Blog


The CDPC has set up a blog to allow Trainees and Correspondents to keep everybody updated on what they are working on.

You can sort the blog entries be category (Trainees in Ireland or Trainees in Africa) by selecting one on the right hand side. Visit our African Training Photo Gallery and Irish Training Photo Gallery to see blog photos and other training images.


Tuesday
Aug312010

My experience in the Immunology Lab

AuthorSarah Kituyi | DateTuesday, August 31, 2010 at 11:13AM

I did have a wonderful experience in the Department of immunology while working with Dr. Martina Schroeder. I moved to the Lab from the education outreach programme during the month of June .While in the Lab, I was introduced to a number of immunological techniques especially the transfection of mammalian cells. This further exposed me to techniques like tissue culture, gel electrophoresis and western blotting. It was a great experience for me getting back to Laboratory work after a very long period of time off bench work and some of the techniques appeared very new and tricky. Thanks to Martina and her team of PhD students who dedicated their time in to helping me learn and do what I would possibly have not managed to do on my own. I did some calcium chloride mediated transfection of Hek 293t cells. The first attempt was a disaster but I slowly learnt to do a number of things that I did not get right on the very first attempt and later did yet another transfection whose results were quite promising.

This I would say was my most exciting experience in the Lab ever since I last finished my internship after my bachelor’s degree in Biotechnology. The techniques I was exposed to while working with Dr Martina are very essential and I look forward to using them at some point in my own Msc project this September.

Other than working in the Lab during the month of June, I also committed myself to a number of activities on the education outreach programme. On the 11th of June for instance, I travelled to Palmerstown with Patsy Toland of Self Help Africa where I met and talked to very lovely young Irish Kids at St Mary School, Primary School. These young people were very interesting to talk to and I was puzzled by their relentless efforts in to the promotion of better economic standards in Malawi.

Myself with my young friends in Palmerstown.

As young as about 9 years, these kids had raised money through the sale of their toys and old items for the purchase of a pump that could be used for both irrigation and the supply of clean water for domestic use in Malawi. This was a good workshop that ended in good time which in turn gave me an ample opportunity to resume my schedule in the Lab later in the afternoon.

I also attended the Sentinus (UK) Young scientist showcase in Belfast on the 21st of June. This was yet another interesting experience where I witnessed Thomas Dunne earn a prize from the University of Ulster in ICT for his project on the use of computer software in the analysis of the Malaria Genome. Two other students of Syl Mc Evoy, Paula Redmond and  Laura Dunne also won a major prize at the competition. They won the Women in Science Award for their project on developing a  nutritious bar for people living with HIV.

 

Myself at the Odyssey Arena in Belfast during the Sentinus (UK) young scientist showcase.

Later the same week, I was invited to Longford where I visited Ibotz Premises together with Joe Clowry.

It was such a delight for me to be down at the premises of this company and yet again I was given a number of Labquest application devices for me to take with to Africa. This was all courtesy of Vincent English, PadraigKenny and EdelMulvihill 

My schedule with Dr Martina in the Lab was well planned as I had something to do all of my days in the Lab and there was not a single day that I stayed idle. By the time I was leaving the Lab, I had acquired lots of skills in the transfection of mammalian cells by calcium chloride mediated method. On a number of occasions I did also get an exposure to other techniques used by Martina’s team of PhD students like Ruth who was working on cells meant to be analyzed by confocal microscopy.

It was sad indeed for my time of departure to have come at a time when I was really enjoying every bit of my experience on the CDPC training Programme. My special gratitude to Joe Clowry, Martina Schroeder, Noel Murphy, Jamie Saris, Patsy Toland and Hayley Coristine and  the entire CDPC team. My training with the CDPC was a great experience and the impact on my career shall live forever. I also would like to thank Mr. Sylvester Mc Evoy a former teacher of the Colaiste Lorcain School for his dedicated service towards introducing me to the Labquest and the entire experience on the science exhibitions and projects. My special gratitude also goes to Vincent English, Idel Mulhivill and Padraig Kenny of Vernier Europe for their kindness and all that I received from them. I Left Kenya for Ireland with three desires in mind including getting an exposure on the communication of science concepts to young people, learning immunological techniques in the Lab and getting to know Ireland and the Irish way of life and frankly speaking, I earned all of them on my training with the CDPC and many more experiences that were equally interesting. Long Live CDPC and God Bless Ireland and its People.

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Friday
Aug272010

Language and History

AuthorJohn Villiers | DateFriday, August 27, 2010 at 7:26AM

Burundi’s official languages are French and Kirundi.  French is very much the business and administrative language.   I studied French for my leaving so I can get around – order food, arrange a meeting.  English is now beginning to become more common.  On my first day, when I arrived off the bus, I had no idea where I was so I rang one of Concern’s staff about collecting me.  The driver rang me but I couldn’t tell him where I was.  A man walking by heard me struggling on the phone and inquired whether I spoke French or Kirundi.  I confessed neither so he offered to speak to the driver over the phone for me which was sound of him.  Whatever about English or French, everyone speaks Kirundi.  I usually greet people in Kirundi and can order food and stuff.  With few exceptions, everyone reacts with amazement.  ‘You speak Kirundi?!’  They soon find out I only know a few words but the effort is greatly appreciated.

            Some days, though, it can be difficult.  I recall my conversation over the phone with the UNESCO office about finding some colonial archives. 

 

‘Mr John! Mr John!  You are in Bujumbura now, we speak French!  Now speak slowly!’

 

It was more in exasperation, rather than anger.  Soon though, we both figured out what the other was saying and she suggested I visit the national library in Bujumbura.  The staff were very helpful but they had no colonial or historical documents.   History is a big part of my course and I was determined to find some genuine historical documents.  Back in the car, I asked Sabiti, the Concern driver, about it.  He immediately rang someone and we were on our way to the Centre de la Documentation de la Presse.

            The Centre has a great collection of newspapers dating back to 1962 at independence as well as colonial news letters.  All the books were old and dusty, which I thought was great.  I met the staff and, after a few attempts explaining what I wanted, I was offered a seat at a table.  The four staff just got documents and placed them in front of me until I found the ones I wanted.  They also photo copied everything which really helped me out. 

            This week, I met Leonidas, who agreed to be my translator on days I needed him.  He spent a year in Ireland so he’s used to dealing with the Irish!  We travelled to Gitega last week, in the interior of the country, to meet some local associations involved in production of porridges for children.  Everything I learn seems to take the project down different avenues of interest but it’s all good.  The journey took two hours, winding our way around the mountains.  We were often stopped at police checkpoints but they usually waved us on.  Leonidas told me afterwards that they probably waved us on because of my presence, which was handy.  I don’t know why though.  We hired a taxi, for like 4 euro each.  It was an interesting drive because the taxi collected sacks of food on the way to sell in Gitega.  The driver told us he had driven from South Africa, which was impressive.   I found it fascinating to note this other form of income, collecting and selling on the route.  Trade follows the road. 

            Up to Cibitoke now this week, in the North West, right on the Congo border.  Should be good.

