Guess who? It’s Matt again. Got another email from the SHARE Kenya people, posted below.

By the way, today is Alicia’s birthday.

Monday, December 7, 2009 at 9:30 PM

Dear SHARE Kenya Groupies,

Thanks for your emails – any that you have asked Dr. Ice to share have been forwarded to the respective party. Several people have had birthdays on the trip and (unbeknownst to us) uncles related by marriage were here at the same time! It is good to know that you are thinking of us as we go through this radical experience.

At church on Saturday, a great-grandma who had her knees injected with cortisone at the clinic the day before boogied in the aisle to Kenyan music; her happiness was contagious. The children danced for us as well. We sang Amazing Grace, Silent Night and We Wish You A Merry Christmas. Looking around the building it was easy to see older adults and children represented but the middle-aged were conspicuously absent, many presumably victims of HIV/AIDS. You don’t think too much about what middle-aged people contribute to a community, but they typically work/earn money, provide for and raise children and help care for their parents. They are missed here in many ways.

We miss our team of engineers from Ohio Northern University, who left for home on Saturday. They decided to undertake the tasks of designing a rainwater harvesting system to collect rainwater from the roof of the clinic during the rainy season and store it for use during the dry season, and installing a solar water heater for the clinic. These and other projects could be implemented by a new group of engineering students next year, by the CARE Kenya team or at a later date by our friends John, Tom, Chris, Matt and Nate.

The Masara village people had a party for us on Sunday, with a band and lots of different foods. Again there was dancing and the children were everywhere. We came back sunburned – it is hot here!!!

One of our wonderful pediatricians (Jeff) left for home as planned today on what turned out to be the busiest clinic day yet – we saw close to 400 patients and were at the clinic until almost dark. All of us are tired but pleased with the work we have done. The cow that comes to graze in the clinic compound every day was back again, too – one of the village boys said it was sick but it must be feeling better because it is leaving large patties everywhere that you have to sidestep as you run back and forth trying to care for patients. We also now have water to flush our commodes, which are still holes flush with the ground but they smell pretty good compared to those without water.

Christmas lights are up at the Nakumatt – the Kenyan grocery where we stop to get shillings from the ATM, water, snacks, etc. It was a nice reminder of all the pleasures of the season soon to come at home as we get closer to the end of our second week.

Best from the SHARE Kenya crew