We've just returned from 4 days out of email range. The first two days were spent traveling to, and visiting, the St. Margarita Development Center. We were all most impressed by what we saw there--the depth and holistic nature of the programs, the passion of the leaders, the involvement of the community. Too much to recount on 33k dialup, when we have an early flight to catch in the morning, but you will like what we learned about them. The region where they work, the Suba District, is the hardest hit with HIV/AIDS in the country. Prevalence of the virus is known to be 42%, but they believe that most adults in the community are actually positive. Michael Obuya, group leader, told us they feel like their mission is to save the children. The population of Suba District has dropped from 400K to 200K because of AIDS. Michael was in the hospital when we arrived, having just been diagnosed with diabetes and hypertension, and we visited him there. Linda describes the hospital as "about as bad as it gets," and it certainly was grim. The doctor told us 90% of the patients are HIV+. It is so overcrowded that there are beds in every corridor, and people are lying on the walkways waiting to be seen. We saw one young boy getting last rites as he waited. Our project has helped give this community hope, and we were all touched by their courage. More details when we see you on July 17.
From Suba, we headed to the Masai Mara game park where we spent Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning seeing the most incredibly variety of wild animals: lions, a leopard (rare), elephants, giraffes, zebras, a couple of wildebeests (the migration is just starting), hippos, crocodiles, warthogs, antelopes, gazelles, vultures, etc. etc. Jerry got a new camera before we came, with 10x optical zoom and image stabilization, so he was able to get incredible pictures of the animals. Our stay at the game lodge was less than ideal, since they were overbooked and we drew the short straw among the tour groups. Sydney and Linda had to share, and Jerry and I were in the staff quarters (primitive).
We've spent many hours in the van, since every road in Kenya seems to be in poor repair. Very few are paved. The roads approaching the game park are unbelievably bad, resulting in a bone-jarring ride and very slow progress (25 kilometers/hour). It took us 10 hours today to get back to Kisumu, and we were all tired and crabby by the time we arrived. Not to mention filthy dirty from the dust. We've been lucky so far with the weather...not too hot (I hear it's hotter in Seattle), and a few rain showers in the late afternoons when we were ready to head back to the hotel anyway.
We'll try to post another entry after our day with the Teens Against AIDS group.
Ciao, The Pangea Travelers
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2 comments:
Great to hear about the trip! Too bad we can't see some of your photos, but we'll have plenty of time for that.
You're right -- pretty hot here in Seattle. Record breaking Sunday, and should be hotter today.
Thanks for being our eyes and ears.
Bob S.
As Linda knows, I have just returned from the east coast, so have had to catch up on your posts. Sounds like you have had a real and rewarding African adventure. Your bodies are feeling travel aches and pains ... when you return, these will have passed and you will have only life-long memories of smiling faces, warm welcomes, song, dance, dedication, courage, hope and satisfaction for what Pangea has made possible.
John M.
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