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Tuesday
Aug102010

Rachel - Nairobi and Nakuru National Park

AuthorRachel | DateTuesday, August 10, 2010 at 9:19AM

The last few weeks have been busy on all counts. My project is steadily beginning to come together. I am currently working on the third of my four initial objectives. My first objective was to determine the specificity of a Plasmodium genus primer set and also species-specific primer sets for the four Plasmodium species Plasmodium falciparum, P. malariae, P. ovale and P. vivax. The second objective was to determine the sensitivity of the Plasmodium genus primer set and the species-specific primer sets. My current objective is to determine if overwhelming P. falciparum infection will alter the sensitivity of the primer sets for P. ovale, P. malariae and P. vivax. From objective two I know the lowest parasitemia at which the primers sets can detect P. ovale, P. malariae and P. vivax. I can use this information to set up the experiment for objective three. P. falciparum was chosen to be the overwhelming infection as P. falciparum is the most common and widespread of all the malaria causing Plasmodium species. In mixed infections P. ovale, P. malariae and P. vivax are most likely to be a minor species to P. falciparum. However it is still important to detect these minor species as they too cause malaria so the patient will still need treatment for these species. Hopefully the next few experiments will run smoothly and I can move onto my final objective- multiplexing. I have just over four weeks left in Kenya to finish my project, never has four weeks seemed so short!!

Every Tuesday the lab goes to Kisian for a seminar. There are Walter Reed labs and also CDC labs located here. Kisian is about a 30minute bumpy ride away from Kisumu! It is a very good opportunity to hear about research other groups are conducting. The topics vary each week from genetics to epidemiology. You never know what you will learn about every Tuesday morning! What I have noticed is how many questions are asked after every seminar! People here are very enthusiastic to learn and are asking the questions to further their own knowledge. It is quite nice to see and makes me think more questions should be asked in Ireland!

In between my project I have found time to go on a few more trips! The first of which was a trip to Nairobi with Jennifer a student from CDC. I really didn’t know what to expect of Nairobi. The people in the lab raved about it all the time but I had also read that it is nick named ‘nairobbery’-not very encouraging! However I was pleasantly surprised by what I found! The centre of town was like that of any other city with a mixture of old and modern buildings. There wasn’t the big rush of people I had been expecting either, in fact it was quite a relaxed atmosphere. Of course we were always conscious to keep safe but we never encountered any hassle. Our first stop was a shopping centre called Westlands Mall. The mall itself looked like it belonged in America, very fancy indeed! A little too fancy however for myself and Jennifer, poor students that we are we didn’t buy a single thing! Over the course of the weekend we got our ‘western fix’ by visiting another four shopping centres! It was nice to feel the familiarity of a shopping centre but it was also nice at the same time to visit the local markets. In fact we bought most of our stuff from these roadside markets! During our stay we also visited the Masai Market. This is a famous market that moves around Nairobi and sells traditional Kenyan crafts. Hectic doesn’t even cover the atmosphere at the market! It is aimed at tourists so there are a lot of people trying to get your attention as you walk around. Luckily myself and Jennifer had experienced Kisumu Masai Market a few weeks previous so we knew how to keep the sellers at bay! Some of the crafts on sale really are beautiful especially the Masai jewellery and the wooden carvings. Looking back I’m pretty sure I was had on one or two items but all in all it was a successful trip! I will try to make it back to Nairobi before I leave as we got to see only a tiny part of it, but again four weeks isn’t a lot of time!

Another big adventure we have gone on recently is to the Masai Mara on safari. When you think of Africa you think of safari, so we definitely had to find time to go! Keith came all the way down to Kisumu to come with us; it was great seeing him and hearing all about how he was getting on in Kampala! It was a CDPC reunion that week as Niamh also arrived unexpectedly in Kisumu from Kampala the same day as Keith. Niamh was here in Kisumu with the CDPC two years ago! It was great having all of us together! The safari trip began with myself, Jennifer, Richie and Keith making our way to Nakuru to be picked up by a safari company there. On the way up we came across a big truck that had crashed and over turned. It was a reminder that Kenyan roads are quite dangerous and are supposedly some of the worst in Eastern Africa.

It would take about twenty pages to describe the safari in full but the word brilliant pretty much sums it up! We spent one day in Nakuru National Park. Here we saw baboon, gazelle, impala, wildebeest, cape buffalo, giraffe and of course rhinos! Nakuru is known for its white and black rhinos. We were luck enough to see the rare black rhino. If I’m being honest I wouldn’t have even noticed a difference between the white and black rhino if our guide hadn’t pointed it out. They are not, as the name suggests and I had naively believed, white or black but rather the same greyish colour! There were also a lot of school children in the park that day. It was nice to see how excited they were to see all the animals; at some points however they seemed more interested in us and we had to pose for a number of photos with them!

The day after Nakuru we drove down to the Masai Mara. On the way we passed through a number of Masai villages; many of the people there were dressed in their traditional dress. It was a nice surprise to see so many colours in the towns!  Our first visit into the Masai Mara was an evening game drive. Luck was on our side that evening because within an hour of being there we witnessed a lion kill! Having since shown people at home my photos and heard their reaction at the poor gazelle being killed I realise how most people are shocked by it. However I think actually being there and experiencing it gives you another perspective on it and you can see that it is just the way life is in the wild.

Aside from the lion kill we saw countless other things. Again we saw giraffe, impala, gazelle but we also saw a cheetah, a leopard sleeping up a tree, crocodiles and also about 100 hippos in the Mara river. It is migration season in the Mara so there were millions of Wildebeest; they were absolutely everywhere! During migration the Wildebeest cross the Mara river in search of food etc. We didn’t get to see any crossings but it didn’t really matter as we had seen so much already! Our guide was a Masai man and it was clear that he knew a lot about the animals and the area in general and had a genuine interest in the animals. By the end of the trip we had all agreed that it was something we would never forget!

This week has been a very important one for Kenya. A referendum took place the 4th of August to change the constitution. Unlike in Ireland when we vote on only one or two changes in the constitution the Kenyans were voting on a whole new constitution. Security was tight around Kisumu and the whole of Kenya. This was because after the last election in 2008 there was serious violence. Over 1,000 people died and thousands more were displaced. In Kisumu there are actually still buildings that were burnt down during the violence. It is very odd to think that violence like that occurred in Kisumu. Today it just seems like any other bustling town. On the day of the referendum we stayed in the guest house just as a precaution. Luckily, however, no violence occurred anywhere in Kenya and the referendum passed! We saw the celebrations in Nairobi on the news and in general everybody is happy about it passing. I don’t know the exact details of the new constitution but everyone says it will make the future brighter for Kenya, so that can only be good!

Time really is flying here! Hopefully the last few weeks slow down to give me enough time to totally finish my project and also to fit in a few more trips! There is so much to see and do in Kenya!

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Monday
Aug092010

John - Bujumbura, Burundi – 29th July – 6th August  

AuthorJohn Villiers | DateMonday, August 9, 2010 at 8:53AM

 

Where is the field?

 

All settled in now.  Bujumbura is more a town than a city, not to take anything away from it.  It’s great. It is surrounded by mountains and rests on Lake Tanganyika.  The lake is huge.  I don’t think Burundi could be categorised as being landlocked really.  I’m told you can see over the lake into Congo during the summer here.  Hope to visit Congo at some stage.

