Blogs from Nairobi, Nairobi Province, Kenya, Africa - page 22

April 27th I woke up in the early morning, about 6am and looked outside to attempt to comprehend that I was in Africa. We had to get up early to beat the traffic, and we had planned to get on the bus by about 8am. Well plans changed and Victor and I didn’t end up getting out of the house until about 9:30am. Since the traffic would be in full flow by then we decided to take the next rational step, to get on the dirtbike/motorcycle taxis and weave through traffic to get to Nairobi city central. It was a crazy experience, and I was very apprehensive at first, especially when I had to have my full pack on behind the driver. Probably not the safest ideas, but it really had to be done. You can ... read more

Another continent, another culture. Its amazing how differently people in all countries develop. In Kenyan culture, I see little aspects of Asian influence and lots from the time the British were here (my least favourite being that I come close to getting hit by cars every time I cross the street cuz I'm still not used to looking right first!!) As well as a whole new culture I’ve never experienced before. As a result, I was prepared for some and shocked by the rest of what I live here everyday. And on top of it, living here, rather than just traveling through gives me a whole different perspective on the people and the way of life than I usually get. The more I see of this world, the more I realize that we in western countries ... read more

Ecstatic Elephants & Horny Rhinos Like a mystical revelation of sorts, a dreamland where things are real and others phantasmal, there was relief. It had been three days of torment—physical, mental, and hardly spiritual—traveling overland atop a lorry truck from Ethiopia to Nairobi. Three days of early mornings, tortuous afternoons, and sultry nights underneath holey mosquito nets. Lily and I approached the Westland suburb of Nairobi, dazed by time and filth. As we arrived in taxi, the avenues grew emerald, denser with thick brush and high boughs. Trees were lush. They harbored blossoms of radiant oranges and opulent reds. It was as if we were driving down a boardwalk in Savannah, Georgia; huge homes covered in gray shade, ungodly in comparison to the neighboring slums. We continued and drove into the heart of gated properties, lavish ... read more

Arrived into Nairobi for three nights and stayed at Kikuyu Lodge on the outskirts of Nairobi (apparently Nairobi city centre doesn't have much going for it and can be dangerous at night). The lodge is run by an English guy (Trevor) and his Kenyan son (Geoff) and his cousin (Catherine). Trevor was an interesting guy as he used to fly planes for the UN food programme in Sudan and then set up Rwanda airways with planes he had bought from the British military, so you can guess the type of stories he had to share! The lodge was a great way to start as I was the only guest at the lodge and so ate with the family and watched TV / had a few beers with them. I was also taken out by Geoff on ... read more

My work From February of 2009 to February of 2010 I worked for MSF France Kenya at a clinic called Blue House. It is located in the Mathare slums of Nairobi where possibly as many as 250,000 - 500,000 people live in an area of a few square miles (tens of square kilometers). As you might imagine and by looking at the photos, living conditions are exceedingly difficult. Housing is very crowded and there is no running water (people purchase water 20 liters - 5 gallons - at a time and carry it home). Sanitation is found in communal toilets for those with money to pay (1 toilet for every 400 people), or families walk to the top of the hill above the slum and squat (so you can imagine what’s in the runoff from the ... read more