This last week was spent in Nakuru with ICROSS aid workers Stanley and Ann tending to and photographing the HIV/AIDs support group patients and visiting the other various ICROSS projects, including that of the solar disinfection of water (SODIS). The support group sessions allow the patients a place to meet with one another and offer support in the form of boosted morale, health tips, simple yet effective methods of earning a living, and more. Individual home visits are also performed for those who are unable to attend the support groups. Personally, it was a very educational experience and nice time spent with Stanley, Ann, the other volunteers, hosts, and town’s people who were all very welcoming, friendly, and supportive of my work there.

Stanley and Ann

On Monday, Stanley and I visited patients at home in the slum area, Kaptembwa. It was an emotionally moving, yet inspiring day. The first home we visited was that of Christopher (44) and his mother. Christopher, a former pastor, tested positive for HIV four years ago. Since, his wife left and he moved back in with his mother, a warm and strong woman and former nurse. From the moment we arrived at Christopher’s door for our unannounced visit, I felt immediately welcome and comfortable for what would be my first visit with an HIV/AIDS patient . . . and after spending the following hour with Christopher, I felt deeply inspired and glad to have had the opportunity to spend time with this great man. A deeply religious and spiritual man, Christopher was humbled by our visit and couldn’t have been more supportive of photographs and an audio interview where he explained his current state and praised ICROSS, its many loyal supporters, Stanley, and myself for providing him love and support and keeping his spirits high. Looking him in the eyes in the dimly lit home during the interview was a test of strength in withholding emotion. As we left their home and walked down the dirt road in silence, Stanley exclaimed “I love that man!”. It was at that time, with the culmination of it all, that my eyes welled up and I looked to the sun for a reason for the tears. It was an intense visit and Stanley captured it fully in these words.

Christopher at home

Christopher and his mother

Emma with children Stallon and Geofrey

Sinthia looks onto the children playing outside

Following this visit at Christopher’s, Stanley and I visited the homes of Emma and her two sons, and Brantina and her granddaughter. Emma and her husband have been living positively (i.e. having tested positive for HIV/AIDs) since 1996, although they haven’t tested their sons to-date. I can only imagine the fear of confronting their sons’ realities and the possible long road ahead. Brantina tested positive in 2000 and has two children who are also living positively, although not with her. Rather, her granddaughter Sinthia suffers from a birth defect in which her left leg is roughly half the length of her right leg, making it difficult to stand at the most basic level . . . but further, keeps her from socializing with the other neighborhood children and performing other simple functions that most take for granted. Sinthia is in need of an artificial leg to help bring her this basic ability, while Brantina is meanwhile working simply to afford the low rent. In an effort to do so, and maintain sanity, several years ago she began knitting baskets and AIDS ribbon pins as a revenue-generating hobby. On the day of our visit, I was happy to purchase several and later come to find that the money paid their overdue rent for the month. The resulting gratitude was mutual.

Brantina and Sinthia at home

Sinthia was born with one leg considerably shorter than the other causing numerous difficulties

ICROSS, through its valuable donations and home visits, provide these patients with the necessary drugs and ammenities (blankets, sheets, mosquito nets, etc) to sustain their health and foster positive spirit.

Christopher displays the drugs received from ICROSS

Stanley meets with Brantina and discusses her current health condition

On Tuesday, I attended a support group session in an area called Bondeni. We met outside under a small building awning that shaded the high noon sun where roughly ten patients and four volunteers met and in Swahili, discussed many topics, including the planting of maize seeds/flour, it’s health benefits, and the traditional foods in which it is an ingredient. While I wasn’t able to understand most of what was said, the spirit was generally high, and there was a healthy dose of laughter from patients throughout.

Bondeni support group patients engaged with Ann

Patients read informational hand-outs on tuberculosis

Laughter is the best medicine

Salgaa was another area Stanley and I visited where we met with Peter, the head of the Salgaa healthcare programs. The trip to Salgaa was long, delayed by a slowly filling matatu (public transport van), but rewarding once we arrived. A support group had just finished, but as the maize was distributed, we were able to capture the attendees for a round of portraits before they dispersed. The disposition of their faces and the color of their clothing made for simple, yet strong portraits that the women greatly enjoyed and repeatedly referred to as “smart!”.

Salgaa support group and volunteers, Peter and Anne

Salgaa town itself appears bruised and battered, though sprinkled with character. Further from city-life, I felt like a main attraction walking through the town, for my presence attracted the stares of everyone on the streets and pouring out of the local pub. White visitors didn’t seem common in these parts. Salgaa, as described to me, is a rest-stop for passing truckers and with that, has a reputation for the convening of the district’s commercial sex workers. One price for protected [sex], and a higher price for unprotected, with increased risk of contracting disease. The practice, as one might deduce, has a crippling effect on the town, increasingly infecting more with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), in addition to others.

Outside Salgaa, a short motor-bike ride will take one to Ndoloreni, the site of one ICROSS SODIS project, supporting several families in the local secluded picturesque community. SODIS is the process by which the sun is used to disinfect bacteria-filled water that would normally be undrinkable, including by the locals. By collecting the water in buckets, then filling clear water bottles with it and putting them out in the sun for no less than six hours, the water becomes safe to drink (safe, not necessarily enjoyable!). We met with a few of the women in town to see how they follow the process.

Ndoloreni women walk to the local source to collect water for disinfection

Collecting the water at the source

The water is initially collected in the yellow containers, then transferred to the clear bottles for disinfection

Participant Lucia Gathoni fills the bottles with the source water

Dr. Alan Soita

And last, but certainly not least, on Thursday I was afforded the chance to meet with Dr. Alan Soita, the ICROSS Nakuru branch manager and head doctor at the Rift Valley Provincial General Hospital. The hospital (including the Comprehensive Care Center (CCC) branch) and the ICROSS support groups work hand-in-hand to support the local people living positively. The support groups send attendees to the free CCC for initial care. If their health then warrants it, they will be admitted to a hospital ward and incur a charge. (Similarly, the hospital and CCC will refer patients to the support groups for continued support once leaving the hospital grounds.) If and when a patient is admitted to a hospital ward, he / she is often left with the issue of payment before being released. With the poor conditions of the facilities, nurses will often squeeze several bodies into a sagging bed, thereby increasing the patient’s chances of acquiring other illnesses in this time before they are released. Without funds to settle the bill, the patient’s families and friends are often contacted to assist, and in some circumstances, the ICROSS and other volunteers will go above and beyond by contributing their own minimal funds.

Dr. Soita tends to hospital patient, Magdaline Wambui

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All in all, I give immeasurable respect to the volunteers and aid workers met during this week, especially as they work in despite of limited and often non-existent pay in these difficult financial times. Their dedication and heart cannot be denied, they are truly special people. Any and all donations to ICROSS / NWI are greatly appreciated throughout the organization and serve to reinforce this valuable aid. To donate, one can visit one of the following websites or contact me directly.

ICROSS: International / ICROSS: Kenya / NWI: New World International

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Thank you for reading!