            Before I came out here, I knew I was going to do fieldwork.  Sounds pretty straightforward, right? Coursework in Ireland and then onto Burundi for the fieldwork, what could be easier?  But when I got to Kampala, some NGO staff often asked me ‘Have you been to the field yet? ’ or said that they had just come from the field. Apparently, the ‘field’ is not the capital cities but out in the countryside.  But as Anne said to me, ‘But you are in the field.  This is all new to you!’ And right she was.

            This point was brought home to me when I had a meeting with a nutritional specialist at UNICEF this week.  She explained how chronic malnutrition was also an issue in urban as well as rural areas.  Food companies were selling milk substitute products in Bujumbura and this was contributing to the ill-health of children as mothers were favouring these products over breast milk.  Of course HIV can be transmitted via breast milk and that is an important issue but under normal circumstances breast milk is very important for a young child, in particular the first 6 months of life.   These companies operate unregulated and UNICEF is lobbying for the introduction of laws to curb their product’s use.  I was at a local supermarket today and saw many of these products on the shelves, another example of unregulated neo-liberalism at work.  I hope to examine more on this topic while in Bujumbura and perhaps when I return home also.

            Bujumbura is not your typical tourist location.  You won’t find any safaris or bungee jumps here.  And it’s disappointing because it is a beautiful country.  There are few ‘touristy’ activities but I was aware of one place to go before my arrival.  The Musee Vivant is a museum officially but it is really a zoo.  With crocodiles.  So, last Sunday I set off with Alex, a friend of a friend working at UNICEF, to see the zoo for myself.  Firstly, we met the guinea pigs where it was explained to us that for 2000 francs (1.30 euro), we could feed the guinea pig of our choice to the crocodile ( or alligator, probably) of our choice.  We politely declined.  They were fairly cute.

            On the tour we saw all sizes of crocodiles.  They are massive creatures.  You would feel sorry them though, being in captivity in such small enclosures with Lake Tanganyika only a few hundred yards away, probably with their relatives.  Our guide was enthusiastic about us seeing them.  And touching them.  So he opened up one of the enclosures, entered and PICKED up the tail of one of the bigger crocodiles.  He insisted I enter the enclosure to hold the tail for a photo.  I put one foot inside the enclosure and just couldn’t keep out the thought out of my head of the crocodile whipping around and biting my hand off, which would be a major inconvenience.  So again, I respectfully declined.  Although, I was disappointed with myself later for refusing an invitation.  Sorry Tom!

            As well as UNICEF, I met the representatives of the Food and Agriculture organisation.  They were very enthusiastic about my project, given that very little research has been done in Burundi on malnutrition.  The country just does not get a lot of attention, funding wise.  I had a great discussion with them.  They provided a lot of interesting background to Burundi which should stand to me once I head up to Cibitoke.  All in all, a good first week!

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Thursday
Aug052010

John in Kampala / Bujumbura

AuthorJohn Villiers | DateThursday, August 5, 2010 at 10:20AM

Hello all!  Here is my first blog entry after 5 weeks in Africa!  Loads has happened.  I don’t know where to start.

I arrived at Kampala on the 26th June.  I took a taxi from Entebbe where I had my first taste in negotiating a price. I think I did ok. I landed at the Mulago Guest House where I met Nelson Obote, the manager and Keith, the other CDPC trainnee from Dublin. And of course, we headed for the Irish bar that night to watch the England Germany game.  Some things never change!

            The next day I set off to meet Anne Katanoire, head of the Child Health Development centre at Makerere University.   Anne introduced me to the other anthropologists, David and Herbert, at Makerere and Development experts in Kampala who were more than happy to discuss the project with me.  They were very helpful.  I am beginning to realize the importance of networking and location.  I am especially grateful to Anne for her help.

            I had initially planned to stay for a week in Kampala but that changed one evening when I walked into a flood drain late at night.  I know fully realize the meaning of those warnings not to walk alone at night.  But these things happen.  The next day, I took myself off to a local hospital where I found out I had a partially torn ligament.  When I went to get an x ray, the radiologist exclaimed “The ambassador to Ireland!”, joking.  Ireland is fairly well known here, a lot of people know Robbie Keane and Stephen Ireland.  And of course, they know Manchester United.  Anytime I wear the jersey, I’ll get someone approaching me to talk or saluting me.  It’s a great rapport builder for an anthropologist!

            I panicked initially because I thought I would have to come home but it’s not too serious an injury.  The doctor, who had lived in Belfast, told me I needed a knee brace.   So I rang all the expat hospitals where “muzugus” like me usually would go and none of them had a knee brace. So one day I walked/hobbled into the orthopedic unit of the Mulago hospital, just up the road from the guest house, and of course they had one for me.  I met Milton, a technologist who specialized in making prosthetic limbs.  He told me about his time in the army and the war against the Lords Resistance Army.  When I walked around Kampala, I often met people who had lost limbs, sometimes both legs.  It put my own injury into perspective.

             So I decided to stay in Kampala for 3 weeks to give the knee a chance to heal.  As well as Makerere Academics, I met many other people from GAIN, IFPRI, UNICEF and Harvest Plus to name but a few.  I also met up with CDPC trainees Niamh, Judy and Kalule and. Many thanks to Niamh for giving me a room for a week.  We travelled to a town on the Equateur one day which was cool.

             I was watching the World Cup final in a local restaurant when the suicide bombs went off.  I was there with Simon, an Irish guy I had met during the week.  We heard two big booms.  Then we saw a group of Europeans/Americans answer their phones and leave abruptly.  There was some unease initially among other people but we stayed and watched the match, not realizing what had happened.  I got a call then from my Dad when I got home and then I knew what had happened.  For the rest of the week, the city was quieter, especially at night.  There was some panic and false alarms during the week.  Everyone was shocked.  Hopefully that will be the last of it but I don’t know.

            After four weeks in Kampala, I felt I was well enough to travel.  So I got a bus from Kampala to Kigali, along with some friendly Canadians.  It was a long journey.  We stopped for breakfast on the way, bananas and sweet tea, lovely!  The first thing that struck me at the border was the cold and the mist.  And the mountains.  Rwanda is indeed the land of a thousand hills.  The scenery was unbelievable.  I had 2 good nights in Kigali with Judy who was great!  She and Musay, her driver, were great company. Hopefully, she will come to visit me in Burundi.  So finally, I headed for Bujumbura, my final destination.

            I got the 10am bus to Bujumbura and realized that I was now headed for the francophone world.  Everyone on the bus spoke French which was good for me, in order to practice.  I was also able to practice my Kirundi.  I had gotten lessons at the Rwandan embassy in Kampala in Kinyarwanda which is basically the same language although Rwandans and Burundians would disagree.  This has been hugely beneficial when talking to local people.  They really enjoy hearing you speak their language although I have a long way to go. 

            I was met at the bus stop by Severin, the logistics assistant for Concern.   Valerio, the General Systems Mangager, arranged for me to go the office first to meet the team and then back to the team house.   Everyone is sound out and they have given me a laptop and desk space for me to write up my ethics proposal for the project.  It’s good to be working with Concern.  They have a lot of projects in the country and it is fascinating to be involved and to engage with the discourse.

