Cathy's Christmas

Things just seem to work out sometimes. As I was able to track down my long-lost package of PT supplies the morning of Christmas Eve, I knew it was going to be a great day. Despite the fact that the box wasn't even at the post office, in some ill-marked shack and had in fact been sitting in its location for 15 days, the anticipation of meeting with Cathy and her family blinded me with patience and acceptance. I think I even managed a laugh when they said "Oh, its been sitting here forever! You should have come earlier!"

In the face of loneliness that always arises during a Christmas spent away from family, an awareness of what this day was expected to bring, supposed to mean and eventually delivered in a way that anticipation always completely lacks, my emotional state was one that was enveloped in true happiness. I can say that not many things have brought a sense of satisfaction as great as what coordinating Cathy's prosthetic has. Getting to see her walk around smiling, is something I wish each of you could witness. To that end, I boarded my matatu bound for Muserechi, arriving about an hour later at a small "center" along the road. The center consisted of 3 or 4 wooden shacks selling Dasani water and other Coke products, Safaricom cards(the local phone service provider) and honey. Perpendicular to these was a long, dusty, unpaved road. Following my directions, I started my way. With mountains at my back and the sun almost directly overhead, I traipsed and tripped down the path with farms lining both sides. I was looking for Cathy's primary school, directly across from her home, which according to the sign at the intersection was 4.5 km away. I passed farms and yards with mango trees, huge gardens and towering strange plants all, unfortunately, not near the road and unable to provide any shade. I've been saying that it has been getting hotter lately, and the stroll was as hot as I have been here. You can truly sense that you are appreciably closer to the sun, as in the shade, it is quite cool throughout the day. In the sun, it was just scorching. Then again, I do have somewhat of a heat intolerance.

I'd guess about 35 minutes later I saw the school and across the road, at the entrance to the yard, was Cathy and her mom, both standing and waiting for me. On two legs. It is a sign of reverence and respect to take your left hand and hold your right forearm to shake someone's hand here, and this is how I am always greeted. Cathy is still using her crutches for balance, but it is improving greatly, and she now scoots about the place pretty quickly. Over the course of the day, I found out a bit more about the family. Cathy's father left when he could not afford to support them. Cathy's mother worked as the school cook for Cathy's primary school, up until Cathy's graduation 2 years ago. The "compound" they live on has 5 buildings, in which one other family and numerous animals live. All of the structures are no more than 15' x 15'. The one Cathy and her 5 other family members lived in was struck by a falling tree during last year's rainy season. So, they rearranged and shifted to their current one. They have no lease and are staying free due to the kindness of the school owner, as Cathy's mother is no longer the cook now that Cathy has moved on to secondary school. I met one of Cathy's two sisters and her brother and numerous other friends and family, of which is exact designations are really hard to decipher as everyone calls everyone else aunt, uncle, brother and mother, though sometimes no real relation exists.

After I sufficiently cooled off from my hike on Mercury, we almost immediately sat down to our Christmas dinner. Forgotten by me, I had actually talked about mala (the soured/curdled/seasoned milk concoction) to Cathy and her mother before, stating that I had not really enjoyed the encounter so much. They eliminated mala from memory of my statement from the menu, which eased my stomach right there. We had rice with cabbage, sukumuwiki (definitely spelled wrong... and which is like spinach) and chipati (which is like flour tortillas). It was all quite good and followed by drinking chai. I was then serenaded by Cathy, who is the lead vocalist in her church choir, and her whole family with a Swahili Christmas carol. I was able to capture the whole thing on video, but which you guys will have to wait for, as it is a huge file. I gave Cathy's mom a framed picture of Cathy and Cathy an album of her "milestones" at the hospital. They were looked at multiple times by each of the people there, as they really have a fascination with pictures. Maybe I could import them, so someone could enjoy all my slide-shows consecutively!

Everything was very relaxed and conversation ranged from local politics and Obama to US visa regulations. Kenyans are very keen to move to the States, as visions of the American dream flourish over here.

As I had told Emily I would be returning in the evening, I set off before dusk, saying many reluctant goodbyes. It was a Christmas with nothing resembling normal, but stuffed with more meaning than any I can remember. Everyone who gave to this cause was thanked by Cathy, her mother and family, the leader of the church and all of her neighbors. Her mother pulled me to the side as I was leaving and said that Cathy has renewed hope;

"hope for her life and future in this world... we thank you."

