I’ve always heard that in Peace Corps your lows are incredibly low but the highs are incredibly high. Up until this point I haven’t really experienced too much of either. I haven’t been very low (and was counting my blessings) but I also didn’t think I had experienced the super high either (sadly). Well, now I have and I can tell you, it’s completely accurate. A couple weeks ago I experienced the lowest point so far.
I spent most of the morning in my office on the verge of tears. Why? Because I came to the realization that I’ve been here for almost 7 months and I haven’t accomplished anything yet. Most of all, I’m doing almost no health education (you know, the main point as a public health volunteer). I was seriously feeling so underutilized at SIMAHO and an utter failure at life outside it – at least in terms of starting up my own side projects. I have ideas, but none of them seem to go anywhere and in the mean time there is nothing going on at work to keep me busy. It’s so unbelievably frustrating being around people working hard, wanting to work hard, and having nothing to do… Luckily, the failed (ok, not totally failed because I ended up talking to 6 mamas and there were some good questions brought up that were really important) nutrition seminar I gave at work that morning sparked an idea which hit the ground running fast enough to make even my American head spin. I guess I just needed to find the right thing to suggest that fit with SIMAHO, was inexpensive, and I can do almost by myself. Or maybe the strategic plan we had just finished and all the goals and expectations it put forward for the organization were looming large so that Zahra and Rumana really are feeling pressure to move ahead. There is a big push coming to expand our services (especially community health education). I don’t really care why, I was just excited it happened. This has the potential to be a really amazing project! It’s so important for the mamas, simple to implement, and even with the snacks and incentives, it wont be too spendy (I might even be able to get some PC money through a partnership programs grant, in which case I’ll be putting it online for anyone to donate to and I’ll definitely let you all know in case you’d like to help). I suppose I should explain my project. I’ll be going to 3 different villages in the nearby rural area each month and meeting with the mamas to give health talks as well as holding a meeting for mamas at the clinic once a month. We will talk about everything relating to being mothers and keeping themselves and their kids healthy: pregnancy, birth, dealing with complications during pregnancy and birth, good nutrition, water and sanitation, kitchen gardens, composting…etc. I really want it to be a time where the mamas feel safe enough to bring up any problems they are facing and for group problem solving. It will just be me, the women, and a translator. I want to show the mamas that what they deal with is important and worth attention. I am absolutely ecstatic about the opportunities this will bring.
It’s amazing how quickly that low became a high… My first mama’s group was in a village called Atheyle and it went so much better than I could have imagined or hoped. 25 women came and they listened so well. Afterwards they were so grateful and are excited for the next session. When we arrived the mamas greeted us and after being instructed by Zahra to take care of us, they went to work sweeping and preparing the meeting place under a big tree. The men were even really supportive – which is definitely not always the case in this area. I was really nervous at the beginning of my session because it was my first time doing this and I was on my own aside from the translator (Zahra came in the cab with us, dropped us and left). As it went on and I could see the mamas were listening and appreciating what I was teaching them it got better and now I wont be nervous about next time. I taught them the basics of nutrition: the food groups (3 in Kenya), how to avoid diarrhea, why eating healthy matters, what are the effects of poor nutrition (they laughed when I told them that a sign of protein deficiency – Kwashiorkor - is hair colored like mzungus and pointed at my hair for an example), and why it’s really important to eat health during pregnancy and breast feeding. After the session we had some time before the car could get us so we hung around with mama and her daughters. I had them teach me a bit of Somali (its been slow going, but I really want to learn at least enough to get by) and we talked about why going to school is good (the girls didn’t want to go). It’s really amazing how few kids are in school in this area, especially once you get out of the urban center of Garissa; girls especially. I talked with the mama about water in the village. They have a pump that doesn’t work, and the closest one that does work gives salty water (I asked around afterwards and found out that it is probably drilled into limestone) so they only use it to clean their clothes. They have to go all the way to the river for water to drink and cook with. They also said there aren’t really any latrines in the town so I told them we could brainstorm ways to get some next time I come.
