Only a broken puppet arm today ...

rs. These three women came to me with this little girl, called Wambu. She played with a puppet that I gave her and then an arm was broken, so I tried to fix it. Luckily no bigger problems today...

Visiting a children's home in Nakuru

rs. Today I visited the Jacarande of Fans children's home in Nakuru, where I brought presents I still have from the "Kids to Kids" container from Switzerland. First the girls were shy, but then they realized what they got and they were all very happy. I wished I could send the smiles of these children by e-mail to all the Swiss children who helped to make these packages. But I definitely will forward all letters.

Taking care of the seedlings

rs. Today the women worked in the garden and cut the grass - manually as it is common here. Mama Peter and David took care of the seedlings. My mother used to say that you have to speak with the plants so that they will prosper. Hope they do it the same way in our Kenyan garden... (click on the picture to see it in large size)

Water and gymnastics are important

rs. Today's temperature is again very high with around 30°C. The mothers and their babies used the umbrella as a protection shield for the strong sun light. Our guard (Askari) chose the shadow of a tree to fulfill his duties to control the patients and the water station. We have to limit the water supply to 10 liters per person and we have to be sure that it only will be used for drinking purposes. The children are playing in the garden. We hope, to include also older people - grown ups - in future playing and gymnastic programs.

A full waiting room

rs. When I entered our clinic today, it was already full of patients. Victor completed the list of the vaccinated babies. In the waiting room I found a woman, who forgot her registration card, so we had to find out the details in our book. In the same room there was a mother with her baby that had a high fever.

Meeting Eddie's goat in Thugunui

ws. Today we went to Thugunui, where we also met the goat that Eddie got some weeks ago. As we are here on 2800 m it can be very hot so we made a little hut for the goat. Our guard Egidion takes care of the goat. His father was also present, but I cannot speak with him because he only speaks Kikuiu, which is a very difficult dialect.

Quiet Sunday

Today it was fairly quiet as usual on a Sunday. A woman waited with her daughter and a boy got an injection after being injured outside. I still had enough time to go home early and to relax a little. - Mama Matata

Larger children take care of the small ones

rs. While the parents are working in the garden the larger children take care of the small ones. Also Jakob, our guard, likes to be with the children.

Drinking water most needed

rs. If you drive around Nakuru, busy traffic marks the image of the region and you can feel Christmas time approaching. If you are on the road you better keep all valuable things at home, otherways you risk them to be stolen. The temperature is still very high, we measured 35 °C today. It's not only the heat that bothers the people but also the dry warm wind. So our water station is used very frequently especially by the children because they have now holidays. I always tell our guards to ask the children only to use clean vessels, but what can you do. Also their outfit is dirtier than dirty. Even at night many Kenyans do not change clothes, so it is also not easy to convince them to change into proper clothes when they are in our hospital.

An emergency case

rs. Yesterday night we had an emergency case. A young woman was brought to the hospital in strange conditions. It seems that she had been raped. We always tell our people to be cautious when it is dark; best is to go in groups.

Preparing for Christmas and 2009

rs. Christmas time is approaching and we have a lot of work, also in the administrative sector. We have to order the lacking medications until December 15 and the holiday plans for our crew have to be made for the coming year. Everybody speaks of Christmas although we do not know it in Kenya as we do in Europe. Still it is a nice time where people sit together and have a nice meal. As my family is not here, I will be together with my staff members.

More exercises would be of great help

rs. Today we had our weekly children's and babies' day. Our doctor is not only prescribeng medications, but he also informs the patients how they can take care of themselves, especially by doing some physical exercises which are not very common among the average population. It would also help the children in the schools to have some gymnastic lessons.

Tourists are still lacking

rs. Today we had again hot temperatures with 32 °C and I took the chance to visit a sightseeing point, the highest in Nakuru. As I entered the ground, an Askari asked for an entrance fee. Although this is certainly not a good decision to ask for money, I wanted to go in but realized that there were no tourists, not even locals.

Our potatoe harvest is ready

rs. It is time to harvest the potatoes. Men and women helped in the garden. We were happy with the total of 150 kg. We also discussed what we want to sow next. People would like Sukumu Wiki, a Kenyan form of spinach, which is eaten together with Ugali, the white, fairly strong corn we only know in Kenya. If I eat Ugali, I am not hungry anymore for the whole day, but in fact I prefer lighter meals...

Positive and negative sides of life

rs. Our gardener David took care of the garden today. He loves the garden and 3 years ago he had the idea to plant a small banana tree with the hope to have our own bananas some day. Nobody believed him and today he proudly presented me the first fruit. It was delicious and sweet, I really enjoyed it. At 3 pm a rainstorm announced itself and I went home. As always the traffic was crazy and again I was witness of a tragic accident. These moments are especially hurting me. I am always grateful and happy when I reach my home.

The baby's prolem was also her mother's

rs. Before I entered the hospital, one of our patients came to me. He laughed at me and said that is already feeling much better. He also praised our doctor Wanjara. In the waiting room there was a mother with her baby that had a high fever. Suddenly the doctor realized that the mother also needed an examination but she didn't want to spend some extra money. We told her not to worry and when she finally was examined we found out that she carried worms and this was als the reason for the baby's problem.

Very busy the whole day

rs. Early this morning we already had a lot of patients. Victor was busy preparing all the medications. Kennedy and Mathew were taking care of the mothers ans their babies. Also doctor Wanjarawas als busy until 3 pm before he found the time for a little lunch break. (Click on the picture to view it full size as it is published on our Photoblog)

Controlling the corn in the team

rs. The refugees helped controlling the corn today. Often, little stones are mixed with the corn and they have to be eliminated. As we grind the corn ourselves, it has to be clean, otherways it would demolish the machine. Still there were some stones to be foud in the grinding process and we had to carefully remove which was quite time-consuming.

Increased use of our water station

rs. Although there have been a lot of rain in recent times, we still have a water shortage in our region. Our big water tank has to be refilled daily. Because of the cholera, the people became more cautious about their drinking water also take more care about the purity of the vessels they use. Also we have a lot more refugees and therefore a lot more water use. With clean water we can reduce many illnesses like typhus, stomach inflammations and diarrhoea.

Enjoying the peace of the animals

rs. Today I did an excursion to the nearby Nakuru Park and visited the African animals. Although the Government is trying to bring back the tourists, the park is still not very frequented. I only saw some Indian tourists from Nairobi and rich Kenyans who have the money for a Safari. I enjoyed watching the animals and thought how nice it would be if the human beings would live as peacefully as these animals...