Have you ever given a better gift? Have you ever received a better gift?

I haven't.

A Very Merry Christmas

Well, Cathy has her leg! And, she has taken her first steps in over 9 months! I have video galore of her first steps, but it would literally take 7+ hours to upload, based on the last video. All thanks to you guys who assisted with this... While there are finishing touches to be made cosmetically, it is essentially a done deal. Due to her extensive, 9 month stint on crutches, "trusting" her new leg was, and will be difficult to master. After seeing this, it is very apparent where the extra money from your donations will have to go. PT. She needs proper therapy on how to walk again correctly, as she is "afraid" of putting her full weight and trust into this artificial "thing" on her leg. She actually made great strides from day one to day two: needing parallel bars bolted to the floor the first day, to walking with crutches the next. So, this bodes well to her progressing quickly. The therapy is actually quite cheap, but she has to be transported to/from the hospital for each session and that is a few dollars per day, an enormous expense over here. The extra should cover the 2-3 weeks worth of therapy I think she will need, so everything is set up perfectly!

Though the remainder is now allocated to a cause, I thought I should post the results of the vote:

For schooling: 5
For a goat: 2 (though with some stipulations...)
For an LSU hat: 1 (Thanks Nate, I had already thought about it, but they ran out of stock last week...)

Cathy is normally pretty quiet and reserved, but she literally was beaming from ear to ear when she finally stood on both legs again. She is extremely motivated, as she wants to walk back to school next semester without her crutches. She is all of 18, and she definitely has the want to "fit in" visually. Its been a good source of humor between us all, as we have said that the finishing color would be bright green and that this was a smaller version of her leg which hasn't arrived yet. In the end, we assured her this was her leg, and that the colors would be discreet. Everything is being done to progress her as quickly as possible, so that she can walk back to school, unsupported. I have already set her up with a home exercise program to do over the holidays, and as soon as the theraband arrives, she will have even more to do.

Being invited to Christmas dinner feels like such an amazing gift. Being part of their family, even if for a day, will be immensely rewarding and impactful. I will try not to choke on the mala. Mala, somewhat unfortunately for me, is a special drink to Kalenjin's, the tribe of Cathy's family. It comes in two forms: one you buy at the store in a package, and the other is entirely homemade. I will let you guess which one I will be drinking. The processed one is essentially milk with some additives, which makes it slightly curdled. The homemade version is milk, which they let spoil over some undetermined time, and then in which they add some seasonings. Ouch. I'm really just hoping that I don't pull a George H. Bush and puke on the person sitting next to me.

Since all of the clinics are done, the hospital is essentially closed until the new year, and I feel like doing something physical, I am going to be leaving Nakuru on the 28th for Western Kenya province. I will be building mud bricks to be formed into a school for the orphanage that Rose, the country coordinator of Cosmic Volunteers, runs herself. I'll be there about a week, before returning to Nakuru and packing for my tour. So, likely I will have one more post before I head out there to catch everybody up on Cathy's Christmas. Speaking to another volunteer who was at the orphanage, there is no running water, no electricity, etc. Should be interesting.

Gorge Myself

Well, the past weekend was spectacular. James and Angela are two med students from Britain who are volunteering at the same facility, and we have been doing alot together lately. We decided to strike out towards Lake Naivasha NP, which should be about an hour away, but in reality is 3 1/2 hours due to the patch of land that vaguely resembles a road. We arrived at Lake Naivasha Country Club, which is the only place you can catch a boat to Cresent Island on the lake. When I say it was like Jurassic Park, I truly mean it. It is one of the few places where you can walk on foot through wildlife legally in Africa. No fences, just you and the animal: mano y mano. I stood less than 10' from a giraffe, had a field of wildebeest, zebra, waterbucks and gazelles part like the Red Sea to allow us to amble on through, and, finally, saw hippos in broad daylight - in all their hulking purple fat glory. We only dared get about 20 yards from them... Monkeys, eagles and even wild horses were some of the other animals we saw. To get to walk through the place was really special, and this really isn't on the main tourist circuit, which really baffles me.

We moved on from there to camp near Hell's Gate NP, just a short ride away. We had very ambitious plans of starting out at 06:30 the next morning to avoid the mid-day heat, but got going around 09:00, due to our discovery of Vat 69 whiskey.

