Wednesday, January 16, 2013

HIV/AIDS, Play School, Peanut Butter, and Presidents

On Tuesday, we went to Kasavai early in the morning to have one last meeting with Connie and Chris before they went off for the day to take care of other matters.  They leave for Nairobi on Wednesday. 

Some good news is that the children, grandchildren, etc. of the Watafatuji have now all (?) been tested for HIV and they know their status.  Bad news is that two of them tested positive.   These two are a son and a daughter of the two widows who died in 2012.  Both are high school students who probably contracted the disease from their mothers at birth.  They will begin treatment as necessary and be funded by CLOUT Cares for their monthly transportation to and from the clinic as their mothers were.  More bad news is that three more of the widows have tested positive for HIV will need monthly evaluation, counseling and treatment.

Now, on a brighter note, the play school that Sandy worked so hard to establish last year is running smoothly and appears to be a success.  This is largely, even primarily, due to the dedication of the teacher, Rose Bulemi, one of the Watafutaji widows.  She shared the job originally with Alice Ingosi, a CLOUT funded 2010 high school graduate, but Alice has found another path in life and has joined a convent.  My hat is off to Rose and to Sandy!

Rose meets with the children, ages 2-4, every morning for 3 to 5 hours.  The children play on a linoleum mat on the floor under Rose’s guidance using the hundreds of small toys and books we have supplied over the last few years.   But, the floor mat is shot.  We just returned from the store (10 AM) to get a new one before heading off to the village in a few minutes.

 

We have decided that CLOUT Cares will supply a snack of a peanut butter sandwich each day for at least the next year for those children who attend the play school.  And now that clean, potable drinking water is always available at the office/school/etc., the kids should be prepared to learn even more.  Poverty sucks but peanut butter and clean water will help. 

We are also trying to find an assistant for Rose.  We have identified a high school graduate who is the daughter of one of the widows who died last year.  We hope she will accept the offer.  Rose stays much too long waiting for guardians to pick up their kids after school and she does not have time to tend to her personal needs.  Today, instruction/play ended at 12 and the last guardians came to pick up their children at 2:30.  Time is not the same here as it is at home – people do not value other people’s time. 

And what’s this about the President?  Presidents in Kenya are well paid and ex-Presidents are too.  Today, the Standard reported that the House just voted for a going away package for Kibaki, the current President.  His second term ends in March when the new President is elected.  Included in the going away package are (divide by 85 for dollars):

·         16.8 million shillings (KSH) lump sum

·         560,000 KSH pension per month for life

·         Body guards of an unspecified number

·         161,000 KSH per month housing allowance (down from 300,000 for the last outgoing President)

·         Four cars, replaced every three years

·         Full family medical care, local and overseas (for life?)

·         International travel allowance for up to four trips per year

·         Spouse gets 280,000 KSH per month  after ex-President dies (50% of pension)

·         A retinue of housekeepers, secretaries, messengers, cooks, and gardeners

·         Entertainment allowance of 105,000 KSH (down from 200,000 KSH)

I have decided that this sounds good for all former Presidents of anything.  So, if you were class President in high school or President of the Rotary club, start lobbying for just and equal treatment now. Or if you are now a President, quit.

And, I guess just for fun, Sandy chased a marabou stork today (Sandy's the pink one).