Jambo!

Jambo!
Village Volunteers was an amazing experience for me.  Since the time scheduling was extremely flexible I was able to fit it into my summer plans.  I spent three weeks in Muhuru Bay at the Mama Maria Clinic and one week in the Transmara province with the Namunyak Maasai Welfare Project.  It was very enjoyable at both locations, and staying with the two different tribes, the Luo and the Maasai, enabled me to get a well-rounded experience of life in Kenya.
    At Mama Maria, I was able to work in the lab at the clinic and test people for malaria. I also helped out at the new site they are building – a brand new expanded clinic with enough room for surgery and a maternity ward, all on the shore of beautiful Lake Victoria.  The huts at the compound we stayed at were very nice – and the solar showers in the evening made it an extremely comfortable stay. To top it all off, the food was amazing, with fresh pineapple and deep fried tilapia straight out of the lake every evening.  Before dinner we would go to a rocky hill near the compound and watch the sun set on beautiful Muhuru Bay.
    After my stay there, I took a bus out to Kisii where I was picked up by Emmanuel, the coordinator and man-with-the-plan for Namunyak.  We stayed at Emmanuel's house in Oronkai in the picturesque Kapune Valley. There I helped teach at local schools and helped Emmanuel at his political rallies (he is running for Minister of Parliament for the district).  While there I also went to the Masai Mara National Reserve for a safari in Emmanuel's car.  The view was breathtaking – the savannah stretched out to the horizon, covered with zebra, gazelle, and giraffe.  We also saw elephants, hyenas, warthogs, and hippos, all in the idealized African landscape.
Once I returned to Nairobi, I went shopping in the market and visited the National Aquarium and Reptile Habitat. The city contrasted sharply with living in the villages, so it was fun to look around. Overall, Village Volunteers was wonderful, and I hope to return to Africa one day to visit this lovely country again.

Hakuna Matata,
Ryan Dowdy
July 2007