Weekends are the best time to get to know the girls. Saturday I spent a few hours with the girls watching them wash their hair and braid it. It is quite a process! I also went for a run - I am trying to train for a half marathon with my darling aunt Colleen in October. It is HARD to run here at 6500 ft above sea level. Not to mention the hills and the uneven dirt roads. In the afternoon 50 girls who have decided to participate in my thesis research met with my on the patio to take the pre test survey. It went well, they were so worried about getting things wrong! For those of you just signing on, my study is on the knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors of Kenyan girls with regard to HIV/AIDS and Teen pregnancy. I was impressed by how much they knew about HIV, but there were also quite a few misconceptions.
Today (Sunday) I went down early for breakfast because it was Mandazi. Mandazi is basically fried dough, and it reminds me of home. I then attended Spiritual time at the "mini mosque" for two hours. The girls were so great and taught me a whole hell of a lot about Islam. One of the best things about Daraja is the diversity: there are girls from all major religions, from 24 Kenyan tribes. This afternoon I taught my first real class for my thesis. I asked the girls to leave me a note in my question box if they wanted to get test for HIV or take a pregnancy test, and I got a great response. Surprisingly a lot of the girls have been tested, but I told them it wont hurt to get tested again! I promised to go get tested with anyone who wanted to.
After class I tagged along on a game drive with Jason. I didn't expect to see much because we were just driving around outside campus. I didn't bring my camera, so we obviously happened upon a family of 8 elephant right on the road. We stopped and watched them for a while, I can't even explain what that is like. These animals are HUGE and could trample in car in an instant, you just feel at the mercy of Africa.
Follow me on my journey back to Africa. Health, Love, Education, Humanity, Service.
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Football, spaghetti, and internet.
Hi!
So the past few days have been great, getting over jet lag and reconnecting with the girls. Wednesday I shadowed a girl to named Jamimah, who is a Form 2 (sophmore). Here is a rundown of the day:
6 am : wake up/prepare for the day
6:45-7:30 : study hall
7:30 : breakfast
Then we had two hours of physics and an hour of business. The business teacher was not there but the girls did their work even without a sub. Business was followed by Swahili, two hours of English, lunch, two hours of math, music, WISH, office hours.
This brings us to dinner at 6 pm.
7:00 - 9:30 : Study hall. By this time I was barely awake, not only do these girls have 15 hour days, but they do it with a freakin smile!
Today (Thursday) the football (soccer) team had a tournament to see who moved on to regionals. The girls played two games and lost, but it was a good time. I got sunburned (obviously) and got hit on by a Kenyan High School boy.
Tomorrow I'm starting my thesis project with a pre test on Knowledge, Attitudes, and Behaviors regarding HIV/STD Prevention and Teen Pregnancy. 35 girls will be taking a KAB survey, and then completing a five week course. Wish me luck, I don't think I'm ready to give the awkward sex talk!
Monday, June 27, 2011
Habari!
WOW! I'm here. So let us start from the beginning...
Friday: Got to the airport, checking in and they tell me they can't find my name... Hmmm, so I show them my confirmation email and he says "this was yesterday". Yeah, missed my flight on Thursday and had to pay $400 to change it to Friday (thanks mom!!)
Get on the plane and fly 12 hours to Dubai - didn't sleep AT ALL, so that was fun. My layover in Dubai was only two hours, so I ate some burger king for breakfast and then hopped my plane to Nairobi. Took about 5 hours, and still didn't sleep. I arrived at the airport without a phone or any phone numbers, so that made it difficult when I had to find out where my ride was. I asked a random women if I could borrow her phone (200 shillings) and called home to my dad. My ride showed up and I slept the 4 hours to Daraja.
Arriving at Daraja was AMAZING. The girls literally wouldn't let my van get in the gate, they surrounded the car and made me get out to hug them. Funny thing is I only knew 26 of them but they didn't seem to care. Every girl there welcomed me back like she knew me forever. That is a pretty amazing thing. I was dead on my feet so I headed up to Jason's and slept for a solid 14 hours. I woke up to Tusker sleeping on my bed, this time sans goat leg (THANKS TUSKER!). He is old and huge but still takes up less room in my bed then miss Josie.
Sunday I went and hung with the girls at their photography class and journaling class. I meant to stick around for the day but when I went home to shower I fell asleep for four hours (oops, jetlag). I ended up going back down for dinner and study hall.
