Last week tuesday I went for another tutoring session in the elementary (for NHS). This took place at regular after-school time in Mrs Mahaffy's classroom. However, Mrs Mahaffy wasn't actually present during this session and only 2 other NHS members had come along (as the seniors were doing mocks and couldn't attend).
There were about 4 or 5 elementary kids at the homework help club and they were all very focused on their work. In fact, so focused that they almost didn't need us to assist them with anything! The majority of the kids were working on mind maps for sciences. These could be designed in any way that they wanted (for instance one kid did a dinosaur and another a plant), with various branches or limbs with the different topics of their paragraphs written on them. Those who had finished with this mind map were doing their research for the project on laptops.
I tried my best to get involved with the kids during this session, but I think it was made more difficult by the fact that Mrs Mahaffy wasn't there. On my last trip things were all very organised and I was assigned a child and almost told exactly what to do. This time, however, it was more relaxed. The kids sat at tables and did their work and I went around to all of them and asked what they were doing, whether they needed any help, etc. However, most of the kids were pretty independent and didn't need any help from me. Nevertheless, I did support one child as he worked on some difficult math homework and helped another take notes.
This session was slightly less interactive than I would've hoped, but I think that it was a one time thing (due to Mrs Mahaffy being gone and the seniors also absent). However, next time I will try harder to get involved with the kids. I think that this program is really good in helping me with my leadership and public speaking, etc. It's helping me develop into a more confident person, and I want to make the most out of the opportunities I am presented with.
Friday, 28 March 2014
Vet Internship
From March 10th-14th I did a brief internship with a vet here in Nairobi, Amardeep. I decided to work from Monday to Friday and from around 9:00 in the morning to late afternoon. I did numerous activities with Amardeep and his assistants, such as feeding the dogs, perfoming surgeries, vaccinating dogs, cleaning out wounds, feeding weak dogs with a drip, and much more.This was an amazing experience for me and allowed for me to gain a new perspective into this field.
During my time with Amardeep I was introduced to his work assistants who were all extremely friendly and welcoming, allowing me to aid them in their activities and giving me various pieces of information regarding their field of expertise. Amardeep himself was also very engaging and enthusiastic, and I was really impressed by the scope and amount of work that he carried out in even a single day. His office consisted of a lab-type space with kennels around the outside and a main house. The conditions were very good, but I was a little concerned about the dogs in cages. Some were there for boarding, whilst others were recovering from various conditions - the cages were rather small and I noticed that they were barely ever taken out to go for walks or socially interact. On one of my last days I was shocked by the amount of dogs circling around in the small spaces and whining sadly. I think that it would be very useful if Amardeep got a clinic with perhaps a little garden space for dogs to move about in. However, I understand the necessity of keeping these dogs confined - when they are in such poor conditions they must be monitored closely.
My day's usually went as follows: I would arrive in the morning at around nine and immediately go into the clinic. The staff would be cleaning out cages and such and I would help them while waiting for the vet to arrive. Once he came a number of different tasks could be carried out. One day we got in his car and made the rounds to different houses. The first house we went to had some dogs that needed to be vaccinated, including a tiny puppy that had recently been sent over from the US. The dogs were sometimes quite hard to inject, and had to be pinned to the floor or tide up and muzzled. I found this aspect of his work a little intimidating, but I soon grew more used to this. The vet also had to give them pills of sorts, and he would prise their mouths open, close them, and then massage their throats to make them swallow it. We also went to a house of a german shepherd that had been attacked by monkeys. She was an old dog and had gashes all over her face. We shaved the fur around and on the cuts off (to see it more clearly) and then disinfected them. The vet said that she might have to have stitches, but he decided to leave it for a while and see how they healed up naturally first. We also saw a dog with flea bites and a large rash on her belly, the vet told her owner that they had to wash her with a special shampoo and apply a certain type of cream to the irritated skin. We visited many other dogs, mostly those who needed vaccinations, and also picked up some more dogfood on the way back. Another day we perfomed sugeries. One dog had a tumour on her belly, bulging out like a rock, and it had to be removed. The vet told me that if I felt lightheaded I should sit down outside, making it very clear that since this was my first surgery I should take precautions and be prepared for anything. We sedated the dog so that she woldn't feel any of the operation, and then the vet meticulously snipped a circle around the tumour. He then proceeded to cut through the layers of flesh until he could remove the tumour and place it in a metal bowl. After this was finished he stitched it up - putting in two layers of stitches (the under one with dissolvable stitches) to be on the safe side. We also performed an operation on a cat that came in. The cat had been neutered a couple of years ago but had a cut of sorts on one of its balls. The vet and his assistant cut it open and removed a piece of hard white tissue which had been sticking out a bit. I had to hold the tweezers and scissors and such in this operation, but it wasn't half as graphic as the previous one. We stitched it up and he seemed fine aftwerwards.
