Mom in Mbakalo

Cindy’s time with me in SVH-Mbakalo went way beyond eating ugali and answering a chorus of “How are YOU?”s every time we left the house. She did these things, and she did them well, but I think her experience working with the SOTENI Dispensary staff on various projects, and sharing in a bit of Luhya culture far exceeded anyone’s expectations, including my own.

Naturally, everyone was thrilled to meet her and all of my friends in Mbakalo gave my mom a warm Kenyan welcome from the beginning. She had come with a large duffle bag full of donations including sanitation supplies for the dispensary and stationary for the staff. Simon and Mttaki received these donations very graciously, and were also grateful when after spending hours organizing patient cards with Victor and me, Mom offered to fund another box to keep them neat and orderly.

Mom, getting blood work done by Isaac (she needs to get her blood sugar a bit lower...)

Cindy also had the opportunity to be a part of Mama Anne’s household, which has become my own home, and see what my life has been like for the last few weeks. We enjoyed watching Anne form the many chapos amidst smoke in the kitchen hut, and then savored each bite while recounting the stories of the day at dinner with Anne and her husband. My mom loved Anne’s wit and irreverence, and was impressed by her life’s accomplishments. We also took a fabulous pikipiki ride from the Mbakalo slums to the mansion of the former MP and saw shambas, mud huts, skinny cows, and squealing children along the way. One of the best parts of having my mom with me in Mbakalo was probably taking our bucket showers by full moonlight under the jacaranda tree in the backyard, and sleeping cozily under my mosquito net, always by 9:30 pm.

Cindy on the pikipiki!

Cindy and Kelly while on the pikipiki

I think the highlight for both of us, however, was the magical game of football that erupted on the front lawn of the dispensary one afternoon before we left.

My good friend and former SOTENI intern Mike had asked me to follow up on a SOTENI football team, an idea Victor had had back when Mike was still in Mbakalo. When I went to Nairobi to get Cindy, Randie supplied me with uniforms and a pump so that when we got back to Mbakalo we were able to present Victor with the accoutrements of the team. Finally, when the patient cards were complete and only a few hours remained of our final afternoon at the dispensary, we decided we needed a break from work and patient cards, and it was time to play football.

Mom & Victor, getting things started.

As Cindy and Victor warmed up (in uniform) outside, I rounded up the rest of the crew and pretty soon, nearly a dozen people were pouring out of the building, donning the blue and black jerseys. We had our Chairman Mttaki (retired, with adult children, but superb with headers), Jane cook-cleaner-and-sanitation-expert of the dispensary (extremely shy but also a tenacious and fearless goalkeeper, who knew!), Simon, Isaac, Dennis, Catherine, Paul, Victor, Mom, and me. We divided into two teams and spent the next glorious hour dodging trees and shrubbery, occasionally trash-talking, laughing, and eventually ending in a rain-soaked draw; 4-4.

Mttaki getting us into teams.

My team! Dennis, Jane, Mttaki, Me, Issac, and referee Japheth.

Mom's Team. Catherine, Mom, Paul, Japheth, Simon, Victor.

The footballers, sisi sote pamoja.

Anyone who has played sports while abroad knows there is nothing like it to bring people together, to reduce them to the most simple and happy versions of themselves, and to create bonds which are rare and enduring. That afternoon, we were all completely content. We were breathless, sore, and muddy and I cannot think of a better way for my mom to experience the warmth and optimism of Kenya.

Isaac, Japheth, Simon & Mttaki during the farewell speeches.
A good tree bears good fruit...

Mom, me, Dennis at Mom's farewell party