This time for Africa!

and we're back!
Sorry it's been so long, things have been crazy here on the mountain/I've been lazy.

This past month has been jam packed with everything from the Peace marathon in Kigali to the World Cup! The dry season has begun here and the weather is perfect! There's a constant cool breeze and the temperature is in the mid 70s. Of course the lack of rain has the potential to pose some problems for watering plants and vegetables, hopefully the rates of malnutrition (currently about 40-50% of our population) will not increase.


I will try to make this blog concise with only the highlights.

KIGALI PEACE MARATHON

meet Peter IT

Have you ever had the opportunity to live someone's dream with them?
Peter IT, IT manager for the clinic, has always dreamt about being an athlete. Ever since Highschool he has wanted to run but being a professional runner was not really an option. He took a more conventional path going to seminary school then getting an IT degree from University of Burundi. Here in Kigutu he would always run through the mountains and exercise giving him the zest he craves. Someone learned about this marathon and Peter was immediately interested! Helen, a nurse who volunteered here a few months back, was incredibly generous and funded Peter's trip. Basically, she allowed him to live his dream. Now 32, Peter IT finally got the opportunity to do what he has longed to do ever since he was a child! We arrived in Kigali and you could feel his spirit and energy radiating as we embarked on the journey to Kigali, Rwanda. Supporting Peter as he lived his dream brought a sparkle to my heart and made me more grateful to have him as a friend!

We arrived in Kigali to register and when asked where we lived Will and I said Burundi. We were informed that African citizens run for free and because we lived in Burundi we therefore did not have to pay the 35 Euro entrance fee. We explained that we really weren't Burundian citizens, but the man didn't care meaning- WE RAN FOR FREE!! (unfortunately Will had an eye infection and felt it best not to run so he in turn became "the mom" complete with a mom bag, inspiration, and snacks.

Peter Ran the whole 42km (26.2mile) marathon! An injured butt, aching hips, and far-less-than-perfect shoes impaired his stamina but he still thrived! I was convinced by Will, the VHW agriculture specialist, to run the marathon. I knew there was no way to run a whole marathon so I agreed to do a 1/2. This was the plan until arriving at Kigali, meeting up with some friends, and realizing, "shit, 13.1 miles is really far and it's REALLY hot, let's just do the relay."

The 4 of us (Julie, Matt, Amy, & Me) each ran 10.5km under the team acronym BAMJ or Bad (Brad) Ass (Amy) Muzungu (Matt) Jamboree (Julie). Obviously we're "Bad Ass" because we were running a marathon (my first), Muzungu is "white person", and Jamboree is a party- that basically defines us!

The competition was fierce! Many varieties of athletes were present including men running in small white underwear, children running barefoot with their shoes on their hands, people running with lollipops, people running in sweat suits in 90+ degree weather.

Competitors included:
"Spiderman"- he told us these wings were "spiderman." Amy and I agreed that they looked like Lady Bug wings but if he wants them to be spiderman then I'll support!


The "Old Man"- he ran the whole race and beat us...enough said.


There was discussion of team uniforms so Amy & I took a stroll around Kigali in search of the perfect uniforms for the team... We found this outfit but the price was definitely "Igichiro chu Muzungu" (white person price).


Even without matching uniforms we Stretched and Prepared our Bodies, Minds, & Spirits for the Challenge!


.....


There was all this "hype" about the Kenyans... People from Burundi and the USA were very adamant about my inability to beat the Kenyans, apparently "the best runners in the world." Well everyone I'm here to prove you wrong!

(note the Kenyan BEHIND me) (also note Will's mom bag)


Race Highlights included me running and Rwandese children deciding to join. At the peak, 10 children were running the race with me! A police officer did not like this and pulled the children away from me despite my efforts in broken Kinyarwanda to allow them to stay (2 children persevered and stayed with me).

In this photo we have Will and his Mom bag, the 2 'escapees', Me, and Amy on her phone- we took the race VERY seriously...


The BAMJ finished the RACE and got a MEDAL (for participation) but a medal nonetheless.

Peter finished the RACE & got a Medal as well, which he wore all night!!