Another activity was the drip feeding. Some puppies and older dogs that were recovering from their various conditions couldn't eat solid food yet and so had to be fed glucose solution through a drip. This took quite a while, involving the dog lying out on the bed still while the entire bag dripped down. Each bag took at least an hour or so, and it was rather stressful for all those involved. The dog had the drip securely lodged in his or her arm, but if it moved the needle would leave the vein and the entire process would have to of been repeated. The dogs sometimes squirmed and we had to pin them down with all our strength, which I felt terrible doing. However, I think exploring activities like this is useful as it lets me know that not all parts of such a career can be as hands-on and engaging as surgeries.
I had one awful experience during my time with the vet. One morning I arrived to find a small cage in the corner of the lab that hadn't been there the day before. I asked the assistant what it was and he reached in and pulled out a dead puppy, bringing it up to me to examine. I was shocked by the way he picked up the body, as if it was nothing but a rag doll in his hands, meaningless and worthless. This disregard for life terrified me, especially when he went outside with it and came back empty-handed. I asked him what they did with the bodies and he informed me that if the owners didn't want them they dumped them in a pit outside Nairobi. I understand that in this sort of field you can't afford to be sentimental, but it was still a disconcerting experience for me, and one that I would very much like to forget.
In conclusion, during my time at the vet I did everything from surgeries to feeding dogs and learnt a great deal about this profession. I now have a far deeper understanding of what this career entails and what a vet does on a normal working day. I had mixed feelings about my time working with Amardeep - I love animals, but I feel that I love them too much to have to carry out the necessary activities of a vet. I don't know what I would do if I was unable to save a life, and I don't want to spend each and every day watching animals in pain - though I do realise that it's worth it to cure them. I definitely gained a lot from this experience, however - I recognised my strengths and weaknesses with regards to working with animals (both stemming from my passion for them), gained confidence, and became far more aware of what I want to do in the future. I feel that this profession may not be for me, but I do value all that I have learnt from it.
During my time with Amardeep I was introduced to his work assistants who were all extremely friendly and welcoming, allowing me to aid them in their activities and giving me various pieces of information regarding their field of expertise. Amardeep himself was also very engaging and enthusiastic, and I was really impressed by the scope and amount of work that he carried out in even a single day. His office consisted of a lab-type space with kennels around the outside and a main house. The conditions were very good, but I was a little concerned about the dogs in cages. Some were there for boarding, whilst others were recovering from various conditions - the cages were rather small and I noticed that they were barely ever taken out to go for walks or socially interact. On one of my last days I was shocked by the amount of dogs circling around in the small spaces and whining sadly. I think that it would be very useful if Amardeep got a clinic with perhaps a little garden space for dogs to move about in. However, I understand the necessity of keeping these dogs confined - when they are in such poor conditions they must be monitored closely.
