PROJECT KAKUTA This project, has been in the works for approximately 2 years. It is a documentary on the Merrueshi Maasai clan in the Kajiado District in Kenya.I finally found a local artist in Bozeman,Montana that give me permission to use his music as the sound track. This was my biggest battle because I created version of the documentary that had sound tracks from well known movies and although I could ask for permission I decided to cancle that version entirely. I wanted to use local resources to promote local talent in Montana where I live and go to school and innovate my own movie format. It was long study on how to go about making the documentary as I am not a film student but a pre-medical student. I watched about 30 films from National Geographics to BBC films to films produced by well known organizations to films produced by students on their trips across the Globe. It was lot of work but I did it and now I'm in the final touches. Hopefully,the maasai people would like it and people in the world would see the truth about what really is going on in a maasai village on the outskirts of Nairobi. People of world have already seen documentaries made by sociologist, anthropologist and people who have good intentions but times have changed and it's about time people know what those changes are. Have a wonderful and prosperous day. will keep you posted. The feeling of breathing again..........

The feeling of breathing again..........

My last days............

The feeling of breathing again..........

Dear Friends,family and to Einar:
Since my last letter I visited a number of clinics and hospitals in the Khwisero community that were recommended by members of the community as the most needy in terms of the quality of care provided at these istitutions. They were very happy for my visit since I distributed some supplies that was given to me by the Bozeman Montana community in the United States.We also discussed possible solutions to some problems that they are experiencing.We all know that it will take time to 'heal' but I believe they can do it if they just have faith in themselves because they have the capacity to do so. Also,over the past 3 days I managed to hold 4 CPR(Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation) training sessions. It was a close call becaues it was cutting my time really close to my departure date which was 3 days later. But I am happy to say that everything worked out. All of the teachers in the various schools showed alot of excitement in learning CPR and in the future they would like to present the material to the children in the schools. This was the greatest news I could have received since this was my intention for the children and so the adults of the future will be able to carry out and pass on this knowlege.

In the little time I had in between my recent activities I managed to also organize 2 sets of meetings: one of them between the special needs children in one of the schools and a doctor who has kindly provided a means by which these children can access free advice and examination. The other meeting was set between members in the Ebushibungo community and a couple of professors who intend to develop a youth driven malaria integrated vector management program. With these meetings in place it is my hopes that after my departure from Kenya their will be a constant flow of progress in the community. So I can now say that I had a great time in Kenya and it is a nice feeling to be returning home knowing that so much of what was planned was successfully accomplished.

Now I would like to use this last note to thank everyone that supported me both before and after I started this trip to Kenya.Thanks To:


-Dr. David Mclaughin & Professor Florence Dunkel from Bozeman,Montana who spent an entire semester training me on the aspects of Malaria that proved pertinent to my projects.

-Professor Richard Mukabana from Nairobi,Kenya who spent many hours reviewing my plans for troubleshooting my Malaria Integrated Vector Management project in the Khwisero Community.

-Dr. Michael Johnson and his wife Mrs. Kay Johnson for taking care of me on my arrival to Kenya and ensuring that I was never discouraged along the way.

-Dr. Richard Bransford for helping with obtaining medical attention for the special need children of the Khwisero community.

-All of the Maasai people who took me into there homes and hearts; Kakuta, Letitik, Sammuel,Brian, Kwenia, Mama Kakuta andall of the people of the Merrushi Maasai village.Particular thanks to Letitik who took care of me when I was a bit under the weather and who accompanied me safely both to and from the village.The memories I hold with the village with the people will always remain a most memorable part of my life.

The Mvuno village missionaries; Dan, Bethany and Tim Tanner* for teaching me about local methods for purifying water which the Khwisero community was very happy for.

The following Bozeman, Montana community sponsors:

-Northern Lights Trading for donating insect repellent for our team which came in really handy in the villages.

-A&D Auto Body and ACE Hardware for their donation that made the CPR testing kits available for this trip.

-AMR(American Medical Response) Bozeman, Montana for their donation of the CPR mask and gloves to give to the clinics in the area that really needed it.

