I took the kids to the eye clinic in Nakuru

Habari!

Today I took the kids to the eye clinic in Nakuru. When we went to the doctor in Molo he told me to take two of them to the eye clinic. Erick and Joseph. This time I'm also taking Babu (I didn't take him the first time because his eyes look fine but I realized that he struggles a lot to know what's written on the blackboard so I think that he must need glasses.

I'm not worried about Erick, he doesn't look that bad either. He says that his eyes are soar sometimes but not itchy so the doctor in Molo told me to take him to Nakuru too just in case and because he doesn't know what's wrong with him.

We went to Nakuru then and it was a looong and tiring day.

We got to Nakuru around 9:30 am and in the hospital we took a while to find the eye department... We waited there for a while. They made the three kids read those letters on a board that go smaller every line. I realized that the three of them had problems to read the small ones but Joseph couldn't even read the second line...

Then the doctor visited them and he said that Babu and Erick must need glasses but they have to come back next month for the results. When they saw Joseph... they were more worried.

They tried to check his eyes with a machine but they said that the infection he has is so sever that the machine couldn't read them. So he has to use two different kind of drops to clear the infection first and next month we go back with him again. The doctor say he has no trachoma but he has a very bad infection that started with an allergy and if it doesn't get treated he can go blind.

I went to the pharmacy to buy the drops and I understand why his family can't pay the treatment... I paid 850 ksh (8 euros) and that's extremely expensive for a Kenyan! His family can't afford it!

Anyway, we'll go to the doctor next month. Let's see what they say...

We went to have lunch and we went to one of these restaurants that they call "hotel". I ordered chicken for everyone. Lucy told me that those kids very rarely eat chicken. They were very happy, Erick nearly ate the bones! I also bought them ice-cream, they deserved it as they did so well in the doctor!

And that's all. Now we have to wait until next month. It's unbelievable how some things are so expensive here. Robert, Lucy's cousin, just finished his secondary school and he passed his exams with a grade that allows him to go to college or university. He wants to study nursing. Well, the public nursing college in Kenya costs around 60.000 ksh per semestre! (1200 euros per year!!!). He really wants to study this and he is a very good boy but his mother doesn't even know how she's going to pay for it. That's a lot of money! The salaries here are very low. A teacher earns around 4000 ksh a month (40 euros...), how a person with that salary can pay a college or a university!!! As Lucy told me just the wealthy ones can afford it and they are the ones that go to college or university and then you can have a very bright kid that comes from a poor family that really wants to study but he can't because it's impossible for him or his family to pay the fees. It's so unfair!!!

I'm staying this week at Mary's (Lucy's mum). She wanted me to spend one week with her and Elizabeth (Robert's mum). They are so nice. They are feeding me a lot. I tell them that they want to eat me at the end of my three months because I'm actually putting on weight! I eat a lot of potatoes and I'm not used to eat that many potatoes... I hope I will fit in the dress I already have for the wedding I have in May...

Oh, as you saw on the previous blog... the website for the centre is live! It was launched last week and we are all sooooo happy! Daniel (another American volunteer that was here last summer) did a great job. Check it out please: www.chazonafrica.org

There are still few things to work in but it's nearly done! Click on " Volunteer" :)

I'm going to Nairobi on Sunday as my friend Pili is coming!!!! She'll stay 4 days in Molo and then we'll go to explore the country! Then on the 4th I'll go back to work in Molo or maybe I'll go to another orphanage for two weeks in Nakuru and then I'll go back to Molo.

Well, enough for today. Hope you are all fine! Half of my time here is gone... time flies!