Bujumbura is a lovely city.  We descended down the mountains en route and it was a breathtaking view.  You can usually see hippos in the lake. The roads are excellent, better than Ireland even.  Burundi is really off the beaten track as regards ‘development’ coverage.   There are very few expatriates working here in comparison to other cities but I like that.  It is not as popular a destination as Kampala or Kigali.   I’ll have 2 weeks here in Bujumbura meeting contacts and then 9 weeks then in Cibitoke province, in the North West.  It’s no time really so I want to make the best of it.  More to follow….

            

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Thursday
Jul292010

AuthorRachel | DateThursday, July 29, 2010 at 5:18AM

The past two weeks have been very hectic over here! As well as continuing my work in the lab we have been lucky enough to be brought on not only one adventure but two in the one week! The first of these outings was to Mount Elgon National Park with a group of Americans from the Walter Reed Institute and the CDC. Mount Elgon is an extinct volcano on the border between Kenya and Uganda. I must admit I was a bit reluctant to go as it involved camping and I said to Richie ‘Camping is not my cup of tea’. As it turned out I didn’t have to worry as it rained so much we had to rent a guesthouse in the park! The national park is known as the ‘loneliest park in Kenya’ and it certainly lived up to that description. For our whole stay we did not see another person! We had the whole 169km2 Kenyan side to ourselves! On our second day in the park we decided to try and reach the summit of Mount Elgon. This involved driving around 26 miles uphill to a base camp from which you could then start walking around 6km to the peak.

After hearing we would be driving the 26 miles I was extremely relieved! However that relief was short lived as I saw the state of the roads we would be using. Pure mud!

 In that region of Kenya it rains nearly every day and there had been torrential rain the evening before. I can honestly say that I have never been so terrified as I was in the car on the way up the mountain!! The best I can describe it is like driving on black ice, up a mountain! Luckily Josh was driving and he has had courses in terrain driving as part of his military training. Aside from once when we got stuck in mud everything went ok! The 6km trail that we were using to reach the peak was questionable. It was like walking in a bog in high grass with lots of holes to fall into (which I did several times)! It struck me that not a lot of people must visit the park to even make a trail, which surprised me because the park is one of the most beautiful places I have been so far. It was like a rainforest at the base of the mountain but almost an alpine environment on the top. It also struck me that in Kenya you are really left to your own devices in parks like Mount Elgon. In Ireland the muddy roads we took would have most definitely have been closed! We did not make the peak since time was not on our side and the weather had begun to turn. Typically, it started to rain when we were nearly at the cars, so we got absolutely soaked just in time for the 3 hour drive back down! I spent most of the drive with my eyes closed silently praying as did Jennifer beside me! Near the end we turned a corner to find a giraffe standing on the side of the road. At first I thought it was a huge statue but no, it was real! I have seen giraffes in the zoo but this was actually living free in the mountains! It was very surreal but brilliant!

On our third day in the park we visited the caves. The most famous of these caves is Kitum cave which featured in the book ‘The Hot Zone’.

Basically the author suggests that Marburg virus resides in the cave as two separate people came down with Marburg after visiting them. However, an investigation by the United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases did not find any evidence of Marburg. It is all very X-Files! I decided to risk Marburg and go into the cave! It was probably best it was dark in there as there were thousands of bats hanging from the roof! Again we were the only people at the caves. The whole park feels totally unspoilt; I hope it stays that way for a long time.

On the project front I have been working through the objectives that Dr John Waitumbi set for me. The first of these is to determine if the genus-specific primers are more sensitive than the species specific primers for detecting malaria parasites. Initial results suggest that the genus-specific primers are more sensitive. I am also still working on trying to optimise the multiplex Real-Time PCR. Optimisation is tricky and takes time but hopefully it will be possible! Everybody in the lab is very enthusiastic about what they are doing and they really know their stuff, which creates a really good working atmosphere. I really like the fact that some people in the lab are working on vaccine trials that are happening in Kenya right now. It is all very current and I can see why they are passionate about it as the incidence of malaria is very high in Kisumu.

This week Dr Waitumbi arranged for us to join Duke and George from the lab on a trip to an AFI site in Marigat. AFI is a project which Dr Waitumbi is undertaking which involves investigating what causes fevers in children who have been diagnosed as malaria negative. We were to tag along and would get the opportunity to see the lakes nearby, Lake Bogoria and Lake Baringo.

The journey up to Marigat took 6-7 hours. I did not notice the time going by as there was so much to see out the window. It was some of the nicest scenery I have seen in Kenya. There were lots of school children walking and playing along the roads; the majority of children walk to and from school along busy roads without any supervision. I could see the look of total surprise on their faces when they saw us ‘mzungus’ drive by! In Marigat we stopped at the district hospital with George and Duke. For a district hospital it was small and could in no way be compared to a hospital in Ireland, but the staff were very nice. The lab we were visiting was located a short walk away from the hospital. Along the way we were swarmed by local school children. Every one of them wanted to shake our hands! They were so full of life and even knew where Ireland was, so I was impressed! The best way of describing the lab is that it is like my secondary school lab - old and not very well equipped. However, it did have the basic equipment they needed to carry out tests. The staff again were very friendly and they were doing the best they could with what they had. It is hard to imagine that a lab in an area where diseases are so prevalent could be so basic. We had brought with us a big centrifuge so George and Duke were training the staff on how to use it. The trip to the hospital and the lab was a bit of an eye opener. I knew facilities were not great but I had to see it to believe it.

The lakes themselves were lovely! Lake Bogoria is home to millions of Lesser flamingos! There are also hot springs by the lake. Along with a fellow visitor we tried to boil an egg in the hot water, but it wasn’t left in long enough and it was just runny when we cracked it! We saw on the sign-in sheet that there were other Irish people in the park that day so we kept an eye out. We joked with the others that there is always some way to connect yourself to another Irish person. Well I didn’t have to try too hard because it turned out I recognised one of them from my undergraduate years in college! It’s a small world! Lake Baringo does not have the flamingos but it is just as nice! We decided to stay in a “banda” on a camping site by the lake. We were so tired from the day that we just wanted to sleep. However, Richie soon spotted a scorpion on his bed! Needless to say we were less than keen to fall asleep after that! On the way home Chicken Choma (barbecued chicken) was on the menu - Duke knows the good places to go! We also stopped off at the Equator and bought some souvenirs!  

I learnt a lot during our trips this week, especially in the Marigat District Hospital. It was an eye opener but I am very gratefully to have been able to experience such things. With the adventures over for now we can really concentrate on our projects!

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Tuesday
Jul272010

Richard - Naruku / Lake Naivasha

AuthorRichard | DateTuesday, July 27, 2010 at 9:31AM

In my first full week of laboratory work, I made a start on the practical side of my project. However, my PCR reactions for differentiating the Salmonella strains didnt exactly go as planned (i.e. they didnt work) and so further attempts to optimise the assay will have to be carried out.

