So here we are, we are into our third and final project, it really is hard to believe! The last 2 projects have gone so fast so I hope this one isn't the same, time is absolutely flying by, but we've been doing so much it's hard to even remember it all so sorry if I forgot to mention something!
We left our last project in the beautiful Massai Mara last weekend where we lived in mud thatched huts in Olerai farm. After the first two weeks at Olerai being fairly unsuccessful in terms of project work due to very heavy rain, our final 2 weeks were a lot better! It didn't rain as much so the car didn't get stuck so we managed to drive to the school and really get stuck into all our project work. We finished our teaching at the primary school fairly early on as all the kids are going on holiday for Easter, I really enjoyed teaching science to standard 7, it was slightly daunting first of all doing it by myself but I really tried to make their lessons exciting and fun and it really seemed to pay off as they were all very quiet to begin with, but then they really seemed to understand it all which was why it was such a rewarding experience! It was a bad idea bringing lots of sweets in though on the last day as I was bombarded with hundreds of kids wanting more as we left the school (word had obviously got around) but I didn't have enough for everyone! :( The kids also started their exams at school so we did some invigilating which was VERY boring!
The best part of my last 2 weeks there was being able to get involved in the Emarti Health Clinic and help out on a couple of outreach programmes, it was such an amazing experience, definitely one that I won't have again for a long time and I learnt so much in terms of the medical side of the work done by all the employees there but also how different the medical system is in Kenya to how it is in the UK. They have much fewer resources and technology than we do yet they still cope very well and they manage to deliver very good healthcare. The diseases and conditions present in Africa are also much more numerous and widespread, HIV/AIDS and Malaria are by far the biggest problem in Kenya right now. It was great getting to know all the different workers at the clinic and just talking to them about their jobs, I got to sit in on the consultations with patients after which the clinical officer would explain the patients situation to me and how he would go about diagnosing and treating that condition, so it was an extremely valuable experience which will definitely help in my medical career. I got to meet some of the outpatients on the wards and also on the maternity wards. As I mentioned, I got to go on 2 outreach programmes where myself and the nursing officer in charge went off on a motorbike carrying all the equipment we would need to small local villages who do not have any other access to healthcare. One day, we went to a small little village called Lele where we went to deliver immunisations for polio and rubella to small babies. Their mothers brought them to the local town hall and the nurse would administer the immunisation, it made me so happy to see this and the babies were so cute! We did the same on other day to another village!
I have to give the supa mara cafe a mention here also, where we had our lunch everyday! Beatris, Fanis and John were so lovely, we had the best lunches ever there (especially the chapatis and potato bhajias) I would look forward to lunch everyday just to see Fanis' smiling face!
As well as doing lots of painting at a nearby school (we made the whole school bright blue and orange!) we also got to do a bit of work on the farm, we did some weighing of the cattle which is an experience I will never forget. The boys had to hit them with sticks to round them up into a pen so that they could go through one at a time to be weighed, it was quite hard work because all the cows would start trying to go in at once, and we had to go chasing after a few after they escaped!
We had a couple of really nice farewell ceremonies aswell, one evening the farm owner came round for dinner and these massai men came and did a massai dance for us, it was really nice surprise, they were so good and they jumped so high!! The day after this was my birthday and I had a really good day! We went to the mara safari club which is a very posh hotel about 20 minutes away, we spent the day there and the weather was gorgeous so we just relaxed by the pool, swam, sunbathed and ate and drank a lot. Later on, we went to the pub on the farm and had a really good time just socialising with the locals, it was a really good day! Our other farewell was at a school called Laila, we all got turned into locals by being given massai jewellery and headbands and the dancing they did for us was fantastic!
There was so much more that we did during out time in Olerai but if I was to list it all, I would be here all day! It was very sad when we had to leave on the 8th, I didn't fell ready to leave as it definitely didn't feel like we had been there a month, I'm gonna miss filomon, charles mbaabu, beatris, fanis, john, ronkoe and everyone that we've met in Olerai, oh and all the farm workers who we've grown close to when playing volleyball (jimmy, matelong, david etc...) I have to give ronkoe a quick mention actually, he was the headteacher of the local school we worked at and he has to be possibly the coolest headteacher I've ever met, he was so enthusiastic and funny, he just isn't what you expect a headteacher to be like, but he will be greatly missed! Our car which has broken down so many times during Olerai also decides to break down when we are on our way to Nairobi for our change over weekend, so Charles decides to ditch it and we get a matatu there instead!
