Hello. This has probably been the single most craziest week of my life. I now live in Kisumu. The inside of my little house is painted mostly in aqua. I like it. Should I change my blog name? ha.
It is actually a good little house. I live there with a plethora of bugs large and small. And for the most part.. I have taken the Buddhist philosophy of live and let live. Sometimes though.. especially when the line of ants extend across an entire room I take to the lot with bug spray. Fortunately only the very smallest creatures can sleep with me, as they are the only ones who can get through the net. The disadvantage of reading in bed with a head lamp is that all these tiny little winged creatures then choose to fly around your face and it is very distracting even when Nigel Slater is doing a marvellous job of describing his mother's terrible cooking in "Toast."
The house has two bedrooms, a kitchen, a loo, a concrete cell of a shower room, an antechamber (is that what you call those entry hall rooms - I like this one tremendously for no particularly good reason, but I envision it filled with plants.. on my to do list), and a living room. There is a tap and a kitchen sink, but they are not attached to a water source as yet. Nor is the toilet. But it sits there. Fortunately some (prophetic?) soul explained to me the strategy for a good bucket shower and seeing as it is so fucking hot here.. one electric kettle full of boiling water actually takes care of a pretty comfy shower. I do have electricity. And I bought a single hotplate which I may eventually replace with a gas double cook top. Right now I only have the basics.
Actually the shopping trip I took yesterday in itself was an adventure. I have two male colleagues Silas and Gordon, both very enthusiastic about my joining the team. Gordon is set to retire in August, Silas still has five years. Silas is very very worried about me. His advice just freaks me out, rather than assures me. He wants me accompanied at all times which would be rather stifling and according to everyone else entirely unnecessary.
Anyway, Gordon and Silas poor souls were given the task of taking me to kit out my house. My house has NOTHING in it. I take that back.. it has a sofa, four chairs, a massive table, some small tables/stools and a bed. Not a mattress though I discovered far to late last night.. only a bed. Oh and a water filer without the filter candles (nice one.)So Silas and Gordon stood and suggested things while I randomly chose items and then they tried to figure out why the hell I had picked that item, that brand, that whatever. And much later asked me about my selections. Example: Silas "Bea, you have three forks, but only one bowl." I wanted to give him a common sense answer but I just didn't have one. It was random. Choices were based on absolutely nothing. My mind was far too foggy. But my coworkers had a car, so I knew I had to pick and pick fast. They are very very nice.
My boss.. the coordinator Veronica (who is unfortunately retiring in April) is also very nice. She lives very close to the compound I am in. Gordon and Silas live in the hills which is even further from town, but apparently less hot. The job I have been entrusted with is pretty amazing. Logistically amazing.
Here it is in a nutshell (what I have been able to take in so far):
In late February I am to train 30 trainers of teachers or ToT's (like Gordon and Silas) in Nairobi. There will be three from each of my 10 districts. This 5 day training will be speech therapy 101. Each of these ToT's will go back to their district and in 2-3 days replicate my workshop to train 20 or so teachers. I will attend these trainings and observe and provide feedback. The potential impact on children therefore is pretty impressive.
In terms of districts let me use Kisumu as an example.. they have 60,000 primary school children, 15,000 early childhood children and 25,000 secondary schoolers. The Kisumu Educational Assessment Resource Center (EARC) works with 57 schools/units/subcenters that have children with special needs. The push in Kenya is for full inclusion, though at Joylands (School for Physical disabilities) where we are based 2 of the 11 rooms are special education only. 1 specifically for cerebral palsy.
The project I am funded under has many strands of which speech and language is only 1. There apparently is an autism therapist who has a similar job but is based at a site south east of Nairobi. The data and evaluation materials/component in place is staggering.
In addition to training teachers I will also train community based resource staff who are parents and volunteers who work in the communities. I am less clear on this portion, because the February training is taking precedent. And I must say.. I am not starting from scratch. A past VSO.. Mombasa based SLP actually did a similar training and hopefully the document is still in electronic form. By mid year the training manual a combination of my and her presentations will be submitted for publication.
So.. busy.
I am not overwhelmed. Well maybe I am. Stunned is a better word for my current state. And I don't know if I can find my house again. Silas was pointing out landmarks ("like you do for the blind" he said). Something about a transformer in the street. Hopefully I will get close enough and recognize the compound's aqua gate.
Must run. please please please write to me. hot and sticky love. b
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