In light of the short time I am spending here in Kisumu, it was decided that I take up a new project that will look at the impact of the malarial vaccine candidate FMP-10 on the genotypes of Plasmodium falciparum (the most deadly form of malaria) in the adults participating in the clinical trial. Dont want to jinx it, but it’s going well so far... so fingers crossed.

We attend presentations every tuesday morning in the large Kenya Medical Research Institute in the nearby town of Kisien where the Centre for Disease Control (CDC) and the Walter Reed Project conduct their research. It is a great oppurtunity to see the range of projects and research being performed here and I particularly enjoy the heated discussions that can develop afterwards. The facilities of the Kisien campus are top class. The same, however, cannot be said about the road conditions on the way out there from Kisumu!!

I gave a presentation to the laboratory staff about the immunology of transplantation which I worked on previously in Beaumont Hospital in Dublin. This topic is rarely covered in Kenya but with such a high interest in all areas of science here in the laboratory, I was preparing myself for an onslaught of questions. It was great to see the interest it generated particularly in how HLA typing of populations (i.e. the tissue typing system we use for transplant patients) may be applied to work over here. One of the lads, Clifford, was particluarly interested if a transplant recipient takes over the behaviour  of their donor... he concluded that he will never accept an organ donation from a thief in case he himself became a thief!

Away from work has been busy too. A simple walk down the road would give you enough to talk about for an entire day, but i will try and recap.

A group of us from the lab went to a nice restauraunt close to Kondela where we work and I got my first experience of Kenyan nyama choma (barbequed meat) Make no bones about it (sorry!) it’s a red blooded, hands-on affair! We got barbequed goat that was chopped up into small pieces at the table. We chewed our way through it with ugali and Tusker beer to wash it down. Delicious. Subsequently came an hour of rigorous toothpicking!

Rachel and I decided to take a trip to Lake Naivasha with Emily (who works with us), Max and Jennifer (who work for the CDC). Taking an early matatu from Kisumu to Nakuru, we passed through the town of Kericho where we saw tea being picked in the manicured plantations. I remember thinking before I came over to Kenya whether to bring  some teabags over with me or not..the words apple and orchard come to mind...

Passing through the bus stations along our route, our matatu faced the onslaught from the local vendors selling everything you could think of  ranging from the essential (food, water) to the downright ridiculous (Safari Animal Mating DVD - anybody???). Unfortunately for them I wasn’t in the market for buying a machete, an Armani watch, or a torch/screwdriver (is it a torch? Is it a screwdriver?.. well it’s actually both) but you have to love their enterprise (and persistence!)

Our matatu looked like something out of “Pimp my Ride” – bright purple with darkened windows and a bumber sticker that read “Brown sugar”. Absolutely perfect. The music was pumping from the mega decibel speakers and I was “lucky” enough to get the seat directly in front of the plasma television screen, prime position to watch the music videos of artists like Mr Easy, Elephant Man, P-Square, Q-Stick and my personal favourite DJ Fish.

In Nakuru we hit a brick wall of traffic and hundreds of people lined the street in anticipation. It ended up that President Kibaki and the Prime Minister, Raila Odinga, were electioneering in Nakuru ahead of the constitutional vote on August 4th. (The Kenyan people are voting yes or no to the introduction of a new constitution in August, a change that is widely considered to be long overdue. As little as I know about Irish politics, I know even less about Kenyan politics, however I do know that it will be a major milestone for the entire country and an historic time for us to be living here) 

Crowds lining the street awaiting the President and Prime Minister

As the colossal entourage passed, people were waving Kenyan flags and cheering?/jeering? out of their windows... 

Note to Biffo (alias Brian Cowan):

These guys know how to travel in style. Nakuru was at a standstill for around two hours and there was an entourage of about 50 cars passing through. There was even helicopters following them..

Get it together Brian!...

Some Spectators...

A “yes “ voter perhaps?

Lake Naivasha is an amazing place. Situated a little over an hour from Nairobi, I can see why it is so popular with the city people as an escape from the hustle and bustle of Kenya’s capitol; it is the definition of tranquility.

We were lucky enough to take a boat ride early in the morning. There wasn’t a sinner on the lake, only us, and it is the best time to see the plethora of birdlife (including masses of Pelicans and the ice cool African Eagle) and the giant snorting hippos plodding around the shallows. The Hippos look like big floating bean bags though I doubt you would get a warm reception if you tried to lie on one.

My photography skills leave a lot to be desired as you can see from below:

 

The story behind this is that I kept following the hippos head with my camera and every time I snapped he’d duck back down into the water.  He was havin’ a great laugh at my expense, but I guarantee he’s underneath the water in the shot somewhere.

Our matatu on the way to Hell’s Gate National Park was blaring out Westlife’s version of Phil Collins “against all odds” (Westlife are massive over here and Shenaz from the guest house is most impressed with the fact they are from Ireland thus I may have to give her a rendition of a few songs!!). Despite the song being stuck in my head for the entire day, it didn’t take away from the great experience of cycling through the park alongside zebras, impalas and gazelles; a great way to be up close with the animals. I will say, zebras appear more threatening in the flesh than their meagre appearance on nature films shows, especially when there’s a herd of them just staring at you!

We got a chance to explore the nooks and crannys of the great Hell’s Gate Gorge, a great ravine impressively carved out by water.  We had to use all our climbing skills to descend into the gorge, through waterfalls and hot springs (where people are known to boil up eggs and maize) eventually finding our way back up to view the stunning scenery that surrounded us.

Rachel and I at Hells Gate.

So back to work on the project. With any luck my experiments will go as planned and I will at least have some results to show at the end of it! And as for the  Kenyan exprience, this mini adventure has certainly whetted my appetite to see what more this great country can offer and as the presidential motorcade shows, there is a surprise around every corner. I look forward to see what’s in store for the rest of my time here...

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Monday
Jul262010

Richard - Marigat/Lake Bogoria/Lake Baringo

AuthorRichard | DateMonday, July 26, 2010 at 6:55AM

Marigat/Lake Bogoria/Lake Baringo:

The World Cup drama has come to an end with Spain as champions and much depression over the manner of Ghana’s loss to Uruguay. And so its  time to focus on my project!

Using capillary electrophoresis genotyping, I attained my first results (finally after 6 weeks of work!) and so can start my analysis of the different malaria parasite genotypes that have been detected. With so many great opportunities to visit interesting places and so many things I want to do and see it is hard to keep focused on the task of writing a thesis. Dr. Waitumbi keeps us on our toes however, and both Rachel and I are to give a presentation next week to update the staff of our progress and our objectives for the remaining weeks in Kenya.

The opportunity arose to travel to Marigat general hospital up north of Kisumu with George and Duke (staff at Walter Reed) who were to conduct training there. It was a great chance to visit a rural hospital setting and observe how it operates. (It was also a great chance to visit the nearby Lake Baringo and Bogoria, sure why not?)

The drive from Kisumu took us through sugar cane, tea and maize plantations and we witnessed some stunning scenery as we meandered through the great Rift Valley on our way to Marigat.

