Calling all do-gooders!

Happy New Year!

I warned a few months back that I was going to be updating the blog more frequently, and now that we are in 2011 the fun can begin! As many of you know I am planning to return to Kenya this summer to complete my masters Practicum and Thesis at Daraja! I will be planning and implementing a health education program on campus, as well as teaching CPR again. Additionally, I will be visiting the local hospital to gather some data on the knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors of young mothers. I'm hoping to find out why so many Kenyan children suffer from diarrheal disease, even though their mothers are aware of the causes.

So Christmas eve I get an email from Mount Sinai that basically says "oops! We ran out of money, so you get nothing for your trip to Kenya... but you have to go anyway!" Perfect. Luckily I anticipated having to do some fundraising, but definitely wasn't prepared to try and raise nearly $4,000! Between airfare (2 grand), compensation for research participants (a few hundred), living expenses (i can swing $2 a day x 8 weeks), and supplies (a few hundred) I really need some help! Here are my ideas so far:

Car wash (early june)

selling Daraja shirts (already have them - let me know if you want one)

bar nights in NYC (once the weather is warmer)

raffles

selling organs on the black market (i only need one kidney!)

Do you have any ideas? Are you in a band and want to put on a charity concert? Do you know how to cook and want to do a potluck? Is your best friends cousin dating a celebrity who loves Africa? Whatever your talent I can use all the help I can get!

And it's not just money, it's spreading awareness! If you don't got the funds - spread the word! Email my blog to your friends and co workers, do some research on the importance of female education in third world countries, or the devastation of diarrheal disease in Africa.

Be prepared for invites to fundraisers in the near future, and email me your brilliant ideas at mgaughra@gmail.com

Kenya Dig It? I bet you can!

suggestions?

Is anybody out there?

I'm going to be posting more on here because there are a few exciting things happening! First of all, I got an email from Kenya that there is finally going to be an East Coast Daraja fundraiser! Mostly they happen on the west coast, but we got lucky! One of Daraja's greatest supporters (Deborah Santana) will be helping to organize an event out here for December. I'm not sure when or where or how but I will post information as I get it!

Second, I am half way through my first semester at Mount Sinai! Believe it or not, it is already time for me to start thinking about my practicum and thesis preparation. I have TOO MANY ideas and not enough guidance, so I'm looking for anyone who reads my posts and might have a better perspective of what I'm interested. I find that others know me far better than I know myself, so leave me your thoughts! So far this is where my mind is going:

There were a few things that really shocked me and shook me to my core in Kenya

1. the lack of food and (clean) water

2. the lack of medical care/state of the village hospital

3. how damn happy every single child I met was

So obviously that doesn't really mesh into anything coherent. I have found myself doing more and more research on maternal health as well as nutrition - did you know that 15,000 children a day die from malnutrition? I also am taking a class on refugee health and find it fascinating.

So basically I want to supply food and water and medical care to mothers and all the happy children in the world, and also work with refugees. Does that sound like I could make it a thesis?! Also, though I want to go back to Kenya at least to visit, I am also interested in traveling to Thailand and maybe India.... But I can't think of a clever blog name for those places.

Get at me with your ideas! I know I sound like a contestant in a beauty pageant with all this feed the hungry stuff... but what did you expect?!

Not sure where this is going...

For some reason I was just compelled to give this blog an update. Maybe it is because exactly a year ago tomorrow a dog dropped a goat leg at my bedside and gave me the gift of a story that will last a life time... maybe it is because last night I had a dream that Jason told me I couldn't come back to Daraja because I didn't have any money... Whatever the reason, here I am.

A lot has changed in a year. I returned from Kenya, started a graduate program, went back to my old job, left the graduate program, applied to other graduate schools, and left my job again. This spring I was told that my chances of getting into medical school at this point are slim to none. I felt totally lost and wanted nothing more than to be cuddled up with a book on a bench at Daraja. Why had I come home if it wasn't to go back to school? What was I going to do with my life if I couldn't be a doctor?

The past year has entailed more soul searching than I would have liked. I had to really take a look at what it is that makes me happy, and what I want to do right now. I had to give up on planning and start living for the first time in many many years. Everything I have done from 2004 up until a few months ago was to get me to med school. Every decision, every experience was tainted with the thoughts of how it would look on my application.

And here I am, about to start a masters in global public health at Mount Sinai. Maybe you guys saw this coming but I sure as hell did not. The good news is this program will allow me to explore myself and my world in ways I didn't know I cared to. Maybe I'll write my thesis at Daraja, maybe I'll travel around East Africa preaching safe sex and clean water. Hell if I know!

What I do know is this: I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I intended to be.

On The Plus Side...

Baboon!

Dancing at the camp fire.

Finding the bad rice.

Kids at church

Circle of life?!

