Because we have had internet issues, I have not been able to blog. Something happened to the wifi on my computer and it is not fixed yet. And we moved and do not have access to internet set up yet. So I just have on and off internet at work.
Well it has now been three weeks since we left sunny Winnipeg for Eldoret. The last 7 days it has been sunny and 22-25 degrees. I have had 2 weeks at work and we have been in our new house (see pics) for 5 days.
The house is big enough to fit many people (not only 3) however we rented it because there are not a lot of rentals around. Unfortunately, it is not furnished, so we have to furnish it. We hope that when we move out, the new people will want to purchase the furnishing and appliances. It is a very nice home and is in an area with 3 other houses behind a security gate. I would say that we are living within the top 1% of the people in this country. The exact opposite of the slum that I was able to visit in August. So we have been mainly spending our time getting settled.
The top manager at AMPATH lives across the street from us and his wife is a pediatrician at AMPATH. They have a 7 year old boy so Alex has someone to play with. They also have an adorable 1 year old baby girl.
We have met a number of people, both Kenyan and North American. The Kenyans are very welcoming. We have two birthday parties to go to this weekend. One for Eden, who is turning three. One of the American families has been going through adoption / immigration processes for about 2 years now to have Eden ‘lawfully’ join their American family. She has been their daughter since she was 9 months old when they first met her. Her dad and her are still here in Eldoret waiting for the adoption and immigration to be finalized while her mom and little brother have gone back to the US as mom is due with a new baby in January. We hope that the paperwork can be finished by January when the new baby will be born so Eden and her dad Ben can be with the rest of the family. US immigration appears to be the main barrier.
The second birthday party is for Isaac (Otte) who is turning 7. He is the foster child of one of the AMPATH managers. When Otte was 4 he was living on the streets as his mother could not take care of her many children (I believe 8 at that time). He came up to Paula (his foster mom) and told her that he was so very hungry. Paula and her husband started to foster Otte at that time. He lives with them, goes to school and has a good life. He goes home still to visit his brothers and sisters. Alex and Otte met at American Thanksgiving and have played a few times since. He is a very decent kid and certainly has lots of street smarts.
On the healthcare side of things, the publicly paid physicians have been on strike since Monday. The hospital AMPATH is affiliated is one of two publicly run teaching hospitals in the country. That means that there have not been any doctors for 5 days. There is no such thing as an essential services law here. I was speaking with Dr. Joe Mamlin, US head of AMPATH yesterday and he said he just finished rounds on the medicine units in the morning. There was only him and two medical students who had failed their exams and were taking extra rotations to learn more. I understand that the Emergency department is crazy. All units are being manned only by AMPATH medical consultants from the US. The situation is not good from a patient perspective and will only get worse. I do however feel for the physicians. Their salaries are extremely low. A senior medical officer receives approximately $500 per month salary with about the equivalent in perks for a total of about $1000 a month. Not much for a senior physician, even in Kenya. Compare that $12,000 a year to the Kenyan Members of Parliament who make $100,00 to $200,000 a year, not including perks. Now compare that to a fulltime housekeeper / nanny that makes $50-$80 a month. Hmmm. . .
The mortuary at the hospital has to stack bodies on top of one another because there is not enough room. If family members do not claim the body (generally because they cannot afford to claim it), the body gets buried in a common grave. If the family pays for a coffin, a coffin will be used. If the family does not pay for a coffin, then the body will be wrapped in cloth and buried. This makes me sad.
If a health professional at the hospital makes a mistake they are responsible for it. It is not considered a system responsibility. Current story I heard: a pharmacist was on maternity leave. Her replacement made a mistake which cost the patient approximate $40 (compare that to the income of the housekeeper). The patient found out that a mistake was made and that she did not have to pay the $40 so she ‘sued’ hospital to get her $40 back. The hospital made the pharmacist on maternity leave pay the $40 (even though she wasn’t at work and was on maternity leave). The pharmacist’s income is not high and has a family of three to look after.
You will see is the pictures one of a dog. Her name is Chai and we have become quite attached to her. She lives at the residence where we were staying. The giraffes were seen by Alex and Jim at a farm close to Eldoret.
You will see is the pictures one of a dog. Her name is Chai and we have become quite attached to her. She lives at the residence where we were staying. The giraffes were seen by Alex and Jim at a farm close to Eldoret.
So that is it for now. Take care. If you want to email you can contact Jim at backtobasicswinnipeg@gmail.com or Lori at lorisiddall@gmail.com
Lori
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