The last few days have been fascinating.
While the intensive classroom time hasn’t been quite as exciting as the safari
at Amboseli, we are learning so much and I am thoroughly enjoying it. On Monday
and Tuesday we had classes from 8 to 16:00. It has been a bit tough getting
myself up and going so early- cook crew starts at 6:30. However, the mornings
are so peaceful and beautiful that it’s worth it. Despite the cold, it’s not
too bad. Speaking of the cold, the weather has been WAY colder than expected; I’m
so glad I brought my down vest. This week we have had six classes. First,
we had a course on Child Malnutrition: Consequences and Mitigation Strategies.
It is truly astonishing how impoverished people can live; many Maasai consider
‘dinner’ a glass of milk. And that’s on a good day. Here are some astonishing
facts that I have learned so far:
- · 1 in 4 of the world’s children are stunted
- · This statistic increases to 1 in 3 in developing countries
- · 80% of stunted children live in just 20 countries
- · The current projections are that 480 million children will be affected by stunting in the next 15 years
- · 7 countries are expected to see increases in the numbers of stunted children by 2015
It is very difficult to quantify the number
of deaths attributed to malnutrition, because it weakens the immune system,
leading to other diseases that are considered the cause of death. Therefore, as
it is an indirect cause, it is under-represented, under-addressed and under
prioritized. This prompts the questions
of where and how to break the cycle of poverty and disease, as they perpetuate
each other.
The next lecture was on HIV & AIDS
treatment, management strategies and indicator assessments. This was extremely
helpful and fascinating because my directed research is focusing on HIV &
AIDS. We basically applied the context of HIV/AIDS to different research
methods, explaining studies such as experimental studies (randomized,
quasi-experimental and observational) and cross sectional studies. We also
discussed how to establish indicators, which is a necessary step in preparing
for directed research.
This research is going to be incredibly
fascinating. We are exploring the affects of the closing of the Imbirikani
clinic on the health of the Imbirikani region. The Imbirikani clinic was a
mobile health clinic run by a philanthropist from Chicago. She employed 120
staff and was incredibly proactive with ARV therapy, referrals, nutritional
programs, etc. The region depended deeply on the Imbirikani clinic from 2003
until last November, when it closed overnight. This directly resulted in the
deaths of many patients relying on the Imbirikani clinic (we don’t know the
exact number yet, but we are going to find out- however it’s definitely going
to be difficult to quantify). The closure of this clinic had detrimental
effects on the region and now our job is to quantify these effects. We will be
going out into many rural Bomas (Maasai villages) and conducting surveys to
determine the influence of the closure of Imbirikani. Because my group is
focusing on HIV/AIDS, we are going to the VCT Boma in Loitokitok on Thursday to
sit in on a group support session of HIV positive women. I am so excited about
this, however I am a bit nervous because we have to introduce ourselves and
conduct discussions (not to mention listen) in Swahili, so I better get going
on my practicing! As a group, we can determine what we want to do with this
research: attempt to publish it, continue it, etc. I am so excited.
The next lesson we had was on Maasai
Culture, Gender Roles and their Implications on Public Health. A wonderful
Maasai Mama named Joyce who is staying with us for the month lead this lecture.
It was fascinating to hear about this culture from someone who lives it every
day. Joyce provides a very interesting perspective because she is somewhat of a
hybrid between Western and Maasai culture. We first discussed female
circumcision, sometimes called female genital cutting (FGC) or female genital
mutilation (FGM), which is commonly practiced in Maasai culture, despite being
federally illegal in Kenya. This was very interesting to me because we had an
Intersections of Law and Culture conference at Franklin in fall 2010. This
conference discussed the thin line between respecting a culture’s traditions
and upholding human rights. Given this, it was very interesting that Joyce
began the conversation calling the circumcisions “female genital mutilation”;
this wording explicitly shows her opinion on the matter. As a female member of
Maasai culture, this was very interesting and shows her setting herself apart
from the controversial, yet embedded traditions of Maasai culture.
