Changes!
on Beatriz Pujol (Kenya), 12/Jun/2009 12:10, 34 days ago
Where to start? So many changes for me in the last month. I resigned from my job. Some people at the Church were surprised, but others (those at the hostel) not at all. The Bishop was surprised by much of what was happening and I think my leaving and speaking out about what is really happening may help create some change, at least I hope so. Things got much worse as the month progressed, which has helped me get clear that leaving is the best decision. It is still hard to think of the kids and know that there is not much I can do for them. I am trying to work a bit from the outside to assist in changing some of the dynamics there. But the whole experience has been a crash course on living in Kenya.I was quite traumatized over the last few months but am doing much better now. Getting some space and starting to move on with my life here in Kenya is helping. I have had some time off. I have spent a couple of weeks in Nairobi and a week on the coast just relaxing on the beach and reading fluffy books! I am in Nairobi now and in the process of moving here.My new job as an autism trainer will most probably start in August. I will be covering 8 districts (something like a County) in the Western part of Kenya. The provinces (similar to States) I will be in are: Nairobi, Western, Nyanza and Rift Valley. The exact districts are still being decided upon. But most of the areas will be quite rural. Since I will be traveling and working in really rural areas I decided to base myself in Nairobi. It will be nice to come back to the creature comforts and instant social life that Nairobi provides after traveling to more remote areas.I am looking forward to the work. The program is a new agreement between VSO and the Dept of Education. Most of the funding is from DFID, which is the UK’s version of USAID. The plan is to provide autism training throughout the country to every province. VSO is bringing in 13 volunteers. Two autism trainers, 3 speech therapists and the rest are logistics, admin and such. How I understand it so far is that I will be working with the EARC’s (EarlyAssessment Resource Centers) where kids gets assessed and diagnosed. There is one in almost every district. The EARC’s will work with parents and teachers to set up training and I will be training them on what autism is, assessing it and how to work with kids with autism. That is the gist of whatI have figured out so far!While I am waiting to start working I have been connecting with people in the field of autism. I met a South African mom who has just started a private school with two other families. The school is for kids with different special needs. Her son has autism and she is connecting me with lots of people in the field. I also visited the Autism Society of Kenya this week and will spend next week at their autism unit, which has 80 kids from age 3 on up. The autism community here is small but already has its issues and divisions. I hope to get to know everyone and see how we can move forward.Otherwise I am enjoying Nairobi. There are quite a number of VSO volunteers here and I have several other friends who live here. There is a lot to do here and I have been out every night the last week! I finally stayed in last night! It is a fun city but very expensive and not conducive to a volunteer stipend!I am not exactly sure where I will be living yet. Possibly with two other volunteers, Sandy and Santrina. They are whom I always stay with when I am in Nairobi. Otherwise, VSO may be renting a new apt. for some of the new vol. for this autism program and I may room with them. I do not have a new address yet, but will keep you posted.July 16, 2009Just a quick follow up. I spent all week at the autism unit run by the Autism Society of Kenya. The unit is housed at a big primary school in Nairobi. They have 81 kids from age 3 on up into adulthood. They are in classrooms with one teacher (with some level of Special Education training) and 2-3 aids depending on the kids’ abilities. The program is based on a gluten/casein free diet along with other excluded foods that are often eliminated from the diets of kids with autism. The program cooks porridge and lunch for the kids following the diet. The kids must be on the diet at home for some time before they can start at the school. The program also is based on using Sensory Integration therapy provided by Occupational Therapists. Some of the kids end up mainstreamed into typical classrooms with special teachers helping them. The parents are very involved in the program and there is a pretty steep tuition. Thegovt. only covers about 30% of the costs. In general I was impressed by what I saw. There are a lot of gaps and much room for improvement, but the fact that is exists at all is impressive. I spent 4 days in two different classrooms and also spent time with the therapists doing therapy. I was well received by the teachers and aids and shared a lot of information.Sadly, the small autism community in Nairobi is already divided and people are at ends with one another. I have heard lots of stories and hope to be able to just stay neutral, share information and help train people. I had a little resistance from the program head and the director of the Autism Society but once I showed them I was not going to“tell” them what to do or list all their faults, but rather work with them, I think I have ended up making some friends and colleagues.It feels great to be back in the field. I truly love working with kids on the spectrum and sharing my knowledge. Of course I had my favorites in both classes by the end of today! I will go back on more time before the end of this month when their term ends. Then I plan to do some workshops and trainings for them.Tomorrow I head to Kitui with a VSO staff to start moving my things to Nairobi. I will go back next week to spend some days there and move the rest of my things out. It will be sad to leave my quiet and simple life, my neighbors and Kitui. Nairobi is such a loud, chaotic city. I have never actually“lived” in a city and am getting used to the craziness. Having a hard time with the homeless mothers with toddlers I pass in the neighborhood. Do I give money, food, nothing??? HELP! I find I am really tired at the end of the day from the traffic, noise, people. I hope I will get used to it all.But there is a lot to do and it will be nice to have lots of friends around.There are HUGE water shortages here. There is rationing in Nairobi and many neighborhoods have to buy water. In Kitui there hasn’t been water in about a month and they do not expect any until about Dec. IF the next rains come in Oct-Dec. Electricity rationing has begun and will become more extensive. Really sad. Oh the things we take for granted in the US.Started working on a blog, but I am so technically challenged