When I got back to the office that day I made a schedule of educational programs with the topic, date, and who will facilitate. Soon, we’ll be starting education outreach in the schools too. There are 9 primary schools in our catchment area so that should definitely keep us busy. I have been busy coming up with the curriculum for all the different topics I have planned as well as a list of teaching materials and methods that can be used for the different forums (mama’s groups, clinic talks, and schools). This has very energizing for me and so wonderful because I feel like I’m hitting my stride. My peace corps service is coming together it feels like… Finally! On my way home that day I stopped in the market and saw the mama and the auntie I love. They were so excited to see me and the mama gave me a hug even (I hadn’t been by in a while since I’d been too busy to really cook dinner). I used a new Somali phrase I learned that day “biria imani” (which I thought meant “we’ll meet again” but turned out to mean “I’ll see you tomorrow” – it worked fine in the situation though). They smiled so big! As I walked away I hear one say “anajua Kiswahili n asana anajaribu kujifunze afsomali” (“she knows Swahili and now she is trying to learn Somali”). I don’t think that day could have been any better. Rose, Mercy and I even went out to celebrate that night. We got dressed up and everything even though its just a regular bar where we went. Sometimes it just feels right to get a little dolled up and be girly.
Since my first mama’s group things haven’t stopped coming. The others haven’t been quite as wonderful as the first, but they are all different and that’s good too. In one center the mamas got so, so mad at us saying “you tricked us!”. They thought that because we were giving a health talk and invited them that they would be getting paid for it (a common perception/expectation throughout Kenya). I wasn’t too upset by this since I only want women who are interested in learning to come anyway. If I have to coerce someone into coming they aren’t likely to take much away from it, but if they want to be there then these groups have a lot of potential. It’s so frustrating though because I come with information, chai, and chapati and they just get mad I haven’t brought money – as if I’m not going out of my way to help them. Oh well, like I said I just want mamas to come who want to be there and I know some of them will (plus, I cant learn 30 names very quickly so a smaller group is fine by me). I’ve been completely busy at my primary and secondary projects. I haven’t had a weekend in three weeks!! But I love it and wouldn’t change it for the world. I am addicted to being busy so not having enough time is infinitely preferable to being bored all the time in my opinion. This, what I am finally doing, feels like what I thought Peace Corps would. I am making a difference in mamas lives, and even if it’s a small difference for just a few mamas in a few villages, it’s a difference and I started the project. I feel energized and motivated and love every second of it. Soon my organization will be going into the local schools and teaching health seminars so I’ve already begun preparing for that. It will give me a chance to do all the fun activities with kids that I’ve been thinking up and reading about in my books.
I spent the better part of the last week (from about 8am to at least 9pm) working on the second Symposia for the G-Youth project. We invited the youth to a conference to work on further developing their project proposals, strengthening their leadership skills, and being more comfortable sharing their opinions and making their voices heard. It was a lot of preparation, but it paid off and then some. The youth have so much potential and energy and its really impressive and exciting to see. I love helping them figure out that they can do something and helping them to learn how to plan and implement their ideas. I’m mentoring two projects which are spreading awareness of HIV within their communities and am really excited to see what happens over the next month. The only down side to all this is that I won’t be around for the culmination of all this work the youth are doing. There is a big Youth Action Summit (YAS) and Garissa Youth Days coming up the first week in May – right when I’ll be home. This will be such an amazing event and opportunity for the youth in this area to showcase their talents, their ambition, and their projects and I’ll miss it. It kills me every time we talk about plans for the YAS (which unfortunately is basically all the time now that Symposia 2 is over). But I am still excited about being involved in the project and am hopeful that once this is over and goes well that there will be a repeat next year. And you can be sure I won’t miss it next time!
I’ve also been getting to know the kids in my neighborhood better since I started to play games with them and now they always greet me with big smiles. I tried to hug a couple of them the other day but I don’t think hugging is so common here because it just turned out really awkward, but maybe they’ll learn. This weekend one of the mamas even played volleyball with me. She was really good too! She kept the ball going back and forth for a long time. The kids come to my gate and knock at least once a week looking for water and I try to be accommodating because it breaks my heart that they have to go around begging for it from people’s compounds. At the same time I’m trying to find a balance so that they aren’t always coming to me asking for things… or coming at 7 in the morning on a Saturday and pounding on my gate until I come out (yeah, not my favorite way to wake up). What I’d like to do is figure out a more formal activity for all of us to do that I can use to teach them about health.
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