A few other interesting aspects of Maasai
culture are that wives and husbands don’t sleep in the same bed. While of
course husbands can (and do) have multiple wives or ‘girlfriends’ these women
are always married women. So, while women cannot have multiple husbands, it is
common for another man to be sleeping with a man’s wife and is not a problem.
Also, flies are considered a symbol of wealth. The number of cows determines
the wealth of Maasai, and cows bring flies. Therefore, flies equal wealth.
Interesting! Finally, I had explained
the interesting aspect of the removal of teeth for feeding and drinking with lockjaw;
this is in fact true, however it is also an identifying factor for Maasai
members (other identifiers are the facial scarring, which I think are
beautiful).
We have also had lectures on epidemiology,
further research collection methods and the research process of our project. I
am so excited to begin the field research next week. It is really empowering to
know that our research can have a resounding effect on people’s livelihoods and
their public health. We have four days of research in even more rural areas
than where we are now. If I haven’t mentioned it, we are in Kimana, which is an
extremely impoverished town in a very rural area. There is one other town,
Loitokitok (where the VCT Boma is) near us, but besides that we are relatively
on our own out here, surrounded by Maasai tribes who have never had an outsider
visit. We are about 45 minutes from any other “town” and four hours drive from
Nairobi using a good Land-Rover. Using public transportation, the drive can
take over 7 hours. Anyways, we are going even further out to do our research.
We will be within the Imbirikani Group Ranch, but we will be leaving by 7 AM
(that means cook crew is at 5:30!!!) and we won’t be returning until 7 PM, when
we will need to begin the data recording and analysis. These four days will be
stressing, and our professors keep saying “there will be life after next week”.
I am very excited to begin, but slightly nervous. The Bomas are 1-2 KM apart
and we are visiting about eight per day and interviewing them with a
questionnaire that we are establishing tomorrow. We finalized the list of
indicators today. We will be doing these visits in pairs with a
translator/guide who speaks Maasai, Swahili and English; he will also be
introducing us to the villagers and explaining our study. Apparently, the
chiefs and other members of these communities have been spreading the word that
a group of Americans and Kenyans will be visiting and asking some questions of
a sensitive nature, which they should answer. I can’t wait to see the final
product of this project!
Here are a few other interesting
experiences that I’ve had:
· - The other day, during lecture,
we heard a few chickens outside. Our classroom is the Chumba, which we eat,
study and have classes in; it is open air and birds, bugs and such often come
in. We were all looking around at each other, slightly perplexed because we
haven’t had chickens on the property before, when without warning a deep and
piercing chicken-scream rung out and continued ringing for a good 20 seconds.
As our professor said mid-sentence, “the chicken will be squawking no more” and
continued the lecture.
· - We went to the Tuesday market
in Kimana yesterday. This is the one-day of the week when everyone gets dressed
and leaves to sell or buy items. The market was bustling with everything from
livestock to jewellery, household items and food. I even saw a Red Sox shirt
among a clothes pile! The market was great. As mzungo’s, the Maasai Mama’s
surrounded us the entire time trying to sell us jewellery. A strong “hapana
asante” would usually send them away, but one persistent Mama followed us
through the market for a while. Finally, another group of Mzungos came by in a
big tour group on their way to Amboseli and they received the attention. These
mzungos were taking pictures of us, as it is such a spectacle to see them out
here (weird!). It is common to hear “mzungo!” yelled as you’re walking by, people
extending their hands to see if your white skin is soft or hard, or people
asking to come stay with you in America.
· - It has been so fun to play
soccer or volleyball after class everyday with other students and staff
members. When we play in the evenings, right up until dinner, I can see
Kilimanjaro and the baboons swinging in the trees behind us. It’s so wonderful
here; I already don’t want to leave.
· - Another wonderful view of Kili
can be seen when brushing my teeth. Despite having to use my water bottle
because the water quality is not up to par, and having consistently cold
showers and communal bathrooms with twelve people, I am happier than I have
been in such a long time. It’s truly great to be with such empowered people, in
a place where people with so little give so much. The incredible friendliness
of the staff never ceases to astound me.
We’re about to have a group movie night, so
I’m off for now! I will update soon!
J
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