Wide open spaces of Africa

Wow.
That’s really the first word to cross my mind when thinking of the immediate reaction to Kenya.
Wow.

Arriving in Nairobi was problem-free and the trip itself(Copenhagen-Heathrow-Nairobi) was, dare I say it, almost comfortable – and I’ve never experienced as soft a landing as when we touched ground in Nairobi.

                                                             At Heathrow waiting to board

Charlotte and I are the only ones from Emergency and Risk Management, but the first week we will be with a group of 25 nursing students who will be interning at various hospitals around Kenya and Uganda at the same time as us.

First we’ll be staying at the so-called platform, which is a week of getting to know the country, the language, the culture and the people. After a bumpy 4 ½ hour ride from Nairobi, we arrived at the Daraja school for girls, where MS rents space, living quarters and dining possibilities. We were introduced to the place and the routines and all collapsed in our beds right after dinner.

On a tour of the Daraja campus

                                                          
The following days were spent on classes in Swahili, culture, body language and getting to know the millennium goals. In addition we visited a local school and hospital. It was fascinating and maybe a little daunting to see the kind of facilities they have. Some of the nursing students were rather shocked after the hospital visit and are embarking on their internships with a great deal of apprehension. Can’t say I blame them though. They are expected to do much more here than they would ever be at home and some of the conditions are quite horrid. The hospital we visited has 1 nurse to a ward of 50 people and in a hospital that has around 400 patients coming in everyday, there are about 7 doctors. Also, most beds sleep four people – each with their own disease. The waiting list for non-emergency operations can be up towards 1 year or more. 

Kids at the local school

                                                           

Visiting the district hospital in Nanyuki

Poor conditions are everywhere, but the people seem really friendly and hospitable. And the setting…well, the setting is amazing here at the platform. We’re in the middle of nowhere. The nearest town and supermarket is 45 minutes away on a very bumpy road where it’s essential that you swerve to miss the potholes every 50 m or less. But if you can distract yourself from the bumping and swerving, the scenery is gorgeous. Open wide space as far as you can see with the occasional mountain top here and there and somewhere behind the clouds in the not too far distance is Mt. Kenya.

All along the road there are Masai herders with their cows, goats, donkeys or even dromedaries. Cacti spot the plains and the rays of the sun break through the clouds like it was a scene in The Lion King. On the way back from town today we came across a herd of zebras and a small group of monkeys.

A herd of dromedaries we came across on a walk outside Daraja

The wide open space is what really gets to me – the way you can look far away into the distance and see no other signs of civilization than a Masai and his goats or a small shed here and there. Does it get much better than that? I’ll let you know.