Monday, May 25, 2009

OPERATION SECURE CONTAINERS COMPLETE!

We arrived in Kakamega Kenya on April 8th and secured containers on April 11th. Wow, that a job. The containers we there when we arrived on site at a local school.



After a little bit of drama with unloading we were finally clear to take the containers to the hospital where we could unload. We called ahead and had men waiting to help us unload. BUT due to miscommunication the drivers would not allow us to open the door. Shaelyn a nurse in partnership with HART had other ideas :)

Despite any negotiating the sun was setting and we determined it was too late to start anyway with the sun beginning to set we decided to meet early the next morning to start unloading. The help was sadly dismissed.



The next morning bright and early everyone showed up with smiles on their faces and ready to sweat the day out. It took most of the day to get it all into the room provided by Kakamega
Provincial Hospital. Lots of work but worth the endurance.


At the end of the day we were covered in dirt and had some lines from the beating sun.


There were so many helping hands. In Our Own Quiet Way supported the unpacking as well.


The next day was organization time. We started to get the boxes in order according to the ledger that was created prior to the mission. The only problem was that one entire crate was missing.


By the end of all the shuffling, unpacking, repacking and shifting we found the missing crate and rewrapped the crates once more.


It was nice to be done but we still had a few special instruments to secure off site and complete the contract with the hospital.

The Kenya Broadcasting Company surprised us by showing up and doing a story on our work. We received so much support and phone calls following the interview. People would approach us on the street and thank us for the work we were doing. They were thrilled with the changes that we had brought with us and are looking forward to doing story on us in November of 2009.



Before we flew out of Nairobi we had the opportunity of sitting with the Vice President of Kenya and enjoying a delicious Italian meal. It was quite the icing on the cake. We look forward to a long and progressive relationship with Kenya and its people.

Thursday, January 1, 2009

Samburu Tribe

We visited a small private Samburu village, it was one of the most authentic tastes yet. The people were very kind and educating.
This was James, he had been to school, studied and now lives in his village making improvements and helping his people. He was so tall! I kept telling him that Kobe Bryant would soon be done :) he just smiled
The women do all the work- imagine- The huts take 3 weeks to build on average. 
We watched them start a fire with sticks- no stones with sparks. 
Towards the end I saw some of the men practicing their bowing skills away from the village- well being from Idaho I could not resist showing them my "bowing skills". 3 years of watching of my scout brothers, yeah, you better believe I hit the target. They were all laughing and so impressed. It was such a highlight.








Monkey Check

The Zebras were surprisingly chubby. Maybe it's from growing up with horses but obviously the Zebras are not having trouble finding food. The riddle is "Is it a black with white stripes or a white with black stripes "?? now I know but can't relay it, you must find out for yourself.
Getting back one night to the lodges, there was a monkey check. Monkeys stop your vehicle by sitting in front of it and wait until payment is made which consists of nuts or berries. Sometimes they don't even wait for the toss they will kindly jump on your vehicle and wait. They were very playful.