had to be removed to let the truck enter the field.

People watched the truck on the way

The container is almost here

rs. After many obstacles along the road the long awaited container finally arrived at our ground, but now we need a crane to lift it up and place it on the especially prepared place on our properties (see picture below). On the way people came out of their huts to watch the huge container crawling up the mountain. They have rarely seen such a big vehicle. As I was informed the crane is now in Naivasha and should arrive in Kasambara tomorrow, if everything goes well...

Odyssee of container continues...

rs. We prepared the place for the container this morning but unfortunately it's odyssee is without end. After troubles with the muddy road yesterday, today new obstacles were in the way. The road conditions are so bad that the truck driver couldn't manage to continue his way in time. We expect him to arrive within the next one or two days...

Container after long waiting on the way

rs. Finally we succeeded to get the final permissions for the long awaited container with school supply material and gifts for the Kenyan children. The container was organized by our partner, the kidstokids organization in Switzerland together with the Tegla Loroupe Peace Foundation and was blocked at the customs in Nairobi for many months. Countless telephone calls and personal visits at various offices were needed. Now, the truck is on the way but due to the heavy rain (see picture) and bad road conditions it could not make it up the mountain to Kasambara. After many tries the truck driver decided to wait until the sun will dry the muddy street - hopefully tomorrow! We will keep you posted.

Family planning is still unsuffiicient

rs. The patients like to wait in the grass until it is their turn at the doctor's office. Inside the hospital all chairs were occupied. Some women got their family planning injection which is easier than taking the pill which they often forget. Unfortunately good information is lacking in many cases. This picture was taken yesterday; today I was in the office the whole day.