Greetings from Kenya!! :)

Here is my first update, a lot has happened since I got here, but I will try to sum up the highlights and keep it somewhat short :) (somewhat!)

I am learning SO much here in Kenya. I got in Sunday night and we started off with a meeting Monday morning with the other 72 volunteers at the hotel in Nairobi, then got to work. We are divided into 3 groups, each at a different slum community. I am in Mathare with a team of dentists from Denmark. They are a wonderful team! I have been helping a little with the dentists, getting children in from the other room, making sure they have paperwork, and keeping them organized. We are at a center called Community Transformers (CT). It is a group of young people like myself who first started out helping a family. It kept leading to different projects, and now they have several offices around the slums. They are absolutely incredible. I read about these programs, but wonder how they really work, and what they look like. These kids are changing their community. They've had computers donated to them, t-shirts, banners, posters, stickers, etc. For the rest of the week, when they are free, I will be helping some of them learn Excel. They do house visits, conduct clinics like ours, and the coolest... work with the VCT (Voluntary Counseling and Testing) team. And this team is equally impressive. I walked to the VCT clinic today with a few of the Kenyans quite a bit deeper into Mathare. (The CT office is right on the outskirt, so although it is bad, it is nothing compared to the interior of the slums...). The walk was difficult. I'm finding my days here are mentally, physically and emotionally exhausting. I have shed a few tears, but try to keep it together for everyone around me. Everyone I have met has such a positive outlook, and it is infectious. The VCT clinic is part of a school that the team is using for space. They move every few days to a different section of the slums. Inside the building, they set up tents and put two chairs inside for privacy. Each person that tests and counsels is trained and certified by the health ministry. To drum up excitement, another group goes out front and starts singing and does a skit with reference to why it is so important to get tested. A lot of people gather around and they get some clients this way. (I took a video, so will find a way to post it when I get back!) They also walk through the community with a banner, singing and yelling and convincing people to get tested. Once they are tested, if their status is HIV positive, the counselor gets them in touch with a doctor, and they get started on ARV therapy immediately, for free, paid by the government. How wonderful is that?? I went to a Rotary meeting tonight and learned a little more about the stigma around HIV and AIDS. Some companies would fire people who were positive, while health insurance companies decrease coverage once you are found to be positive. In turn, that makes people not want to get tested, and it's of course a vicious cycle. Vickie Winkler, the founder of HEART (an absolutely wonderful woman, I am taking quite a liking to her and really look up to her) told me a story about her bringing a group of VCT members and community leaders for testing. She asked all the leaders to get tested first, they hesitated, but once they did, people were waiting in line to get tested! She said they did tests on 400 people in 2 days by doing that.

Other things that have happened- Kenyan children LOVE the camera :) They especially love to look at themselves once a digital picture is taken. They all yell "How are you? How are you? How are you?" over and over again until they get our attention. Or they come up to you, hug you, grab your hand, shake your hand, tug on your shirt... they are amazing little beings. And tough cookies! Some of the dental patients have been having some major work done, and they don't make a peep. I've also had many chances to sit down and talk to some of the Community Transformers. They are so bright. They have such high goals for themselves and are so inquisitive and interested in everything I have to say. They love to ask me questions and love to tell me about their lives. I'm learning so much from them. Nick, one of the CT/VCT team members told me about his uncle who is HIV positive and in turn, his 2 children are. I really was able to get such a great perspective, and learn that is what drives Nick to do well in his community. Another young man, Paul is a nurse. He wants to go to the US and become a citizen. Eric is another CT member who is a little shy, but he is so polite and helps me find things and translate if needed. I spoke to an older woman today, she is making me a necklace and bracelet with the HIV/AIDS ribbon in beads! She does beautiful work. Charles and Jesse are other great guys, Jesse works at HEART twice a week, then is at CT and VCT the other days. I talked to two other Kenyans today about our health insurance, Medicaid, Medicare, the cost of school, HIV/AIDS in the US. They were very interested, they learned a lot from me, and I from them.

Well, it's getting late for me, and I have another full day tomorrow. I'll try to keep you updated, but I thought you would be really interested in hearing a little bit about what I've been doing and what I've learned so far. It's so encouraging and I have just been so excited, almost to tears, for what these young men and women are doing! It's been a great experience so far!