Now, I love hiking a gorge. You give me something to climb on or through and I am a happy camper. Anything that resembles my first gorge, the Samaria, in Crete, really gets me going. Add to that the cool factor of this one being in Africa, and I am really excited. Then layer on the fact that it was where Angelina Jolie filmed Tomb Raider II and that about seals it. (It seems as though I subconsciously really enjoyed the Tomb Raider movies, as I have followed them from Cambodia to Kenya. Then again, maybe it was just Angelina...)

We hired mountain bikes from our camp and took off! Straight up a mountain!

Yeah, that part totally sucked as bad as it sounded. But, we did this consciously for the cooler morning weather and the assured descent in the afternoon. The region along this hill/mountain is one of great wealth in Kenya, due to it flower farms. Entire villages are formed around these farms, paid for by the owners to entice workers to the area, due to the poor wages. Soccer fields, housing projects, bars, etc. are all placed as bait. We rode past all of this to the park entrance, where we bargained for resident rates, as we actually do work at a public hospital. After much negotiating we were in. We rode past the geothermal power plants, which are eventually to supply the entire country with electricity and on into Hell's Gate. It is very aptly named, as it is really hot and really dusty. You leave your bikes at the park rangers station and hike down into the gorge. Amazing erosion patterns are around every turn. Boiling water pools overflow down rock faces which nourish a covering of dark green algae. Waterfalls shower you at irregular intervals. Sunlight creates all kinds of dancing shadows off the undulating wall surfaces and overhangs. Really magical place.

After exiting the gorge, we had to make the final leg of the bike journey. I was really whipped at this point due to lack of good sleep (really cold night and aforementioned Vat 69) , being in the sun all day, and 30, I guess. The path out of the park was through huge fields flanked by high rock cliffs that were glowing red by the time we rolled through. Monkeys were in the trees, warthogs, gazelles, zebras and numerous other animals were all around. We made it back to camp, showered in really cold outdoor showers and headed back to Nakuru.

We did this instead of listening to our bodies messages of "Sit Down! Lay Down!! Just Don't Move!!", due to the fact that we had chosen to put on soccer matches for the street boys of Nakuru, followed by a proper lunch. I teamed up with ICROSS members to help set this up with a former street boy, who now runs a rehabilitation center for these abandoned 5 to 20 year olds. Basically, they usually come from a normal family, but the father can't afford to support them everyone, so he leaves, and then the mother can't support them, so she leaves, and the boys are left to fend for themselves on the streets. At night, you can walk around and see these guys carrying a bag, looking in all of the road-side stalls for one that he can sleep in. They beg during the day, and I'm sure, steal when they have no other resort. What's really sad to me, is that most of them go around sniffing glue. They just walk around with a bottle "attached" to their nose. Mwangi, the former street boy, said they do it to get high and forget their problems, but also to reduce their appetite, as they can go days without eating. All of them look like they were dipped in mud after having their clothes/rags thrown under a lawn mower.

So, we had them come out to the pitch (soccer field) and we had at least 3 good games. Kenyans really love their soccer, so the games were played amazingly well. No fouls, no arguing. Afterwards we fed 70-80 of them a huge plate of rice, potatoes, peas, meat and pineapple flavored cordial. They definitely liked the food and games, but really did not like us trying to take away their glue as "admission price" for the food. Basically we had to just give up on that and just let them go. Still a really great thing to be a part of, and a massive success in organizing, as this is Africa.

So, needless to say, I was in the sun all day Saturday and Sunday. Still can't pass for a local, but I am getting there.

Cathy came today for another adjustment for her socket, which went perfectly. So, Thursday is the day (as it stands now...) for her fitting and "first steps." Also, I will be joining the Keoch family for their Christmas dinner on the 24th. Due to the abundance of generosity from you guys, there is a little extra money from the "prosthetic drive". I was thinking of 2 things: 1) buying a goat for her entire family to use or eat, or 2) give the entire remainder to help with her school fees next year. I was hoping to solicit everyone's opinion/vote on this. The leading vote-getter I will make happen. If there is a tie, I guess I will just chose...

Cast your vote!

Sick of Kenya...

