"Karibu" to Kenya: Data collection in the field

After taking a sick day on Tuesday, I spent Wednesday and Thursday in the field collecting data. The journey started at the conference center of CHAK - the Christian Health Care Association of Kenya - a collection of nearly 500 protestant mission health centers around Kenya. We met Becky, the Legal Officer and head of CHAK's 15 human rights/health/legal services integration programs, and took a 1 hour ride to the impressive (and renowned) Kijabe Hospital. At Kijabe, we met several health care providers, including the Executive Director of the hospital, the head of the AIDS Relief program (which our evaluation is affiliated with), and Stephen - a community organizer that acted as our tour guide for the day. The hospital was a very impressive, as was the AIDS Relief Program. Kijabe provides ARVs for nearly 6,000 patients and has a strong presence in the surrounding communities. They also use a rights-based approach, and we conducted two interviews with program staff to begin evaluating the impact of this method on the lives of people living with HIV/AIDS.

Me in front of the CHAK headquarters.

The entrance of Kijabe Hospital.

The dental building (funny how I always pay so much attention to dentistry now!)

Sophie, Patricia, Becky, and Stephen (left to right) in front of the hospital.

A poster describing Kijabe's rights-based approach to healthcare.

Day 2 of data collection was spent at Naivasha, a satellite clinic of Kijabe that is about 1 1/2 hours away from Nairobi. From 8 am until 5:30 pm, we conducted 4 focus groups and group interviews on clients and healthcare providers who were either trained or untrained in human rights. I led 2 of the groups, which was pretty exciting! I also got to use the long journey to do some sightseeing! I saw Mount Logonut, Lake Naivasha (one of 2 fresh water lakes in Kenya), and breathtaking views of the escarpment!

Random views while driving...

One of the several viewpoints of the escarpment.

Naivasha Clinic, one of the nicest medical facilities I have seen in any developing country!

Mount Logonut, a national site. A 12 km climb to the top and a 9 km walk around the large crater, formed where the volcanic lava use to brew!

Of course, my blog would not be complete without sharing some of the delicious new food I tried! On Wednesday, I tried some of the roasted corn from a little stand on the side of the road! I also tried a Kikuyu dish called mokimo, which is mashed potatoes with corn and a special green vegetable. Day 2 was so jam-packed that we didn't even eat lunch!