Kenyan Coast

To continue seeing our work I visited the Coast this week; primarily three towns; Mombasa, Kilifi and Malindi. I flew in a day early to take a little time on the beach. I went to a place a colleague recommended Shaanti Hotel in Diani. It’s a yoga retreat kind of place. Because of late flights I ended up not having much time – but it was great to lay out for a few hours (stupid working sunscreen blocking all my tan with the cancer), have two sessions of yoga (sunrise and sunset), get an early morning jog on the beach in and generally just relax. It was expensive but nice (save the ants in the bed that I only learned later there was spray for in the room). The biggest surprise was on the morning jog – I came across four men practicing cheerleading stunts (specifically the diamond head). First picture is of Diani.

The following morning I drove back to Mombasa (using a car ferry that was very convenient but I hear can be a total nightmare). Again my company put me up in a swank beach hotel (Savora White Sands). It’s wonderful to be staying in such a great place but there are two drawbacks; 1 – you really don’t want to go to work and 2- the per diems won’t cover a single meal! The next two pictures are from that beach.

Again, it’s rejuvenating to see our work. Mostly I watched as a new hire did the selection tool with various clinics to see if they qualified to join our network. One clinic didn’t qualify for the first round but was the prettiest thing I’d ever seen. Turns out it was donated by a british family in honor of their relative who lived and died in that area of Kenya. I asked my colleagues how much they thought it cost and they estimated about $20,000. It had such an impact – good equipment, they built it to be run by a nurse who was the only one practicing in that area, new sterilization machine, computerized records. What a great way to honor someone! The other moment that stood out in the day was walking out of a slum clinic in Mombasa to the sounds of “Pour Some Sugar on Me” by Def Leoppard blaring from a nearby store.

That evening I went to the hotel’s beach bar as it was showing an NFL game (so when I get my own place, apparently local channels show NFL, sweet!) and was promptly hit on by some air force kid who made me feel really old. I couldn’t get the internet to work so I think I went to bed at like 8pm – driving around in hot weather while trying to maintain small talk with colleagues and be supportive yet helpful and come up with useful suggestions is exhausting! But it did mean I could get up really early for another sunrise beach jog. No cheerleading on this beach but there were a few guys doing gymnastics – apparently for a photo shoot. At one point a young guy jogged up to me and then did a flip, I was tempted to do one back but realized I probably couldn’t anymore! Sad.

The last two days we talked to two different women’s groups. The first one was a youth group but they were all mothers (and I think married) – the youngest was 15. We talked to them about various contraceptive options. Both were done sitting under the shade of a big tree as the weather on the coast is much hotter than Nairobi. The second group was of much older women (meaning my age!) many of whom had many many kids (one doctor mentioned that after a woman gave birth to her 8th kid she would start recommending sterilization). The youth group didn’t speak up much and giggled a lot (probably how I would have acted at that age) but the older women definitely did and it was a great discussion – at least it seemed that way in translation. It was in a very rural area and when we arrived in our company van (advertising mosquito nets and condoms) the women all cheered, and did it again when I got out of the van and again when I left (make an ‘o’ with your lips, make a high pitched ‘oooh’ and then click your tongue from bottom to top of your mouth – that’s what it sounded like). There was a school in the background with kids who never seemed to go inside. They sat along the side where there was a patch of shade or rolled a tire and then used it as a hula hoop. I so wish I could take the time to get real pictures! The second to last one is of the kids waving as I left.