Today is Monday, I had to finish a final for my medical anthro class so I came into town to get some internet. We went food shopping and I pretty much got only cookies and peanut butter. I'm going to buy a phone now and then we are back to campus. Hopefully I will get to do the pretest for my thesis work this week, but I'm still pretty jetlagged and the girls have lots of volunteers at the moment. We will see!
Friday: Got to the airport, checking in and they tell me they can't find my name... Hmmm, so I show them my confirmation email and he says "this was yesterday". Yeah, missed my flight on Thursday and had to pay $400 to change it to Friday (thanks mom!!)
Get on the plane and fly 12 hours to Dubai - didn't sleep AT ALL, so that was fun. My layover in Dubai was only two hours, so I ate some burger king for breakfast and then hopped my plane to Nairobi. Took about 5 hours, and still didn't sleep. I arrived at the airport without a phone or any phone numbers, so that made it difficult when I had to find out where my ride was. I asked a random women if I could borrow her phone (200 shillings) and called home to my dad. My ride showed up and I slept the 4 hours to Daraja.
Arriving at Daraja was AMAZING. The girls literally wouldn't let my van get in the gate, they surrounded the car and made me get out to hug them. Funny thing is I only knew 26 of them but they didn't seem to care. Every girl there welcomed me back like she knew me forever. That is a pretty amazing thing. I was dead on my feet so I headed up to Jason's and slept for a solid 14 hours. I woke up to Tusker sleeping on my bed, this time sans goat leg (THANKS TUSKER!). He is old and huge but still takes up less room in my bed then miss Josie.
Sunday I went and hung with the girls at their photography class and journaling class. I meant to stick around for the day but when I went home to shower I fell asleep for four hours (oops, jetlag). I ended up going back down for dinner and study hall.
Today is Monday, I had to finish a final for my medical anthro class so I came into town to get some internet. We went food shopping and I pretty much got only cookies and peanut butter. I'm going to buy a phone now and then we are back to campus. Hopefully I will get to do the pretest for my thesis work this week, but I'm still pretty jetlagged and the girls have lots of volunteers at the moment. We will see!
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Updates and Freak Outs!
So there are some new and exciting things coming to the blog this time around...
First of all, the boys over at Broadcastr are working to set me up with a widget of sorts so that I can record some stories to my account and have them here for you on the Kenya Dig It blog. This way all of you who miss the sound of my voice will get to hear it!
Second, the Global Health Center at MSSM has asked a few of us going abroad to record video blogs of our experiences. Obviously I signed up :) Don't know how easy it will be to upload videos with the connection out there, but I will do my best!
I had my first pre-trip freak out last night! It's funny that I have been waiting for this since I came home last time, and yet I felt a little panic at the thought of being there for ten weeks. It's obviously not being their, I love it their and know I will have a great time. It is just not being HERE, with friends and family and Phil and Josie. I said it last time around and I will say it again- I wish Kenya and New York weren't so far away from each other! It is impossible to split my heart in two, and that is what happens when I'm away from either place. Someday I will have a job where I can fly back and forth for shorter periods of time, then I won't have to beg you guys for money and I wont have to miss anyone!
Less than two weeks to go! I fly out friday the 24th at 11 am and head to Dubai! Then it's Dubai to Nairobi and Nairobi to Daraja. I actually remembered to pack a flashlight this time around, so that should help (no electricity and no flashlight = scared Maggie walking through the bush).
First of all, the boys over at Broadcastr are working to set me up with a widget of sorts so that I can record some stories to my account and have them here for you on the Kenya Dig It blog. This way all of you who miss the sound of my voice will get to hear it!
Second, the Global Health Center at MSSM has asked a few of us going abroad to record video blogs of our experiences. Obviously I signed up :) Don't know how easy it will be to upload videos with the connection out there, but I will do my best!
I had my first pre-trip freak out last night! It's funny that I have been waiting for this since I came home last time, and yet I felt a little panic at the thought of being there for ten weeks. It's obviously not being their, I love it their and know I will have a great time. It is just not being HERE, with friends and family and Phil and Josie. I said it last time around and I will say it again- I wish Kenya and New York weren't so far away from each other! It is impossible to split my heart in two, and that is what happens when I'm away from either place. Someday I will have a job where I can fly back and forth for shorter periods of time, then I won't have to beg you guys for money and I wont have to miss anyone!
