T-Minus 15days

So the countdown begins, in a matter of days I’ll be boarding a plane to another world. Excitement and nerves are certainly starting to rise. I’m really excited about seeing new things and meeting new people and helping those suffering in Kenya. But I’m also nervous about the enormous shock to my system everything will be. I got my last round of shots last week, picked up my yellow vaccine card, apparently most people in the states have one, but this is the first I’d seen of it. This week I’ve been prepping, getting a little first aid kit together in case anything happens, grabbed some of the generic cold and flu stuff in case I catch something and picked up my daily Malaria pills which apparently give you crazy dreams.

My first month in Kenya I will be working with the HIV/AIDS program and I’ve been finding out more about what I’ll be doing from some of the previous volunteers. Most of the HIV/AIDS work is centered around the massive slums in Nairobi, it’s a city of over 3 million people, about half of them live in extreme poverty in slums like Kiberia, the largest of the slums where it’s estimated over 1 million people live. The slums consist mainly of one room huts made of sheet metal built on top of piles of garbage. Those living there are exposed to dire conditions, the lack of running water, or any sanitation means sewage flows down ditches in the streets making spread of disease and illness near impossible to stop.

The sort of work I will be doing based on previous volunteers experience is working with the local clinics and local volunteers who know the area and language helping them deliver food and medicine to those living with HIV. Checking up on their health etc, giving counseling and encouragement for people who need it and massaging or bathing those who are weak in their beds.

There will undoubtedly be some sad stories and I will see others suffering from a situation far beyond their control. I hope I can help them in some way, how this will effect me, and how these eyes see the world, only time will tell. But I go with an open mind and compassionate heart.