It was really great to catch up with the other groups at the change over weekend, although one of the boys in my group Finn got really sick with food poisoning and ended up in hospital friday night, thankfully he's much better now but him and Rob had to come to Soysambu two days later because he was too ill to travel! But we had a really chilled out weekend which was really good!
So now we are onto our third and final project, I cannot actually believe it, where has the time gone? We left Nairobi last sunday for Soysambu conservancy where we are to spend the next month, its in western Kenya in the great rift valley and is set around lake elementaita which is absolutely beautiful! Its the largest breeding ground for pelicans so there is so many around along with lots of other animals and wildlife!
We had a drive round the conservancy with our new guide Charles (Mash) - who is lovely by the way! - he never stops smiling! We now have a brand new vehicle a land rover, thank god, i was so sick of pushing the land cruiser at olerai! It's a proper safari jeep so it will be really good for all the game drives! We saw zebras, waterbucks, baboons, jackalls and there are sooo many buffalo around, its quite scary getting so close to them in the car! We've also seen quite a few giraffes but I think we're going to be sick of them by the end of the month after doing 3 weeks of giraffe monitoring for our conservation project. We're staying in a small campsite camping in the African bush along with our 2 rangers, Mike and Dominic who are also lovely! We're in 2 tents of 4 which are quite cosy and comfortable! I am also VERY scared as there is a leopard around our campsite that comes most nights so I only get up to go to the toilet in the middle of the night if I have to because I am scared of getting eaten by it!
I am so looking forward to the project work here, we're doing hide building and giraffe monitoring, both of which are going to be great! The conservancy is home to an endangered species of Giraffe(Rothchild's), so one of our projects is to monitor them, track them with a GPS and identify them so the researchers here can keep an eye on their numbers. We're also working on the 5th game hide in the conservancy, it involves lots of slave labour but its really good fun! They are basically huts that are camoflaged and people can sit in them and view the wildlife! The one we're working on is an underground one so you will be able to view the game from ground level! The other day when we got to work we had to chase a huge herd of buffalo with the car because they were right next to the hide, quite scary! The car also decided to not start the other day when we were right in the middle of herd of buffalo, they all looked pretty angry aswell and we were told they could easily overturn our car if they wanted to... ARGHHH!! We've still got 3 weeks here, and I cannot wait, I think we're really going to be able to get stuck in doing lots of different things around the conservancy and really make a difference, we even did some community work the other day doing a "highway beautification" road clean up with all the local school kids which was good fun!
This weekend we're currently staying in a small village called Nyahururu, right near to the beautiful waterfalls called Thompsons Falls which is where we have been today! It was absolutely stunning on a lovely sunny day, and it was definitely an adventure climbing down there and also scrambling around on the rocks next to the waterfall, I'm surprised we didn't have any injuries! We stayed at a very dodgy campsite last night, it was so creepy because there was no one else staying there and there was this guy called Geoffrey who was also creepy as he followed us to town then wouldnt leave us alone! So we're staying in a much nicer hotel tonight and going to a nice restaurant for tea!
Next weekend, for easter weekend, we're going to some hot springs then spending it in Nairobi, we're going to go to the famous Carnivore restaurant ( the best place to eat in Kenya!) I cannot wait. The weekend after that, we're going to the 4th largest city in Kenya called Nakuru, Mash is going to come with us so that will be good!
And then we're onto free travel, which means only 3 weeks left I cannot believe it, we're all starting to plan exactly what we're going to do on it now because we really want to make the most of it! The plan at the minute is to go to uganda first of all to do white water rafting, bungee jumping, jet boating and quad biking, then to trek kilimanjaro in tanzania, then go chill on the beach in zanzibar, then if we have time I would love to go back to Msambweni and Diani beach but we will see because time is going to go so fast. And then the 3 groups will meet up again for one last time to do the 3 day safari at the end and then it will be home time!! Anyway have to go carry on enjoying myself! Kwaheri!
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