Coffee Anyone? Week 6 Blog

Kilimanjaro from Alex and Lorena's farm

The Super Moon on Full Moon night

My apologies for a late post for week number 6.  You will see that there was and is such a lot going on that there was no way to sit down to write and post.  As it turns out, my knee exercises and treatments take most of my day.  It is getting better and that is the blessing but such a lot of really hard work.  It really makes me cry for a little nap.

My week began with the last 3 of the Saa Moja's (seven o'oclock swimmers)  My instructor Sabini, Sophya, and Eric.  We are a very complementary group and having fun while working hard.  My knee is better I think mostly because of Sabini and my PT Dee Dee.

Sophya, Sabini, and Eric

That night was both the super moon and our planned with dinner with one of our adjunct DGHI professors Abu from Shanghai.  We had a good dinner at 10 to 10 pizza, even though only one of us Frances (our admin. director had pizza!)

John Abu Frances Dorothy Trish

Abu was presenting research that he had been involved with in Shanghai regarding smoking cessation and the huge success they have had with this campaign.  I found Shanghai to be lovely and not nearly as polluted as Beijing, but it was definitely a city of smokers.  So three cheers to Abu's work.  Can we replicate it here at KCMC?  We shall see.  Thanks Abu, and such a charming man. We headed home and I took about 30 pictures of the super moon, as you can see up top.

On Tuesday I headed out with my Dada's group to my Dada Agnes' home.  There we had Agnes to greet us but also her husband my dear friend Baba, and her daughter Yusra who has turned into a stunning and very sweet, smart young woman.  Wow!

Dada's and Baba!

Dafrosa being silly!

We had some very traditional Wednesday Pizza night, Bob, Pastor Tony, and then Greg & Nikoli but wait.. Terrie had just returned  to Moshi from a 6 month stay in the US.  She was repairing their house and going to horse shows it seemed, but fortunately the house is much better, and it is great to have her back. She says going back to African time is a bit of adjustment.  Goodness so busy.  Friday night was play night at International School, and who should be the stars, but our "God child" Nikoli and his good friend Ita.  The play was he "Delicious Death" and it was a Miss Marple adaptation.  Our friends Phil and Sara who run Rafiki foundation's eldest daughter Lydia directed the show in less than 5 weeks.! The whole group was quite good but I of course thought that Nikoli and Ita were terrific.  We sat in possibly the worst chairs in the world in the Gym, all of which made the acoustics and the back and knee comfort tough.  But it was worth it to see how far in theatre Nikoli has come, and to mention how tall. But, on to Saturday!

Trish giving presentation about Mother to Child HIV Transmission

Trish and Yusra at Social Work Meeting

Saturday was the all day Regional Social Workers meeting.  I was delighted to be asked to give a presentation on the PMTCT cascade and the "leaky PMTCT cascade" It was well received even though a great deal of the the time of the meeting involved fees and social workers not paying their membership fees. I was driven home by Agnes daughter Yusra and we had a chance to talk together about her hopes for the future.  She loves Math!!! Can you imagine. I think she has a great future ahead of her!

Finally Sunday and the hash.  Coffee anyone?  It was located on a farm in the upper part of Kibosho and the farm is run by Alexandro and his wife Lorena.  They are both originally from Columbia where coffee is a huge business as well. They have two sons who go to ISM even tough it is a 30 minute drive to town.  But the beauty of the farm and the delicious coffee they grow is worth it.

Levi John and Lorena arguing over end and beginning of hash

The hash had its issues, for though John, Levi and Lorena set it carefully with lots of flour, some children must have been watching and made all sorts of false trails with bits of the carefully laid flour, so everyone got off a bit and some even a bit lost.  It was crazy.  But everyone was back in before dark...altogether good fun.

When they were back, I explored the coffee and the house with my camera.

Alex and Lorena house

Some favorite flowers though I don't know their names

beautiful falling geraniums around the house

coffee beans close

Do you know that as high up as this farm is in Kibosho, it takes 32 days from flower to bean, and then another maybe 2 weeks before red and then just a short time to pick.  Down lower the beans come much quicker.

Flowers and hash flour

landscape with coffee mimosa & Acacia trees and flour for the hash

coffee flowers

coffee flowers up close

Funny black bird fluffing like crazy  S/he had a nice call

And after the hash we drink beer and catch up.  I took pictures of an amused Leonard (who was a hare) and one of the local lawyers who usually walks with me.