My day's usually went as follows: I would arrive in the morning at around nine and immediately go into the clinic. The staff would be cleaning out cages and such and I would help them while waiting for the vet to arrive. Once he came a number of different tasks could be carried out. One day we got in his car and made the rounds to different houses. The first house we went to had some dogs that needed to be vaccinated, including a tiny puppy that had recently been sent over from the US. The dogs were sometimes quite hard to inject, and had to be pinned to the floor or tide up and muzzled. I found this aspect of his work a little intimidating, but I soon grew more used to this. The vet also had to give them pills of sorts, and he would prise their mouths open, close them, and then massage their throats to make them swallow it. We also went to a house of a german shepherd that had been attacked by monkeys. She was an old dog and had gashes all over her face. We shaved the fur around and on the cuts off (to see it more clearly) and then disinfected them. The vet said that she might have to have stitches, but he decided to leave it for a while and see how they healed up naturally first. We also saw a dog with flea bites and a large rash on her belly, the vet told her owner that they had to wash her with a special shampoo and apply a certain type of cream to the irritated skin. We visited many other dogs, mostly those who needed vaccinations, and also picked up some more dogfood on the way back. Another day we perfomed sugeries. One dog had a tumour on her belly, bulging out like a rock, and it had to be removed. The vet told me that if I felt lightheaded I should sit down outside, making it very clear that since this was my first surgery I should take precautions and be prepared for anything. We sedated the dog so that she woldn't feel any of the operation, and then the vet meticulously snipped a circle around the tumour. He then proceeded to cut through the layers of flesh until he could remove the tumour and place it in a metal bowl. After this was finished he stitched it up - putting in two layers of stitches (the under one with dissolvable stitches) to be on the safe side. We also performed an operation on a cat that came in. The cat had been neutered a couple of years ago but had a cut of sorts on one of its balls. The vet and his assistant cut it open and removed a piece of hard white tissue which had been sticking out a bit. I had to hold the tweezers and scissors and such in this operation, but it wasn't half as graphic as the previous one. We stitched it up and he seemed fine aftwerwards.
Another activity was the drip feeding. Some puppies and older dogs that were recovering from their various conditions couldn't eat solid food yet and so had to be fed glucose solution through a drip. This took quite a while, involving the dog lying out on the bed still while the entire bag dripped down. Each bag took at least an hour or so, and it was rather stressful for all those involved. The dog had the drip securely lodged in his or her arm, but if it moved the needle would leave the vein and the entire process would have to of been repeated. The dogs sometimes squirmed and we had to pin them down with all our strength, which I felt terrible doing. However, I think exploring activities like this is useful as it lets me know that not all parts of such a career can be as hands-on and engaging as surgeries.
I had one awful experience during my time with the vet. One morning I arrived to find a small cage in the corner of the lab that hadn't been there the day before. I asked the assistant what it was and he reached in and pulled out a dead puppy, bringing it up to me to examine. I was shocked by the way he picked up the body, as if it was nothing but a rag doll in his hands, meaningless and worthless. This disregard for life terrified me, especially when he went outside with it and came back empty-handed. I asked him what they did with the bodies and he informed me that if the owners didn't want them they dumped them in a pit outside Nairobi. I understand that in this sort of field you can't afford to be sentimental, but it was still a disconcerting experience for me, and one that I would very much like to forget.
In conclusion, during my time at the vet I did everything from surgeries to feeding dogs and learnt a great deal about this profession. I now have a far deeper understanding of what this career entails and what a vet does on a normal working day. I had mixed feelings about my time working with Amardeep - I love animals, but I feel that I love them too much to have to carry out the necessary activities of a vet. I don't know what I would do if I was unable to save a life, and I don't want to spend each and every day watching animals in pain - though I do realise that it's worth it to cure them. I definitely gained a lot from this experience, however - I recognised my strengths and weaknesses with regards to working with animals (both stemming from my passion for them), gained confidence, and became far more aware of what I want to do in the future. I feel that this profession may not be for me, but I do value all that I have learnt from it.
Runda Feeding [Last Interact Trip]
On March 23rd I went to my last interact trip this year (a runda feeding trip). The trip went as usual, we met at 10:30 at Java house and finished around 12. This time I brought my friend Lucie along (she was visiting me this past week), which was nice - she really enjoyed the trip and I think experienced an epiphany and massive shift in understanding regarding Nairobi and the people here. I understand this shift, as almost every interact club member (including myself) has experienced it.
When we arrived everything was a little behind schedule - some of the food wasn't there yet, so we waited for a while for it all to arrive. When it did we unpacked the bread, mandazis and other packaged food and then piled it all out onto plates for the elderly people. We took them up to the houses and handed them out, then coming back and taking our seats to hand out the food to the children (that were already lined up outside). I handed out bananas while Lucie sat beside me and gave out buns.
Not many children showed up on this visit, only about 1000 or so, which was strange. There were a lot of small children, many with babies on their backs or trailing behind them. A great deal of adults that were usually regular visitors also didn't show up and I wondered what other events were going on that day.
All in all everything rang pretty smoothly indeed. There was not much tension at the end of the feeding and everyone seemed very happy with what we had achieved. We finished up the day with the handing over of some donations from ISK and a reflection on the day.
