Homa Bay

09/09/05

This morning I woke up with the sun to accompany Robert on his bi-monthly trek to Homa Bay to pick up his ART meds from MSF (Medicins Sans Frontiers, AKA Doctors Without Borders.) It's a long ride, and expensive (relative to local salaries) and I can see how that distance (the only other place to get ART meds is Migori, equally far) would make adherence a problem for some PLWHAs. What if you don't have 300/= today? How do you go get your meds?

MSF has very nice new facilities adjoining the decrepit Homa Bay District Hospital, and sees about 100 people a day (which leads me to believe, accounting for the two week cycle, that they have around 1400 people in their ART program here.) We were one of the first to arrive, and there was a steady stream of people after us. You turn in your card and wait for your number (not name) to be called. First you go to the nurse's station where you are weighed and your blood is taken (if need be.) Then you wait. Your number is called again and you see the doctor, who does a basic physical and asks if you have any new problems. Then you wait. Then you called in to receive your drugs. It seems like a very good program, they were thorough but efficient. And from what I've heard it's far better than anything available from the district hospitals. The Director of this branch let me film Robert's process. As I put the camera away after filming getting his blood taken, I just about ran over this little boy, maybe 7 or 8 years old, whom the nurse was weighing. I would have been sad at seeing this young kid, obviously HIV+, except for the huge goofy grin he was wearing. \"Mzungo!" I gave him the 'hang loose' and he gave me the 'thumbs up.' I winked and he winked back. We all laughed, even the nurse. High fives on the way out. The kids here are amazing, so well behaved. You never hear them crying or whining or complaining like the kids back home, even though there is so much more to cry about.

Just welcomed in the Sabbath again with the fam. Susan and Steven are back at school, so its just Mama, Daniel, Kaleb and Tina. We sang songs in Luo. I'm getting the hang of it.

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