Fun and Games in Kenya
People have adopted a solemn tone
when asking me about my Kenya PINCC adventure.
They tend to be surprised when I say, “It was really fun!”
I think they expected “difficult” or “eye-opening” or “inspiring.” But
my first reaction has been “fun” -- and
I’m quick to elaborate.
It was a new experience for
non-medical me to work with a great team of American doctors and nurses,
hearing their stories and watching them teach their African colleagues to
screen for cervical cancer and treat abnormal results. Never before had I
supplied and check all the curious bits and pieces they needed each day in the
examination rooms. I even enjoyed the five-step process of washing speculums.
But best of all were my
interactions with patients: interviewing the English-speaking patients who came
for screening – nearly all for the first time ever – and comforting them during
their exams and treatments. I viewed a few
cervixes, even a frozen one during cryotherapy. I used illustrated charts to
explain to patients about HPV, testing, etc., and I learned the results of the
exams when I entered the data into our computer.
Getting a glimpse of Kenyan
village life, walking down roads and lanes past small homesteads in the early
evenings while attracting a Pied Piper-esque entourage of children, seeing the
local medical staff beam as they received their PINCC certifications to
continue our work – it was all part of the fun.
I spent two evenings speaking to
several groups of schoolchildren in Nyabondo.
Two overflowing classrooms of girls listened enthusiastically as I
talked about my work as a children’s author.
After I read my latest book, Mumbet’s
Declaration of Independence, about an 18th century Massachusetts
slave who won her freedom, they had good comments and questions. And I was mobbed in a most friendly way when
I stood among them for a photo op. The
next evening I gave a similar presentation to a group of ten boys in the
Rehabilitation Centre, a home for disabled young people. These were thrilling
experiences that added to my sense of fun during the two weeks.
And the games: Carol Cruikshank,
our program director, led those most days, culminating in a wild balloon
popping session on our final day. Yes, Kenya with PINCC was eye-opening and
inspiring, and occasionally a bit difficult, but the pure pleasure of the work
surprised and delighted me.
by Gretchen Woelfle
