Leah’s Travel Page

The sun sets so fast here. You can notice that the sunset is imminent, and by the time you’ve rummaged around in your bag to get your camera, it has already sunk below the crest of the hill. That’s the equator for you.

An African town at night is completely different from during the day… it’s like another world entirely. That’s one thing I’ve missed out on by travelling with a relatively organised group as I have been. In the evenings, we go back to our research station and socialize only with ourselves.

Yesterday a small group of us visited an HIV/AIDS orphanage, on Rusinga Island, just outside of Mbita. We’re currently located in Suba District, one of the poorest in the country. In 2000, the infant mortality rate was 606 out of every 1000 children under the age of one, which is truly astronomical (in the past five years, it’s gone down to 147 per 1000 through aggressive malaria awareness campaigns). This is also the district with the highest AIDS prevalence: 42%. And Rusinga Island is the highest of any community, with a prevalence of over 50% (with a population of only about 200,000 to start with). So the orphanage was something to behold. There were I think over 250 children there, several of whom were HIV+ and all of whom had lost their parents to AIDS. It was sad to see. The women running the facility made small handicrafts to sell and support the facility. I bought a really beautiful tie-dyed fabric – it cost 500 shillings, which is less than 10 dollars, and you know that will go a long way in that community.

None of us wanted to leave, so it was dark as we were driving into Mbita. It was so different than it was during the day. Everyone was gathered into those storefronts that had electricity, watching the Africa Cup on tiny television sets, braiding each other’s hair, socializing with friends. People set up fires outside, which they’d sit around, cooking and talking. It was a very surreal experience. There was an air of calm and serenity, but with a bustle of life and activity below the surface. Like a summer night camping with friends, in a way. I guess that since the sun always goes down so early, you use the evenings as a time to be with family and friends. Hopefully I’ll get to experience more of that once I leave the big group.

Today’s the first day of our next class…it’s kind of weird that I already have three credits behind me. In a few days, I’ll be leaving for the Maasai Mara for 16 days, and I’ll probably be out of touch again for a while. That should be incredible…My prof is apparently something like the world’s leading expert on the Maasai, so he’s got lots of connections there. We even get the chance to do a homestay in a rural Maasai village for a few nights. It should be amazing.