-Dr.Mark Wilton and Mrs. Carol Kelly for their donation of vaccinations and malaria prescriptions to ensure that had a safe travel.

-My parents:Fletcher and Marjorie Orie and my siblings: Terranova, Irina and Shaana all of who supported me through out my life and kept in close contact through out my journey in Kenya.

-And lastly thanks to Einar for all his support and belief in me. Just hearing his voice every day over the phone give me motivation to do what I came to do especially the times when I was alone.

I am very fortunate God gave me the opportunity to be in the presence of such mighty people and I humbly say thank you...See you when I get home.

Sincerely Yours:
Renee Orie

Speaking Luhya at Ebushibungo,Khwisero District, Kenya

The feeling of breathing again..........

Dear Friends,family and to Einar:

Learning even a little of the local language raises the spirit of the local people. To them it shows commitment and dedication to whatever you are doing for and with them. 'Brothers side by side' working in a union and all it takes is a little effort to be part of them. As I walked the streets greeting everyone in the local dialect, eyes pop open, jaws drop and innocent giggles fill the air with amusement. They say,' the Asian speaks our language, how does she know how to say it', my friend conveyed to me. They ask me, 'how do you know our words, have you been here for 2 yrs' and I laugh at the amazing compliment since I have only been in the village for 1 week. My friend teaches me more and more everyday and my anxious mind is ever so glad to learn more because every word introduces a new adventure.

On another note:today, I made a schedule with one of the schools in Khwisero and on the verge of scheduling 5 more schools next week to receive my CPR/First Aide Emergency Trainings and I cannot wait to test out the CPR anytime kits made by the American Heart Association for family and friends. Also this past week I finally had a little break through to the professor that I had been communicating within the past month or so. He is a zoologist at the University of Nairobi that has done some projects on malaria vector management in neighboring areas to my work site here at Khwisero. Today he give me some contact information for obtaining bed nets and tomorrow I am expecting to get more information that would be useful for my drainage rehabilitation project, indoor spraying as well as the presently used the chemicals for the spraying. This information I believe will be quite helpful to the villagers and members in the schools but we shall see as time progresses how much I can get done in the little time I have here in Kenya. I have already visited some schools (at Muerreshi primary and secondary schools) and give some lectures to the kids on malaria vectors and the focus of my lecture was to make clear to the children that mosquitoes do not only come out when the rain falls which is a common belief amongst not only the children but some elders and their parents too. The lecture was a hug success as was expressed by the teachers in the school; they thought it was innovative and smart since I told the children in a manner that they could understand. I can’t wait to present the lecture to more schools because I know that just like when I learned new things that my parents did not know and I told them about so they can learn that these children will do the same. They can explain to their parents what they learned about the malaria vectors and so help with reducing malaria outbreaks by educating the general population on integrated vector management techniques. I tell the children that mosquitoes are like people and like people they can have babies anytime of the year whether it is raining or not and like people when they get hungry they will come out and bite you whether it is raining or not because if you are hungry you eat whether it is raining or not. When I talk to the kids and ask them questions they answer very well and the teacher translates everything I say for the younger kids to understand since the older kids are familiar with the English language.

On a rather concerning note: I am glad I am not in Nairobi since there was a bombing on Sunday at a church gathering, there were not any foreign nationals that were killed but there was a report that 6 people died and many were injured. I would like to say a pray to God to protect the people in Kenya through this trialing time and to watch over us as we sleep at night and rise the next morning awake to serve him another day. Amen…..Well that is all I have for now I will up date you all as I go along. Thanks for reading and God Bless……

Yours Always,
Renee Orie

still at the guess house

The feeling of breathing again..........

Dear Friends and Family and to Einar,
Nothing has changed much in the pass couple of days since I am still at the guess house and will transfer to my school tomorrow (Friday) where I will spend the rest of my stay in Kenya. However, I am keeping my self occupied learning the local 'twang' and I also learned to iron with a heater that you have to full with hot coals to press your clothes. The people here are very tidy and mannerly; they shake your hand before and after while they come and go. I can say now that I am glad to have met so many caring people that throught out my position of having the flu everyone is nothing but helpful but I am happy to say that I am on my way to fully recovering.

