It’s Been a Quiet Week in Mutomo





This week I had the feeling that it was possible to make a difference here in some small ways. The nursing school was registering the new class of students and it reminded me very much of the sort of activities that would have happened at any college at home. I was presented alongside the other tutors and was given a flattering introduction. I also gave a continuing medical education presentation on gender based violence and child abuse which seemed mostly well received. There’s also a committee dealing with the same issue that I feel I’ve made some positive contributions to. I’m trying to encourage one of the Kenyan clinicians to publish some research he’s done and it’s exciting to be encouraging him. 



But I feel like I’ve got a lot to do in the next 5-6 weeks. Now the time is going to fly.


I still feel incredibly awkward as the only white face when I go into the village. People here use laughter in a way my fellow volunteer Leigh and I don’t understand. It might mean embarrassment, it might mean ridicule, or it might mean something completely different. But we certainly appreciate what it’s like to be the “other” and have a newfound respect for foreigners in our native countries now.


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