Many forms of greetings.

The neighborhood kids keep the area busy. They are always out playing with tires, sticks, or the garbage in the garbage pit- anything can become a toy. I am greeted with a handshake, hug, or scream across the field every time I pass, even if it was just minutes before. “Mzungu! "Ciao! Amanda! Kayla!” These are the most common greetings I receive from the kids as they run toward me. “Mzungu” meaning white person, “ciao” coming from the Italian influences over many years, and the names of previous American volunteers. “No, my name is Emeelee.” Emily is a difficult to say so I hear many variations but I am starting to hear less “Amanda’s” and “Kayla’s” belted in my direction. I have no doubt that the next volunteer will be called Emily for quite some time. After we go over my name I usually add, “not chow, I say hello and goodbye.” A few of the kids are consistently saying “bye-bye” when I see them, but it’s an improvement.

             Outside of the compound I hear a lot of “chow and mzungu!” I am usually just passing so I respond with “ciao” or “habari” and a friendly wave. Watching me run is very entertaining and it never fails that at some point I have a group of kids running with me. I find it very awkward to be followed so I have started to let the kids go first and I follow them. They think it’s hilarious and it allows me to avoid the uncomfortable feeling. Often they last longer than I would expect but eventually drop off one bye one and I am left to run by myself or until the next group comes along. 

            Not everyone enjoys seeing me though. Some of the younger kids are scared and run the opposite direction. I don’t blame them, I would probably be scared of me too if I rarely saw a white person. Most of these kids still don’t come near me but they have stopped crying at the sight of me. So, everyone in and out of the hospital is getting used to having me around, learning my name, “hello” and “goodbye” and even my weird habit of running! 

A bit of information on Kenya!

Kenya, named after Mount Kenya means “Mountain of Whiteness.” It is known as the “Cradle of Mankind” as it is the ethnic homeland of us all. Later Kenya became the home to more than seventy different groups of African migrants, each having its own identity. Today more than eighty “tribal” or “mother” languages are spoken with English the “official” language and Kiswahili the “national” language. Depending on where you are, one two or three of these languages may be spoken.

Of the many tribes in Kenya, the major tribes you would likely encounter include the Maasai, Kikuyu, and Luo.

 Kenya shares boarders with Somalia, Ethiopia, Sudan, Uganda, & Tanzania with the Indian Ocean bounding part of the eastern side. It has great contrast in topography ranging from snowcapped peaks to hills & plateaus and from deserts to beaches. These diverse landscapes separate Kenya into eight different areas. Although the weather may differ from area to area, the climate remains relatively stable all year since Kenya is on the Equator.

Kenya’s population is estimated around 30 million. Twenty-five percent of people live in urban areas concentrated in a few large cities including Nairobi, Mombasa, Eldoret, Kisumu, and Nakuru. Sixty-seven percent of people live in rural areas concentrated in high lands and Western Kenya due to agricultural use of the land leaving the north and east of the country, which is nearly eighty percent of the land containing a small portion (10%) of the population.

Karungu is a village in Migori District, one of twelve districts in Nyanza Province, where the majority of the people are Lou. Nyanza is considered to be the poorest province in Kenya with the second highest HIV prevalence after Nairobi. Today more than 1.5 million Kenyans are infected with HIV.

 Although in Western Kenya, Karungu’s climate is modified due to the altitude (1.145 km or 3,000+ ft about sea level) and the effects of Lake Victoria. Lake Victoria, source of the Nile and 68,870 square kms in size, is the largest lake in Africa and the second largest freshwater lake in the world. The western shores of Lake Victoria, near the boarder of Tanzania houses St. Camillus Mission Hospital, Dala Kiye Center for Orphans, and B.L. Tezza School. … I’ll go into more detail about these later!