 


Picture: Our friend Emily enjoying the view of the rift valley.

 is a place that would not see many travellers (it doesn’t even make the Lonely Planet!). It may not have the lush mountain to climb or the interesting animals to see, but visiting here gives you a real experience of rural Kenya, the kind of place that you are stared at walking down the street and kids run out of their school to talk to/shout at you! (maybe I just like the attention but it was a great experience)


Visiting Marigat hospital was an eye opening experience and gave us an insight into the real-life inequities faced by health workers in developing countries, a topic we have discussed in lectures throughout the year. It was my favourite experience in Kenya to date and has confirmed my decision to come back to college to undertake the M.Sc. in Immunology and Global Health to be a worthwhile one.

At the hospital, we were greeted by two nurses, Winnie and Diana. Both work extremely hard to provide essential healthcare in the face of the minimal resources at their disposal.  They showed us the laboratory where we delivered a centrifuge and George conducted training to the staff.  The centrifuge delivered was a step up from the previous one the lab staff were using.

 


A manual centrifuge used when no available of electricity.

 laboratory staff are working very hard to ensure the service they provide is at the top standard and it can’t be an easy feat given the resources they have to work with. The training of staff by more experienced individuals can go a long way to ensuring the provision of a better standard of health care. The smallest piece of help I was able to give has shown me the benefits of the CDPC programme. A truly worthwhile experience.

We also got the chance to visit the nearby Lake Bogoria, its hot springs and geysers and its thousands upon thousands of flamingos all walking and squawking in tandem which made for a cacophony of sound.


 

Some nice zebra running past the flamingos of Lake Bogoria.

 Baringo gave us a chance to view some hippos and crocodiles before sunset It was there where we decided to stay the night, in a quaint “banda” along the shore. When being shown to my bed I happened to notice a scorpion, happy as Larry, crawling across my pillow. I don’t have a photo because I was outside the door in a flash screaming my head off!!! Needless to say, I didn’t sleep much that night….

 

 

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Thursday
Jul152010

CDPC Alumni meeting in Dar es Salaam: Brenda's view

AuthorBrenda Nabitula | DateThursday, July 15, 2010 at 8:20AM

During the CDPC meeting that took place in Dar es salam, we decided that in order for us to remain in touch and keep track of each other’s progress (past trainnees), we should keep bloging…… fast forward, two months later I am still wondering what I should write about in my blogs!

Let me start with how I have progressed since the CDPC training, that is October 2008.

When I got back I started studying, am doing a Master’s of Medicine in Microbiology. The course runs for three years and I have done two years so far. I think the progress has been quite ok.

I have written a research proposal, which I defended before the IRB last week, the experience was quite interesting. What was most interesting was that I am the principal investigator which sometimes I look at as a “big title”, but well I guess that is all part of the training. Also in developing this proposal I learnt that one can not take it for granted that people will read the proposal, when you want them to give help in one way or another. I don’t know yet if the proposal passed or not, I will know the answer next week so wish me luck.

I was glad to hear that Richie Forde is in Kisumu under CDPC. I met him when I trained at Beaumont Hospital in the Immunogenetics lab, I hope I meet him at some point…

I would like to use this opportunity to tell the CDPC executive and the organisers of the Dar es salam meeting that I had a wonderful time both in Ireland and in Dar, thank you very much for inviting us and and for looking after us when in Maynooth.

For now that is all I have to say, may be I will have more next time I write.

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Tuesday
Jul062010

'Since arriving in Ireland, I have had many excellent experiences on the Education Outreach programme...'

AuthorSarah Kituyi | DateTuesday, July 6, 2010 at 7:10AM

Since arriving in Ireland, I have had many excellent experiences on the Education Outreach programme. On the 26th of April, I attended a science education workshop by Dr. Gerry Jeffers. This gave me an opportunity to get to know the approach and methodologies that are used in science teaching training in NUI Maynooth, Ireland.  In this particular lecture, the problem of excessive heat and food spoilage in Sudan was the main focus and the student science teachers were encouraged to be innovative with emphasis on developing of problem solving skills. The students appeared to be conversant with the approach and were thus quick to identify a number of possible  scientific solutions to the problem. The workshop then concluded with the introduction of a technology that has been used in the design of a traditional refrigerator called the Zeer pot.

Later the same week, I travelled to Colaiste Lorcain School in Kildare where I met young second level students who were working on their science projects for the annual SciFest showcase. It was amazing to see the young students speak so confidently about what they had done in their projects. All the projects were excellent and well researched. One group of students had tested the efficacy of probiotics in the management of HIV/AIDS and developed a highly nutritious pro-biotic bar for use by people living with AIDS. On the 5th May, this particular project won the top prize at their regional SciFest showcase.

I also met Thomas Dunne a young exceptional student. Thomas won the best prize for the senior biology category at the BT Young Scientist Exhibition 2010 for his project on the Malaria genome. I have gained a lot of knowledge about the innovative approaches used in the teaching of science subjects from working with this school. I hope to see such technology and approaches used  in my own country. 

In Colaiste Lorcain with the students doing their science projects and their teacher Mr Sylvester McVoey

Colaiste Lorcain is one of  the many schools that is part of the CDPC school outreach programme. I am happy  to witness the teaching of science in schools in Ireland and in particular in this exceptional school. The science teachers here make use of a most excellent technology called Lab Quest that allows for the testing of various theories and the collection of data at hand on the screen of the device. It is an amazing technology that gives the students an opportunity to investigate a number of parameters and observe the data as the experiment progresses. The students in this school have been able to make use of this technology under the guidance of their science teacher Mr. Sylvester McEvoy.

 

On the 5th of May, I attended the Young Social Innovators showcase in Dublin which was such a big event. I was able to observe a number of projects  by young people from schools all over Ireland. This event was an eye opener to me and I highly look forward to borrowing from the event for the development of a similar show case in my own country.

 In Colaiste Lorcain School with Thomas Dunne and Mr Sylvester McVoey

At the Young Social Innovators Show Case in Dublin.

Later the same month, I attended  a video conference between Maynooth University and Ulster University geared at dissolving boundaries in Schools within the Republic of Ireland and the Schools in Northern Ireland through the use of ICT. This project, called “Dissolving Boundaries”, is a forum through which schools in the two regions have formed partnerships with each other with the goal of integrating the use of ICT and the development of a mutual understanding through cross border links. This was a very good opportunity for me since I was able to observe how the whole concept of Dissolving Boundaries works in the two regions towards the integration of ICT in the school curriculum in a very meaningful way.

Having seen the Lab Quest sensor device, I wanted to have some first hand experience on how it really works and I was privileged to be hosted in Colaiste Lorcain School again on the 27th of May where Mr. McEvoy devoted his own time in to helping me learn how to test various parameters with the device. I realised this technology could be of enormous benefit to Africa.

On the 1st of June, I had a meeting with Vincent English, CEO of the company that makes the sensors. Vincent presented me with a Lab Quest and sensors. This was a fantastic generous gesture by the company as I would now be able to use Lab Quest Device with Various sensors and take this knowledge and technology to Kenya.

