Georgia Girl Speaks...: Teacher & Friend

Another full day in Kisumu ~

We started our day as volunteers and visitors at Russia Hospital. Chris & Sarah have established a great presence there and usually visit the children every Wednesday. We spent the first hour or so with four sweet kids on the Cancer Ward - They all have Burkitt's Lymphoma, a malignancy most common to children in this region of Africa and is often caused by poor health and sanitary conditions. We came with lollipops, coloring books & crayons and were able to spread a lot of cheer. Cassi & Vince hung out with the three boys in their community space and I had the opportunity to sit in a room with a 10 year old girl Valery, who was receiving treatment. We sat together on a small sofa-like seat and took turns coloring pages in the book. When the nurse realized that I wanted to stay with her awhile during her chemo, they gave me a gown, gloves & mask to suit up - Valery thought it was hilarious and we made the most out of a tough situation.

It was a wonderful experience, moving in every way and I look forward to going back next week to visit again.

We then moved over to the Obama Children's Ward to visit the other kids staying in the hospital. Armed with lollipops and smiles, we made the rounds through several areas and visited with some very sweet, yet sick kids. Imagine a hospital type setting from World War II and you are fairly close to what this hospital set up is like. Rows of metal beds, side by side - Most of the kids had a mama or relative with them in the bed or beside as they are not supposed to be left alone. The family is responsible for providing their own food, washing the children & washing their clothes.

Sarah and I both had the chance to sit with the most beautiful girl Melvine (she is 12) and has Sickle Cell Anemia and was receiving a transfusion. She is in the care of her uncle, as both of her parents have died and he works most days until 9pm. She is incredibly bright, loves school and likes to read storybooks. She will most likely be there for one week, which she told me was typical for when she needs a transfusion. I'm hoping to go back and spend some more time with her :)

Cassi and the sweet boys at Russia hospital's Cancer Ward
Coloring books & Lollipops!

Later in the afternoon we made our way back to RingRoad to visit the kids and par-take in some teaching -

(Yes, they asked me to teach?! go figure :) Cassi and I both spent time in Class 2, where I taught a lesson from their English workbook on completing sentences, correcting verbs, alphabetizing, etc. and she was brave to take on a Math lesson.

Afterwards, I met up with my new buddy Obama and we played in the courtyard for awhile - we worked on numbers, colors (he loves to say Purple!) and we did a few rounds of Head, Shoulders, Knees & Toes! He is getting stronger everyday and the staff said that soon he will be ready to go to school. They've been giving him "Plumpy'Nut" several times a day and he is able to eat some solid foods like beans & maize and potatoes too! He has gained a kilogram (about 2.2 lbs) in the past week and a half since they met him.