This year I have really enjoyed going to these runda feeding and OVC trips for interact club. I think that the extent that they expose you to the social situation here in Nairobi is incredible, and I love the shift in understanding that I have been able to experience. I have definitely improved in my understanding and awareness of the community I live in and the responsibilities I hold, my leadership and teamwork abilities, and dedication and committment. Being part of such a sustained and collaborative club as Interact has been amazing for me, and I will definitely think about joining again next year. I find the work that we are doing remarkable in the sense that it is almost completely student-led (the motivation and drive of the members is incredible) and that the leaders take such initiative, as seen by what we have achieved thus far. Being part of a group that's as engaged and hardworking as this allows me to be inspired in my other CAS activities, and I think that this passion is noteworthy.
To conclude, I have definitely developed as a person from being part of the interact club this year, and I think that we have been actively "Touching lives, one child at a time".
When we arrived everything was a little behind schedule - some of the food wasn't there yet, so we waited for a while for it all to arrive. When it did we unpacked the bread, mandazis and other packaged food and then piled it all out onto plates for the elderly people. We took them up to the houses and handed them out, then coming back and taking our seats to hand out the food to the children (that were already lined up outside). I handed out bananas while Lucie sat beside me and gave out buns.
Not many children showed up on this visit, only about 1000 or so, which was strange. There were a lot of small children, many with babies on their backs or trailing behind them. A great deal of adults that were usually regular visitors also didn't show up and I wondered what other events were going on that day.
All in all everything rang pretty smoothly indeed. There was not much tension at the end of the feeding and everyone seemed very happy with what we had achieved. We finished up the day with the handing over of some donations from ISK and a reflection on the day.
This year I have really enjoyed going to these runda feeding and OVC trips for interact club. I think that the extent that they expose you to the social situation here in Nairobi is incredible, and I love the shift in understanding that I have been able to experience. I have definitely improved in my understanding and awareness of the community I live in and the responsibilities I hold, my leadership and teamwork abilities, and dedication and committment. Being part of such a sustained and collaborative club as Interact has been amazing for me, and I will definitely think about joining again next year. I find the work that we are doing remarkable in the sense that it is almost completely student-led (the motivation and drive of the members is incredible) and that the leaders take such initiative, as seen by what we have achieved thus far. Being part of a group that's as engaged and hardworking as this allows me to be inspired in my other CAS activities, and I think that this passion is noteworthy.
To conclude, I have definitely developed as a person from being part of the interact club this year, and I think that we have been actively "Touching lives, one child at a time".
Monday, 3 March 2014
OVC Easter Party
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| The kids meet us at the upper car park |
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| Some of the toys available |
First we went to Ms Henderson's room for easter egg painting and presents. This was a new idea and it worked out really well. There were rows of hard boiled eggs set out for them and paints and paintbrushes available. There was also some glitter, and Sabrina and I cut out shapes out of the colored paper for them to stick on. The kids were a little confused as to what to do at first, but they eventually got into it and enthusiastically slathered their eggs in a multitude of colors. They were so proud of their work, and we left them to dry and gave them to all the kids when they left. We also handed out presents to everyone before we moved to the next stop - most of the kids took toys (such as cars and stuffed toys), but some decided to take tshirts and other articles of clothing. We definitely had a greater variety of presents to hand out this time, which was really good.
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| I help with easter egg painting |
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| One of the kids paints his egg |
We then headed over to the basketball court where
their were some scooter type things and basketballs set out. The kids pulled
each other around on the scooters using ropes and tied themselves together in
chains and whizzed about the court. There were also some shooting hoops, and we
played with them throughout. I think this was the funnest part of the day,
there was so much laughter and smiling that it was contagious. I wished that
they could've had longer to play, but the other group had finished eating so we
had to move on.
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| Eating breakfast |
Our last stop was the playground by the upper
field. The kids let out squeals of delight when they saw the slide and sandpit,
and jumped over the fence in their rush to get onto the equipment. They played
on the tricycles, went in the sandpit, did gymnastics on the bars, and much
more. They were having so much fun that we could barely get a word in sideways
to them, but it was lovely just watching them enjoy themselves. Finally it was
time to go, and we led them all back up to the upper car park and said goodbye.
Clutching their bags with their presents in them and glowing with a visible happiness. After the kids had left I headed down to Ms Henderson's room and helped to clear up.
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| Playing in the playground! |
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