After reporting to you all that I had found myself settled into a consistent daily routine, last week took quite a few unexpected turns. What started as a normal week turned into working in a medical camp and ended with being confined to my apartment for 3 days due to riots and protests throughout the city.
The first half of the week was business as usual, I spent Monday and Tuesday working in my normal clinic. On Tuesday, I was informed of a medical camp occurring in the area that needed additional volunteers so, I would be spending the rest of my week there. I was so excited to get the opportunity to break my routine and learn in a new environment. Medical camps regularly occur in Kibera and are lead by various international and local organizations with the goal of providing ample free primary care and medications to the people here who may not seek care otherwise. I was particularly excited to take part in this camp because I know that I will travel to a village in December to participate in a camp led by UCESCO. I know that seeing how this camp is run will help me be a better volunteer and leader at the one in December.
In the car Wednesday morning, there was talk over the radio of a former Kenyan political leader passing away from old age but, in lieu of my excitement for the day, I didn’t think much of it at the time. I cannot describe truly how amazing working in the medical camp was. When I arrived, I discovered that it was run by a Christian non-profit based in Gainsville, Georgia and the team leading it were doctors and nurses all from the Southeast. Shockingly, the nurse practitioner with them lives in a neighboring town to my hometown! We both couldn’t get over how wild it is that we live within 20 miles of each other and frequent some of the same restaurants at home and met thousands of miles away in Nairobi. It was certainly serendipitous and, to be completely honest, after nearly three months here, I would be lying if I said I wasn’t cathartic to see and talk to people from home.
The camp was set up in a church, and they had areas marked off as a waiting and reception area, examination rooms, an optometry station, and a pharmacy. When patients arrived, they were given a card that acted as their “chart,” and directed through the various stations on a first-come-first-serve basis. The sponsoring organization brought many prescription and OTC medications to treat both acute and chronic conditions. Throughout the day, I worked with the doctor as he saw and evaluated patients and decided on the best course of treatment. Typically, he took their history, did a brief physical exam if needed, and prescribed them medication to be picked up at the pharmacy. We also worked with a local clinician who aided in patient care and language translation. Over the course of the day, the camp treated a few hundred patients with the most common conditions being gastritis and respiratory infections. It was a truly fantastic day and I was so excited to continue to work with them over the rest of the week.
However, the powers that be had different plans for us. I first grew apprehensive of the situation when one of the other non-medical volunteers arrived to join me in working at the medical camp when she was meant to be at one of the schools in the area. She explained that, due to the above mentioned passing of the political figure, there were riots and demonstrations of public mourning throughout Kibera and the rest of the city and it was no longer safe for her to be at that school. She arrived in the early afternoon, and, throughout the rest of the day, we could hear the demonstrations on the main road. Please know that the medical camp was safe as, it was in a gated church compound with security. We ended up leaving the camp earlier than anticipated during an apparent break in the demonstrations when we knew it would be safe for us to walk to an area to get a car to go home.
The response to Raila Odinga’s death throughout the city and the whole country is something I never could have imagined or anticipated. He was a symbol of political unity for Kenyans and was a beloved figure to people from all sides of the political aisle. Demonstrations of public mourning continued and intensified throughout the day on Thursday and we were instructed to not leave the apartment. We kept our TV on the news most of the day and watched as thousands of mourners first breached the security at the airport to meet the plane carrying his body and then marched through the city to the sports arena where he lay in state. We watched as crowds in the arena became larger and more unstable and as police in the arena took the disproportionate response of using tear gas and lethal force to clear out the crowd. Over the course of the day, as mourners attempted to gather and view the body, the police killed at least 3 people.
While everything remained normal in the area surrounding our apartment, we knew from the news coverage that the areas between the airport and the arena and downtown were not stable. Friday and Saturday were much the same and everything seemed to calm down and go back to normal by Sunday. On Monday, the day after the funeral and burial and a public holiday, we feared protests for the people killed by the police, but they did not seem to come to fruition. On Tuesday, everyone returned to work and we were able to return to our projects. While I was disappointed to miss the remainder of the medical camp, I do think this was an important lesson on Kenyan culture, particularly on how revered and important post-independence political figures are to the people here. It was also a prime example of how, despite Kenya not having a culture that normalizes violence, as with anywhere in the world, select groups of people will use opportunities such as this to incite division and violence.
After an admittedly boring few days in the apartment, this week I returned to my normal post at the clinic and attended the grade 6 and preschool graduation of the primary school UCESCO supports. I am doing well and more updates to come! Enjoy these few random photos from the past few weeks!
With Karen in the city center!
Preschool graduation!
Breakfast and reading on the balcony this morning