Myself in company of Idel Mulvihill and Padraig Kenny both of Vernier Europe Moments after my Training Session on the use of the Labquest

Myself in company of Idel Mulvihill and Padraig Kenny both of Vernier Europe Moments after my Training Session on the use of the Labquest

I believe it will have a great impact on the transformation of the teaching of science subjects in both teacher training colleges and schools. To date, the resources that I have gathered for the initiation of development education and the transformation of the teaching of science subjects in my own country are my greatest achievement for having participated in the Education Outreach Programme.

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Tuesday
Jul062010

Keith's first week

AuthorKeith Greene | DateTuesday, July 6, 2010 at 7:03AM

Day 1 Tuesday 08/06/2010

I won't bore you with the details of travelling but I did see the most beautiful sunset as we came into Ugandan airspace. It was pitch dark at about 7.30 so by the time I was out of the airport it felt as though it was about 2/3 o' clock at home. My flight landed on time and I was greeted by Joseph and 3 other men. They were all really nice and they took my bags from me and carried them to the car. There was nowhere to buy a sim card or to exchange money so off we headed toward Kampala. It took roughly an hour to get to the guest house.

After seeing me to my room and arranging to meet up with Joseph at 10 the following morning they all said good night and left. I whipped out my laptop only to discover I can't get the internet. The problem is while my laptop can see that there is a network there the signal is too weak to pick it up.

It was a very long day but a good day full of excitement and nervousness that has ended . It's looking like this place is going to be more adventurous than I had anticipated. A good night's sleep should sort me out.

Day 2

Today was an important day of getting in contact with everybody who I'm guessing were a little bit concerned about if or when I arrived. I met some other visiting researchers at breakfast today. Apparently it was a late breakfast as it is a public holiday (hero's day) and according to the other visiting researchers they have quite a few of them, so wohoo I guess. After breakfast I met with Chris (I think that's his name!). He was one of the 4 guys who picked me up from the airport so I had a one in 3 chance of getting it right, as the 4th was Professor Joseph Olobo. Anyway we headed for town in a public taxi. That trip in itself was an adventure. Just about the only rule of the road that is obeyed is which side to drive on and even then this was ignored at junctions. There are no speed limits but there are some pot-holes big enough to bury a person. We arrived in the town and got some money exchanged.

I think Joseph wants me to start work tomorrow so I'll have to change my meeting with Niamh (a previous trainee of the CDPC now working in Kampala) to maybe tomorrow evening. I guess that means it's a good thing that I have the rest of the day to myself to read up on techniques and methodologies but boy is it going to be boring.

As I am Irish I would be remiss if I didn't at least briefly talk about the weather. Unusually for an Irish conversation about the weather there are no complaints. Clear skies and the temp is in the mid-twenties and apparently that is where it is set to stay. The coldest it gets is the mid-teens during the night and the hottest it gets is the high-twenties during the afternoon so no huge fluctuations and plenty of opportunity to grab some sun.

The evening hasn't been a total loss I have vultures, hawks and magpies twice the size of those at home outside my room to keep me occupied until they go to sleep.

Day 3

I am eager to get to work because I really have nothing else to do and feel like I am in the way. I know I'll start doing my literature review section, I have papers downloaded so I should be able to cover a good bit of it. Why didn't I think of this yesterday when I was bored out of my tree in the room, ah well.

Just finished my first day in the lab spent most of it with Chris and professor Olobo showing me how I will be culturing the parasites and preparing stocks ready for subculture next week. I also experienced my first real taste of Ugandan food. The rice and beef were nice but they have some funky ways of preparing banana as part of the main meal. Neither way of preparation was overly nice to say the least. I'll keep plugging away at different things though.

I spent a while with Chris touring the "campus" and hospital. All the separate buildings are based around the hospital and are part of its research in different areas.

Anyway it's as hot as hell here tonight I have the fan going 90 and have a tough day tomorrow in work. I'll have to finish early to go to the Irish embassy then back here for a little bit and after that get credit to send some texts. After that it's off to the pub to watch the opening games of the world cup.

Day 4

Didn't get a very good night's sleep last night I had the fan on to try keep cool but it was too loud so I turned it off. Unfortunately it was only just about drowning out the sound of some really bad really loud African music being played by someone down the road. Ah well.

Got into work a little early today as from the way the professor sounded yesterday we had a bit of work ahead of us today before finishing. Turns out we it wasn't busy after all. He got Chris to remove the stocks from the -70oC freezer and sink them in liquid nitrogen. It would have been cool to see but instead the professor took me to the Irish embassy so I could register as being here.  It only took 20mins to register so I was in and out in no time at all. Once registered I was given an invitation to a party being held in the Irish embassy at the end of the month, so that should be fun. I wonder how formal it will be; something tells me jeans and a shirt won't cut it??? After this the professor dropped me just at the end of the road from where I am staying. Rather than going home and sitting around I went down to a local hut to buy air minutes and then headed back to the office to go on the internet. Between the jigs and the reels of trying to set myself up with wireless on my laptop one of the girls in the office took pity on me and brought me to the library where the head guy there sorted me right out with server numbers and IP addresses etc. So I have wireless on my laptop again wohoo but only to within a few meters of the library aww. Ever the optimist I'm seeing this as a good step forward and with each step I feel a little bit more settled here. I fired off some emails and checked about on facebook. Unfortunately when it really matters late in the evening I may not be able to skype because they lock that place up pretty tight, but I'm going to give it a shot over the weekend and see how it goes. Worst case scenario is that it doesn't work out properly and I take the plunge and buy a portable modem.

I'm telling you now, atkins wouldn't do well here. Every plate has two kinds of cooked banana/plantain things, a portion (which is the white block of chewy starchy tastelessness), of rice, sweet potatoes, Irish potatoes (they're not really "Irish" potatoes, they're just normal white potatoes but boy was I glad to see them), yams as well as some meat (I say some but really yesterday I got two small pieces which put together were about the same size of Aoife's phone and today I got one big piece which was slightly over twice the size of a meatball found in subway, but it contained more fat and cartilage than meat). My point of the rant was a serious over load of starch.

Boda bodas are motor bikes that act as taxis. The bikes are form the 70's or 80's (as are most of the cars here too). Getting a boda is basically getting on a barely functioning bike with a driver that has a death wish on roads with holes varying in size from pots to graves and all sorts of bumps the size of speed ramps and divots that were equally as deep. Oh and there are three to a bike with no protection whatsoever. Needless to say I was nervous getting on but when in Rome I said to myself. The funny thing is that everybody I have talked to has said not to use them, even Chris, and yet there I was hanging onto the back grip bar for dear life.

He has told me that tomorrow seeing as I have made no plans that I can go to his uncles/family's place just outside of town where I will meet his uncle and other members of his family and stay for dinner. I'm looking forward to the experience but not so much to the food again or the language barrier. They all talk their native tongues to each other mixed with English so it's hard to keep up with conversations. Even when it is all in English the pronunciation is difficult for both parties to understand, but it should be fun.

Day 5

I met with Chris just after mid-day and we got a taxi to a market somewhere between here and the place he grew up. It was quite busy. There were hundreds of small areas composed a person sitting on the ground at the rear of a mass of whatever they were selling and they sold everything from clothes to fruit. There were no gaps between each area; they all essentially melded into each other on the ground. So Chris bought some fruit for when we arrived. We got a public taxi most of the rest of the way there followed by a boda journey. Not half as bad as the last time but only because the roads were so bad the driver couldn't get any speed going. We arrived to an almost empty house. His sister was the only one home as most of his family were at some gathering in his home village. His sister (Sara) made dinner and washed the fruit that was bought. The time I spent there was very humbling indeed.

