March 19, 2013 4:44pm
I am sitting in the newly built maternity ward with
Chepkurui Lona, an 18 year old girl from my form 3 class at Singorwet Secondary
School. She is about to have her first baby. She is scared and tense so I am
helping to relax her. Her mother and grandmother have accompanied her today.
According to her, she has been in labor for almost 12 hours. I am beginning to
think we may unfortunately have to send her to Tenwek Hospital.
It is only for her own health, however I am happy we now have the facilities to
provide for most births. When I asked her if she was ready to be a mother, she
responded, “I am ready to be a student so my baby can have a better life than
me.” She says that the boy refuses to marry her or help her financially. I told
her a baby isn’t a reason to get married and she said she didn’t want to marry
him anyway, but her grandmother was pressuring her into it.
Update: We ended up having to refer Chepkurui to a hospital
where she got a c-section. She named the baby Chepkosgei, after me. I was so
happy to have been a part of that and to have helped her at least a little. I
can’t wait to go visit the newborn as soon as she can go home.
We are so fortunate in America where you can choose to have
a baby at a hospital and even better have an epidural. Watching someone have a
baby makes me actually less scared of having one myself someday. I love
children so much, which was my motivation for the maternity ward in the first
place. I really want to adopt someday and have a diverse family. I know it
sounds cliché, but with all my hopes and dreams of a career, the only thing I’ve
ever truly wanted was to be a mother and I hope someday, when I’m ready, that will
come true. At least for now I’m enjoying being an auntie to my niece Annemaire
and my nephew Ethan and to all the village babies I get to play with every day.
On another note, today I taught about dental hygiene to the
mothers at the MCH clinic. I recently had a mouth guard made in Nairobi and
they let me keep my teeth plaster so I used it as a model. Due to the generous
grant of Just Faith, I was able to buy 30 tooth brushes to provide to the women
at the clinic. I taught them the importance of good eating for your teeth and
also how to clean them. Most people here do not have any access to dental care,
let alone tooth brushes. They make tooth brushes out of bamboo sticks. Anyway,
I’m hoping that these mothers will go back and teach their children what they
have learned. Kenyans never smile with their teeth, and maybe that can change.
I bought my ticket to Ethiopia! I’ll be going April 2nd
through the 9th with two of my girlfriends. I’m so excited! It will
be my last big trip before I head home. I believe I will hopefully be home
around May 19th so keep your fingers crossed. I’m just waiting for
the go ahead from Peace Corps Washington headquarters and then the money so I
can book the flight. Sangala will be in tow and I’m so excited for you all to
meet him. He is going to love America and I plan on fattening him up.
Finally, a huge thank you to Alain OConnor, Susan Poor, and
Desi Smith whom I have received checks from to sponsor some school girls at
Singorwet Secondary. I have successfully paid off Term 1 and 2 for three of the
girls in my scholarship program and am waiting for a few other promised checks
so I can pay off Term 3. This program has been a huge success, especially the
savings part of the program for the mothers. It has not only continued to
reinforce the importance of education for girls, but also has taught the
mothers financial responsibility. So again, thank you so much for your selfless
donation to these girls futures!
Anyway, the countdown to home begins with about 7 weeks left
in Kenya!
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