That was the KIGALI PEACE MARATHON!

Another fun fact is that we stayed with our friend Julie who works with Gardens for Health, a great organization working towards sustainable agriculture. She lives in a big house in Kigali that is formerly known as "Hotel Exotica." An ex-brothel, this lavish estate is complete with numbered bedrooms and plenty of open floor space for dancing and... I will return to Hotel Exotica with Jay when we begin our Rwandan adventure!

Clinic News

We received A LOT of supplies and food from UNICEF, World Food Program, & World Vision. We had to rent a truck to deliver all the supplies from Bujumbura to Kigutu... It's wonderful to have so much support (but don't be fooled, there is still a lot more work to be done).

Gorilla. Spear. Scrotum
We currently have a patient- 32 year old male, who was severely injured. He noticed a gorilla eating his beans so he grabbed his spear and ran after the gorilla. While he was running he tripped and the spear went through his scrotum and out his back. Writhing in pain villagers came out to see about the commotion. They pushed the spear out but no one thought to control the bleeding. A friend took him about 1 hour away to a clinic where the staff refused to see him because they were certain he was going to die. His friend and he proceeded to ride public transportation (a 15 passenger mini-bus) to Bujumbura (2 hours away) still bleeding. Their arrival in Bujumbura brought 2 failed attempts to get care. At the first hospital they found no physician because well, it was a weekend, but they found a nurse who bandaged the wounds. The next hospital they again found no physician but there was an X-ray tech who took an X-ray. The duo decided to take another 2 hour trip via public transport BACK to the mountains to our clinic (45minutes from where the man lives). Even though it was a weekend, we still cared for him. Astonishingly, no organs were damaged and he was alive! He is now receiving wound care once a day and doing extremely well. I'm convinced that this man is destined to do great things, something kept him alive...

What goes in: (scrotum)


Must come out: (back)


Another Burn
In February you met Clovis, a 4 year old boy that fell into a pot of boiling water. On Friday, June 11th Joseph was brought to the clinic after falling into fire. His whole left leg is a third degree burn.

We learned that the burn actually happened 1 week ago but the family decided to try to heal it using traditional medicine first. Because they waited so long he began to develop infection and have many other complications such as electrolyte imbalances and fluid shifting causing edema (swelling) throughout his face and body, and the muscles in his leg basically 'locking up' from disuse.

Twice a day I (along with a team member) do burn care on this little guy. He is in agony and I completely empathize as I was severely burned with boiling water when I was 11 yrs old. He is doing better Buke Buke (little by little) and we'll see how his recovery turns out.

I try to make life as good as possible with an iPod, a book, and a finger puppet given by my dear friend Genya (he doesn't take it off his finger, it's like his security blanket).


Cooking on the open fire inside the small house poses a plethora of possible injuries and illnesses including burns and respiratory complications. It's a huge problem that we must address...

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USA & World Food Program work together (along with other countries)
to provide emergency food to those who need it most.


WORLD CUP
Everyday literally hundreds of people gather in the community center to watch the World Cup matches. Men, Women :) and children all sit around and watch! They CHEER when good things happen and do the "Burundian tongue click" (created by tapping your tongue against the roof of your mouth) when things go bad. For most they don't care which team wins they just love the excitement and energy, which is really refreshing. It's also the first time for most of them to watch or even know about T.V.
There's something special about watching the first African World Cup in Africa....
(can you find the muzungu?)

Updates:

-Jay arrives to Burundi in 6 days and we will begin our 2 month camping/backpacking/exploring adventure through Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda, & Kenya.
I'm SUPER EXCITED!

-Many people have been asking about "Life in Burundi" I will post another blog with pictures of Bujumbura (the capital city) and Kigutu (the clinic).

-Also I'm going to have to make a separate "Cute Kids" blog because there were waaay too many this month to add to this blog...

-This is currently the theme song throughout Kigutu...literally, I walk through town and people are humming & singing it. "WAKA WAKA" theme song for the World Cup. We are in the process of making a music video with people in the community dancing to this song! Stay Tuned


Cultivate Peace.
*Brad