The water they drink.

My new husband.

Thanks for the cutex mom!

Nice Weave!


Now that I'm back in the US I can actually upload videos and pictures quickly!

I'm Still Not Ready

I realize this post is long over due, but I just couldn't bring myself to write it. I'm not ready to be "done" with this experience, but here it goes...

So my last day in Kenya we went to Kibera - it was probably the most amazing thing I have ever seen. Literally millions of people in this tiny area. Little "houses" made of tin and garbage, streets made of literal crap. Like human feces as well as garbage. Back during the election violence in 07, they dumped dead bodies in the streets of Kibera. So walking through there was quite an experience. Like everywhere in Kenya, the children were delighted to see you and the adults were indifferent.

I flew the 20+ hour journey home and arrived last saturday. My parents, stephen, and phil greeted me at the airport (I looked like a hot mess after not having a real shower in six weeks and sitting on a plane for a whole day).

The first thing I did when I got home was take a HOT shower. With clean water! Then Phil made me and the family some BBQ chicken quesadillas (I had been craving them since I left!) I fell asleep around 7pm and jet lag kicked my butt for about 4 days.

And now it has been a whole week. I have literally been avoiding this blog, but I know it's time. I know it is not the end of this experience, just the end of this chapter. There is no doubt in my mind I will be back in Kenya soon. I wish Kenya and New York were just a little closer : ) that way I could have the best of both worlds!

My biggest fear is that I will forget. I am honestly terrified that the feeling I had while in Kenya will leave me. I don't want to forget how I felt, what it looked like, how it changed me. I know, I know, "you will never forget this". But honestly, I can feel it slipping already. I can't picture the Maasai  walking around NY in their shoes made of tires. How can I keep those pictures close when they are so literally and figuratively far away? 

Well maybe that is the point. I guess I will know when it is time to go back - when I can't remember why it was so hard to leave in the first place.

Look for some updates with pictures and videos, and thanks for all of your support!

The Journey "Home"

Hi All...

I'm not prepared to write this, but I am leaving Kenya tonight at 11:30 pm. I can't even begin to get my feelings and thoughts in check, so I will leave that for when I get back. Until then, here is an update of my last few days!

The girls came back on Wednesday! It was so amazing! They didn't even make it through the gate before they jumped out of the car to greet eachother. Wednesday night I hung out with the girls, and they "washed me" with cold, dirty river water. Apparently this is a Kenyan birthday tradition but it is pretty much just dumping buckets of water over the person fully clothed! We watched Step Up 2 and went to bed.

Thursday the girls had to start class. I went to the orphanage to say goodbye, and they had made me all sorts of presents. Necklaces, bracelets, they even want to mail me a belt for my dad (don't ask me why!) I went back to campus and spent time with the girls, going to their classes and hanging out. Then after lunch it was time to say goodbye - for now. It really sucked but I know I will be back. Thursday night we drove to Niarobi, and sat in traffic FOREVER. It is really scary, people drive like maniacs! There are these vans here called Matutus. They pack 14 people in and drive like no one else is on the road. I think my heart stopped a few times, they come so close to hitting you! Jenni, Jason, and I stayed at a hotel here in Niarobi.

Today Jenni and I went to Kabira. Has anyone seen the Constant Gardener? If you have, that slum is Kabira. I'll write more later because my time just ran up on the computer! AH!

Happy Birthday To Me!

23. Wow that is old! Who would have thought I would be enjoying my 23rd birthday in Kenya, East Africa!

Thank you to everyone who responded to my post about Olivia! You are all amazing and I am so lucky to have such wonderful, supportive people in my life!

GOOD NEWS! We visited Olivia and she is looking pretty good! She has been put in traction, and that horrible cardboard contraption has been taken off her leg. She is lying on her back with both of her legs in the air, suspended from a bar. After I posted we went back to the hospital and were able to get her seen by an orthopedic surgeon. So it seems like she is in a good place right now. Luckily, if she stays at this hospital it won't be too expensive for her family. I'm going to find out what they have to pay and then will get back to those who offered to donate. She is still not on an IV, but she is being given pain meds orally. 

Today the girls come back to school! It is bitter sweet, almost a tease, because I leave Daraja tomorrow! I went to the orphanage yesterday, and learned how to make some interesting beadwork. Mine came out looking like a pot of gold with an ugly Irish flag, not on purpose! Oh well! I was so excited because the babies at the orphanage spoke to me in English for the first time! I said "how are you" and each answered "fine, thank you!" I almost died! I was so excited that they each wanted to individually say it again to me so I could clap for them! 

I'm not sure when I will be able to post again, my computer battery got zapped from a power surge, so I am using Jason's battery! I will try to post again before I go! 

I know I say it all the time, but THANK YOU ALL for your love and support! YOU ROCK!