Mikinduri Children of Hope

Written by Phil Handrahan, a member of the Mikinduri Children of Hope Tour Group, November 2006

Today we have loaded the vans and are on our way to Sweetwaters. The lack of infrastructure (power, internet, well everything) has made it impossible to communicate back to you at home. Hopefully this will be emailed later today.
 
Pleased to report that all remain safe and healthy and our mission has been a very rewarding experience, but not without very interesting challenges. We are all looking forward to Sweetwaters as the last couple of days have been very long and demanding. The timing of having a chance to layback and rest for a day or two is very much needed.
 
Weather continues to complicate our mission. For the most part you can count on heavy rain (Emphasize again!) at night and periodic showers throughout the day. In between it has been sunny and hot. The roads in Mikinduri area are generally compacted topsoil, which I expect are at best ok during hot dry weather, but during or after heavy rain travel on the roads has been an incredible challenge. The mudfest has continued, so we have spent considerable time traveling, and pushing our vans out of the ditch, arriving muddy and trying to catch up on our schedule.
 
We have held three clinics to date, and we have seen hundreds of people in the medical clinic and the vision clinic. Many people have left the vision clinic extremely happy and appreciative of our efforts. All are provided a pair of glasses, a hat and/or sunglasses. It’s been very satisfying to us to see the numerous smiling faces. The medical clinic has seen numerous people as well and everyone wants to see the “white doctor”. The vast majority are very healthy but they make up the majority of those lined up. Each day we stopped at sundown, approx 6 pm and unfortunately many people still remained outside waiting and hoping to get inside the clinic. Last night things seemed to get a bit rough outside in the line up as people kept jockeying in the lineup hoping they might get inside. We tried passing out the hats to those that did not get in but people became very unruly. It was unfortunate however when you wait several hours waiting in the sun to get inside the clinic, then the doors close and you know the white people may not be back for a long time…perhaps your behaviour becomes desperate
 
With the heavy rain, we lost the power at Mikinduri Hilton so the candles were out creating a rather ambient atmosphere…ya right. The good news is that Mr. Ted was still able to pour the rum without spilling any. He only had one drink. Speaking of the Hilton, showers have proved to be an experience that is different every time it works, at least for those that have been inclined. Sometimes lots of water and warm water, sometimes only cold water, and sometimes nothing…the town apparently rotates the water being shut off in various sections of the town. The Water Manager must not have gotten thru the lineup into our clinic. Safe to say again though that the group has jelled and all are very helpful to one another…. I had Greg fetch some water for me when I was stuck in the shower all “suds up” and not a drip. Thanks Greg.
 
The toilet facilities provide two options, both requiring a free standing squatting action. Perhaps I will leave this to each participant to provide details at a later date.
 
Yesterday we officially opened the Marega well, first of eleven wells. This was recently constructed and became operational this past week. The level of excitement was incredible. After seeing what the people of Mikinduri have to endure to obtain water let alone the condition of the water they drink, I think all of us have a much better appreciation for quality water. To witness first hand the fresh clean water being pumped out of this water well was very satisfying and a true indicator of the benefits provided from the efforts of MCOH.
 
In addition to the clinics, we have had various meetings with the Community Development Committees. Volunteerism is not something that comes naturally for those in Mikinduri, however it is evident MCOH is making progress in this area. I believe we owe a lot of credit to our consultant Silvanos as well. We are very fortunate to have someone as capable as Silvanos working with the people in Mikinduri and guiding our projects. Silvanos has been rooming with Mr. Ted for the past week so by the time we leave, I think we will have “Americanized” Silvanos.
 
We have also toured various school facilities and been hosted by many of the students and teaching staff. It is no surprise to their facilities are sadly lacking. Several meetings with the youth have occurred as well and the students have a strong desire to pursue their education. Unfortunately many are removed from school throughout the year, as their fees have not been paid up.
 
We arrived at Meru around 1 pm (three hours to travel 20 kilometers) after having a farm tractor tow us thru the muddy roads in various areas, until we finally reached a paved road. Unfortunately the four Internet cafes we went to were closed…so the morning report will be delayed. This report is certainly different than The Guardian with regard to meeting deadlines. Mary MacKay left Mikinduri yesterday and travelled to Meru so that her report could be filed. We picked her today at Meru and we are now off to Sweetwaters…. ahh.

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