Amused Leonard--who is a manager on the farm & was quite amused by all the shenanigans of the group

Handsome Ralph who has a wonderful family home in Uwo & is a lawyer

I miss run/walking with Ralph.  He was a constant buddy.  I hope so much I can do it again

The last of the weekend photos are around our house back in Moshi at our beloved #A-5

Rangoon Creeper and Mangos

Cannot keep that creeper out, but it is sooo wonderful beautiful & smelly!

Mentored Research Symposium & Nairobi

Mama Charles & Me

This week has been busy. It started with a bang with the MEPI Mentored Research Project Symposium, which lasted for two days, including one day during the National Nyerere Day holiday.  Despite this holiday the auditorium was full every day, and the students were thrilled about the results and the information presented.

Mentors and Mentees fill the auditorium

Dr. Mtweve and her students after the successful symposium

The MEPI staff had worked very hard for this symposium, preparations assisting students with a variety of crises; thus at the end of the first day, John and I took the group out for Nyama Choma (barbecue) at our favorite restaurant, Mkulima.

The best food

We made a valiant attempt to leave the following day for Nairobi, but in this circumstance the plane left us behind.  We arrived at the airport 50 minutes prior to the flight but were told that the "gate" had closed and low and behold, the plane left 40 minutes early.  Our reservation (and paid ticket) was resold and off they went.  It was pretty horrifying, we were exhausted, and John had a whole stretch of meetings the following day.  But nothing to be done.  We managed to rebook the ticket.  This in itself was a feat because the agent totally changed the flights including our reservation for our Johannesburg flight.  If John had not been careful, we would never have been able to complete our trip.  It was a huge surprise to Rose, Pauli and Lucy that we arrived home at 8:45 pm to head for bed and start over the next day.  Our surprise arrival reinforced our gratitude for our "family" in Moshi who had secured our gate, double locked our doors and came over to make sure that it was really John, Charles and me that had returned for the night.

But the next day, we headed out again and this time arrived in Nairobi to start our week of meetings.  We stayed in a very fancy hotel, the Panari which has an ice skating rink-- the only one in East/Southern Africa.  Goodness!

After settling in our hotel, we quickly set off for an evening with Charles' mother.  It was an adventure in itself.  Traffic was at a peak, and it took 1 1/2 hours to get to her house.  This very sweet and sharp lady by herself raises over 70 chickens, about 20 rabbits, uses every available space for fruit and vegetable gardens and even negotiates with neighbors to use small spots of land around their houses to grow beans and corn.  She had cooked a delicious dinner for us, and completely by accident we ran into Charles' brother-in-law and brought him back to dinner with us.

Mama Charles with her two boys

Charles serving John special "Kikuyu" food

Friday we left at the crack of dawn for a meeting a Kenyatta University, where each one of us talked to the team of Dean of Medicine and many of the department chairs.  It was indeed impressive.  They are building a huge infrastructure of a new school of medicine, a giant hospital, a nursing school, research laboratories.  The school was incredible, and it seemed that we developed a very good rapport with the folks that we met there.

Charles in front of the Administration Building Kenyatta University

Trish and John with Jomo Kenyatta statue

sign in front of the KU

The Library at KU

Love this- Institute of Peace and Security Studies at KU

The new campus being built

Our tour of the new campus

This will be the new Hospital

 After our tour of the new Medical School and Hospital, we drove to the African Population and Health Research Center where we met with a group of energetic young people who have established an amazing organization designed to mentor young African PHD candidates--to help them publish, and to learn proper mechanisms for research, public speaking--generally to bring young African Scholars to the highest levels.  We were completely inspired by this group.  They left us practically speechless.

 

John very excited about the group

A very exciting group (I am one lucky mama)

We moved quickly from the Research Center we headed on to the Aga Khan Medical Center.  We drove through a lovely part of Nairobi where clearly the wealthier people live, and sadly also passed by the Westgate shopping center (home of the big bomb blow up last year).

Westgate-you can still see bullet holes

beautiful villas in this area

We had a great meeting with the Aga Khan Medical staff.  John gave a presentation about MEPI to the staff, and we had a great dinner in the pouring rain before driving back to the hotel.  For a 20 minute drive, it took us an 1hr and 40 minutes.  It was painful.  We were up again at 4am, to leave for our flight to Capetown.  Wow, absolutely incredible.

Big Soccer Stadium

On to Capetown!