Less than two weeks to go! I fly out friday the 24th at 11 am and head to Dubai! Then it's Dubai to Nairobi and Nairobi to Daraja. I actually remembered to pack a flashlight this time around, so that should help (no electricity and no flashlight = scared Maggie walking through the bush).
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Teacher!?
Are you a teacher, or do you work in a school? You might be able to help! I am looking for old posters/models/diagrams of the male and female reproductive system to take with me to kenya (that will be fun getting through security!)
I imagine that some school somewhere has these things hiding in a biology/health teachers closet, so ask around! I am also looking for a projector that is battery operated, do those even exist?
It's the final countdown to Kenya! I got my ticket on Friday and I officially leave June 23rd and get back September 6th! Expect much more exciting blog posts around that time!
Your support makes this happen!
I imagine that some school somewhere has these things hiding in a biology/health teachers closet, so ask around! I am also looking for a projector that is battery operated, do those even exist?
It's the final countdown to Kenya! I got my ticket on Friday and I officially leave June 23rd and get back September 6th! Expect much more exciting blog posts around that time!
Your support makes this happen!
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Them.
This past week my family was here for my brother's graduation (congrats SJ!), and that included the Doherty's of Daraja Academy. It was great to see Jenni and Jason and talk about plans for this summer. I was lucky enough to attend a Daraja fundraiser with them on the Upper West Side, and hear them preach the good word of Daraja.
Now it is a well known fact that Jenni Doherty is the brains and Jason Doherty is the dreams. Listening to him talk about Daraja is inspiring, to say the least. One thing he spoke about really got me thinking. He explained that he believes a big problem we have here in the US is that we often look at places like Kenya and talk about "them", what "they" need or how our money can help "them". He explained that he has never seen Africa as "them", but rather an extension of himself. This was something I had felt but had never been able to verbalize (if you read my blog you are aware that I don't always think or write in coherent thoughts).
When I think about Africa, or any country outside my own, I try very hard not to think of it as "them" over "there". I think my greatest strength/weakness is that I feel connected to people in an undeniable, heartbreaking way. The homeless person on the street in NYC is me, the African child is me. I can't separate myself and that is surely a gift and a huge liability. But listening to Jason talk I really understood how important it is that we all try not to see fellow humans as "them". It should bother us that another person is suffering, and even if we feel hopeless and helpless at least we feel something.
Ok, that is my late-night-benedryl-induce soap box rant. I just want to remind myself there is no them, only us.
Now it is a well known fact that Jenni Doherty is the brains and Jason Doherty is the dreams. Listening to him talk about Daraja is inspiring, to say the least. One thing he spoke about really got me thinking. He explained that he believes a big problem we have here in the US is that we often look at places like Kenya and talk about "them", what "they" need or how our money can help "them". He explained that he has never seen Africa as "them", but rather an extension of himself. This was something I had felt but had never been able to verbalize (if you read my blog you are aware that I don't always think or write in coherent thoughts).
When I think about Africa, or any country outside my own, I try very hard not to think of it as "them" over "there". I think my greatest strength/weakness is that I feel connected to people in an undeniable, heartbreaking way. The homeless person on the street in NYC is me, the African child is me. I can't separate myself and that is surely a gift and a huge liability. But listening to Jason talk I really understood how important it is that we all try not to see fellow humans as "them". It should bother us that another person is suffering, and even if we feel hopeless and helpless at least we feel something.
Ok, that is my late-night-benedryl-induce soap box rant. I just want to remind myself there is no them, only us.
Monday, May 2, 2011
But WHYYYYYYYYYY?
So expect me to bombard you with blog posts until I reach my fundraising goal... the sooner you donate the sooner you don't have to listen to me beg!
It was suggested (thanks Dad!) that I post a link to the Daraja website so you guys can get an idea WHY we are all working so hard to get this project going. www.daraja-academy.org is the site, take a look at their blog and learn more about why educating girls is so important to us.
Here are some stats I stole from Daraja:
Every extra year of schooling reduces infant mortality by up to 10%.
T. Paul Schultz, “Health and Schooling Investments in Africa,” The Journal of Economic Perspectives 13, no. 3 [1999]
Girls with secondary schooling are up to six times less likely to be married as children than those with little or no schooling.
UNICEF, The State of the World’s Children 2007, UNICEF, New York, 2007, p4-6
And here is a link to a little note from my girl Esther. If you don't see why this is so important, you might want to open your eyes.
http://daraja-academy.org/students/esther/
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