... in my stomach. So, I knew at some point I would get sick over here. Never turning down an opportunity to eat new things will do that to you eventually. But, I found that here, once it happens, your mind starts running away with itself over the possibilities. Looking back, it was simply food that did not agree with me, my political views or thoughts on life. But, as I laid there in bed at 5PM on Sunday and I started to feel hot and feverish, I started going over all of the scenarios: malaria, TB, some yet-to-be-discovered and completely incurable disease, or possibly the first Kenyan case of Ebola brought in from the outbreak in Uganda. I didn't notice blood coming from any orifices, so I was fairly sure that I would live another day. I think only Leslie and Nicole have seen me sicker off of food, but this time, no IV was required thankfully. I just medicated myself to the max and all things seemed to settle and since this is Tuesday, I think I am out of the woods.


I recovered enough to go see Lydia, the other volunteer, off back to Nairobi for her flight. There was many a blessing and prayer said by the locals for safe travels. They use the word Jehovah about a hundred times, but I haven't seen anybody knocking on doors, so I will continue to look into this...

Cathy's leg is still on schedule for a pre-Christmas delivery. This despite the standard Kenyan delays and problems, including the person in charge of prosthetics trying to rip off all of us who have contributed and, most importantly, Cathy. As far as I can figure, he just tried to switch cheaper, worse components for the really good ones I ordered, and had agreed on, hoping that I would not notice, and, then he would pocket the difference. No one should worry, as I handled it like the cool-headed, serene, calm and amicable person you all know me as. Oh, sorry, that might have been from some book I've read... While not the most ingratiating or tactful comments followed, I did manage to get my point across. When I feel cheated, thats one thing. When, because of me, my friends and family are about to be cheated, thats another thing. And then, when someone is trying to essentially steal from an 18 year old girl, with no leg, thats a completely different level of another thing. Thankfully, I have Vitalis to back me up, and he is fully, and is also, now, the main cog in getting things done. Plus, I am now very glad that I squashed my thoughts about being "rude" by demanding to only give a deposit for the components, with the remainder only after completion.

I hope that you guys don't read too much into this. Its pretty much par for the course over here. On one side are the vast majority of Kenyans, happy with life and whatever they have. The minority, though, sees white skin and is determined to see what they can extort from the situation. This percentage is highly concentrated in those who have the most here: the employed, ones with homes and cars, politicians, etc. I even had one guy from work ask me, with Cathy in direct view, if I could help sponsor his Masters degree.

Its those who have the least who expect nothing and are so thankful and amazed at what you do for them. This is Cathy and her family.

Cathy

So, it has been increasingly tough over the past week or so. The grind of daily life in Nakuru is pretty staggering. The stares at my skin (despite my best tanning efforts), the sure lung cancer I will have from the dirt/grim/dust, and more recently the apparent infatuation with my window by a cow and rooster at around 4 AM all seemed to be wearing on me. It is certainly the harshest environment I have been in.

I mentioned in a past post of my perfect little travel moments. Moments experienced when acute awareness of the site I am viewing, the people I am visiting with, or the view I am staring at come into clear focus in my mind.

Yesterday, I experienced something that actually had meaning. Something so grand that, for the first time in a long time, my logical mind could not understand it, my rational nature could not break it down, to take emotion out of the equation. When Cathy and her mother told me that they both cried for an hour when Vitalis told them that she would soon have a leg, that she would walk again, I was frozen. Frozen with an inability to recognize, understand or fathom the feeling it evoked in me. Their tears then, as they told me, in addition to saying that I was a gift directly from God further enhanced my inability to speak, move or think. If ever I have, or will, experience a moment that transcends "meaning," it was this moment with Cathy and her mother. If ever there was something to make me forget about any struggle I am experiencing here, it was hearing their words.

I hope that those who have contributed to this can share in even a small part of what it "meant", as my words can only capture a fraction of what it was.

Thank you.


So, yesterday Cathy was casted for the socket of her prosthetic. Tomorrow, I will accompany the director to Nairobi to purchase her other components. It really looks as if she will receive her leg before Christmas. Simply awe-some. I have been invited to spend an evening with her and her family for supper. Being stupid, I asked what they normally have for Christmas dinner, and they replied "Whatever we have been able to grow." I could have shot myself right about then for being so amazingly unaware and inconsiderate.

So, sometime around Christmas, I will go.

And, I will enjoy whatever they have growing.