Well that is all I have for now.......

Check you all later
Renee.

The feeling of breathing again..........

Dear Friends,Family and to Einar:

Ever since I arrived (on May 28th 2010) everyone in Kenya thinks I am a Kenyan or have spent 2 yrs in Kenya or Tanzania. They say it is because I look Asian ( what the locals call Indian or a Patel; a name of a popular indian businessman) because of my fair skin complexion, the manner in which I cope with the environment and the litttle swahilli I know, these are the things that people say gives me away as a local person. On my visit to the Massai Merrueshi clan they give me the name Nenkola it means someone who carries a lot of luggage because I was carrying my jacket everywhere with me.It has everything even an emergency first aid kit which you never know when it can come in handy. It was fun........I learned so much.

Today(May 5th 2010) a car tried to take over our bus and there was an accident; the bus was ok and everyone in it, but the car was badly damaged but the driver was ok. I rushed over as soon as we stopped because I had with me a kit for emergency first aid but since the driver was not bleeding and seemed ok, I just took his jacket and rolled it up to place around his neck for c-spinal stabilization. I tested his reflexes and they seemed fine but his shoulder got a hard lash since he complained of pain in that area. After I put c-spine I told him to remain still until the police or ambulance came. Everyone from our bus was then transferred to another bus to get to Kisumu before dark since it was getting late.

Well that is it for now. I just arrived in Kisumu and now we are off to catch a bus to Khwisero.

Bye for now
Love Always:
Renee.

The feeling of breathing again..........

Dear Friends,Family and to Einar:

I arrived in Nairobi on the 28^th of May 2010, a Thursday. I am happy to say that the people’s culture is similar to that of my home in Trinidad. With the little top shops on the corner and the cyber cafe to get internet access it is just like being at home. I slept very well and the next day I headed off to the town, Nairobi Centre. There I met Dr. Johnson’s wife Mrs. Kay who lent me a phone to use while I am here in Kenya. She took me to book a trip to the Maasai Mara. After our very lovely day together I went back to spend another night at the Nairobi Youth Hostel before my departure the following day. To which I took a taxi to the pick up site for the Maasai trip and I spent 3 days with six other people who eventually became really good friends. I spent some time in the park reserve looking at two families of lions that came really close to the van. They were not even bothered by all of the tourists. I saw elephants, zebras,  wildebeast, giraffes, buffaloes, gazelles and a variety of birds among other animals. My most favorite time was spent with the Maasai people where I witnessed a sundown dance where the boys jump to win over a girl to be their wife. Whoever jumps the highest wins. We made a short stop in Narok where I bought a machete to carry around with me and some ornaments for my mom.

After my journey I headed back to the hostel in Nairobi where the next day I headed off to another Maasai village that I had been studying about before I had left Montana. They have a variety of developmental projects that they have completed on their own. They built two schools (a primary and a secondary school), a water well & a clinic all of which are supplied by solar power panels. I have already spent one day and a night in the village. I visited the secondary school & I gave a lesson on compression only CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation). I also gave a speech on how to remain motivated despite some disadvantages they may face along the way. I told them about my road to becoming a doctor and all of the subjects I am presently studying. The children were very interested and happy to hear that even though I work, I am still motivated to go to school to make something of myself and to make my family proud of me. The teachers were very impressed and thanked me for such a motivational speech as it would encourage them to continue their education. Kakuta Ole Maimai Hamisi(founder of the Maasai association) who is also a member of this Maasai clan, went to school abroad and when he made enough money he decided to give back to the community that took care of him as a little boy. He made possible all the developmental projects that are taking place in the village. I visited his mom together with his younger brother Letitik for some tea and she give me a gift to thank me for the visit. She lives in a mud hut but it is by choice, she says that it is much warmer than her concrete house. These Maasai people of the Merrueshi clan are quite developed despite what some people may think. I have been learning more and more every day.

For now thank you for reading and I will write soon.

Author: Renee Orie.