To quote The Proclaimers “I would walk 500 miles, and I would walk 500 more…” in our case over 16,000 km to get to our final destination… you do the math…(we would walk how many ??? miles …. “).
The day of departure started with a few tense moments, and tears, for one of our squad with the fear she would not make it. She gathered herself together and through the power of prayer, our travel agent & her husband she arrived and the group was whole.
After a few bumps checking in our bags, the shenanigans of going through security, with a bag or two segregated….which will be referred to from here on in as the contraband bags (who knew a stethoscope would be cause for segregation) we all made it on board for the first leg of our journey. Destination…Heathrow, London. After a short layover, on to Nairobi for the night.
Two flights, 12 nurses, 36 (+/-) suitcases, 1 bus ride and a partridge in a pear tree, we all arrived safely. After all that, only one bag went astray…Patti may have to pillage our bags until her bag catches up with us, hopefully Monday, but no guarantees.
If anyone is interested fuel is average 1.78 Kenyan schillings (KES), equivalent to .018 CDN. To the locals the price is very high, much the same as we feel with our prices of greater than 1.40, depending on which province you live in.
Our Team Member Intro: I would like to introduce you to Zandra who hails from Ottawa. She works at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) in the ER and as part of the SANE (Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner) team. She says “a medical mission is a unique way to experience parts of the world while allowing me to use my own expertise & skills. This is my first CNFA trip! A few years ago I did a medical mission trip to Haiti & it was such an enjoyable experience, so when I returned I started doing some research & stumbled upon CNFA. I’ve been eagerly waiting to go since spring 2020.” Welcome aboard Zandra.
We are on our final leg of our journey to Kakamega, with a short stop to view the Rift Valley, and pit stop for water and lunch in Nakuru. Another 3 or so hours to go.
So glad to find this blog as it will help me track your days in Kenya.
Hello to my colleague Tanya