Chris's uncle arrived shortly after we finished dinner but only sat with us for a minute. He has a malignant cancer and has had operations to remove three tumours already but it is still spreading so he is looking into alternative ways like a certain diet to fight it or reduce it. He presented Chris with an email he received filled with the biggest load of nonsensical tripe about a fruit that easily cures all cancers and other ailments. Unfortunately I think he believed it but thankfully Chris saw some sense. Once we had rested after dinner we walked about half a mile back to the main road and got a public taxi back to Kampala city.

Walking around the area where Chris lived I saw the kind of poverty that you see on documentaries about poverty in Africa. You know how when you go to New York and it is exactly as you see it on TV, well it's the same here except at the total opposite end of the spectrum. I am officially a "Muzungu" it means rich person in lugandan. African people have to be fat, wear nice clothes and drive nice cars to be considered rich. I just happen to be white so regardless of what I have on me or in my wallet I am considered a rich Muzungu.

Just so you can picture it the public taxis are Toyota hi-ace vans from the early 80's ish. They are kitted out with 12 seats inside them and probably most worrying is that they are all fitted with Nissan bull bars across the front. This place is pure madness.

 

Day 6

Today is the first day it has rained since my arrival and boy does it rain here. I'm afraid to go out in that not cus of getting wet but it actually looks as though those rain drops would hurt. Added to that is the loud claps of thunder and flashes of lighteninf. The funniest part is there wasn't a cloud in the sky two hours ago and about 3 mins ago BOOM!!! The kind of rain that would destroy Cork in a matter of minutes.

It's nice to get a bit of rain, it makes a change from all that sunshine we've been having HAHAHAHAHAHA.

Today is my first day of proper work and I am looking forward to getting stuck into it. Professor Olobo has given me a quick rundown of what I will be doing and the rough lengths of time this will take and according to my calculations if all goes according to plan I will be finished in 9 weeks. However, I'm wondering how likely is it that everything will go according to plan.

 

Day 8

Not much to do today in work, so far just inoculating another two vials to create passage two of our parasite cultures, but Chris said it was a more complicated procedure. It turns out it was an easier one, just using syringes instead of pipettes. I think Chris just wanted something to do, then again so did I.

Chris and a friend of his got invited to a wedding that is on this weekend so he decided to invite me. I politely refused. I didn't want to be rude but I don't know the couple, and as much as it would have been fun to see a different kind of wedding compared to what I am used to back home or on the TV, I wouldn't feel comfortable because I wasn't invited by the family. Also I wouldn't know what to buy (because you can't show up empty handed) or what to wear or how to act/behave and it all would have been a bit much I think.

According to Chris's friend if I am to try to learn a language it would be best if I learned Swahili as Lugandan is only a local language and Kampala being the capital city people from all over Uganda come with their own local language that is totally different to Lugandan so very few people speak it. Almost everywhere you go in east Africa the people understand Swahili.

In the afternoon Chris was talking to the professor and the professor told him that as I have never worked with parasites before, I required a short course so that I knew what it was I was looking for. Part 1 was looking at smears under a light microscope which took a total of an hour to do and to be honest that was only because I wasn't sure if I needed to look at all the slides before I told Chris what I had figured out (yeah Chris is giving me the course). Tomorrow it is staining the parasites and again looking at the smears, that I will prepare under the microscope.

Its 23.45 so I am officially a week here (& a bit), this week has flown through and yet the idea of being here for almost another three months seems so long, but I'm sure once a proper routine kicks in within the next week or so time will slip away.

 

 

 

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Tuesday
Jun292010

Kamugisha's farewell

AuthorKamugisha Gosbert | DateTuesday, June 29, 2010 at 7:58AM

I had an exhilarating experience in Ireland. It is virtually impossible to give a full story of my stay in this beautiful country. I trained at the National University of Ireland, Maynooth as a fellow with the Combat Diseases of Poverty Consortium from January to May 2010. I had the company of other trainees from East Africa: Joseph Erume from Uganda, John Kariuki and Sarah Naulikha from Kenya.  Memories of the beautiful university town of Maynooth are still fresh in my mind. I can still remember the wonderful architectural design of the NUIM south campus. Although it was possible to finish all my daily business in the north campus where the CDPC offices are located, I would sometimes walk home or detour through the south campus because the place is so refreshing and welcoming with its wonderful buildings and the surrounding green landscape. I think this is the reason why our fellow trainee from Uganda, Joseph Erume, used to take the long way home to our apartment by trekking all the way from the North Campus, then over the bridge to the south campus, then to the apartment instead of taking the shortest route from the north campus.

I found our apartment very comfortable and attractive. It is a place where you would not feel bored even when you are on your own in the house. Just beside our apartment, you will find a magnificent golf course where Sarah and I used go running in what we used to refer to as “Maynooth marathon”. There we used to meet other guys exercising and sometimes John and Joseph would join us for a walk on this gorgeous site.

I traveled a lot in this country and I came to know many places and their histories through Joseph Clowry (CDPC Education Officer) and Patsy Toland (Self Help Africa). The most interesting trip was the trip to Donegal which included Joseph Clowry, Sarah, Patsy and I. As we were driving to Donegal, Joe and Patsy gave us a brief history about the counties we were traveling through and more particularly about Northern Ireland and its conflicts. Before going to Ireland I used to hear about the Northern Ireland conflict through BBC and Sky News but after hearing narrations from people who experienced the conflict and after visiting Derry, I came to realize that I had only known one side of the story. I visited the Bogside in Derry, the scene of Bloody Sunday and we learnt a lot about the repercussions of this day some 38 years earlier. Since returning to Tanzania, I was delighted to hear about the Saville report or enquiry on the truth of what happened on this day over 38 years ago. It was great for me to visit this place and connect to history.

While in Ireland I had an opportunity to conduct workshops on HIV with secondary school students in the company of Sarah, Joe Clowry, Kariuki and sometimes Patsy. These workshops were fantastic! We exchange ideas with students about various issues regarding the problem. Although some students had little knowledge about the virus, they were very open and enthusiastic to know more about the virus and how they can protect themselves. They were particularly interested to see the connection between HIV and AIDS and poverty. Teachers and the entire administration of the schools were very helpful as they were ready to facilitate in any way to make the workshops succeed. Some students, and mostly in religious based schools, were looking a bit shy whenever I talked about issues of sex and sexuality without use of euphemistic words. This reminded me of the early days of HIV outbreak in Tanzania when talking about sex in public was considered a taboo but all this change as our communities became more and more ravaged by the virus. I hope that the Irish people start talking about the virus before it is too late. Even as I left there was bad news about the increasing prevalence of HIV in Ireland. The rate is low but on a steady increase!! I was also shocked to find that condoms are very expensive in Ireland (about 6 Euros for a pack of three condoms) than in Tanzania (about 0.05 Euro and sometimes free). All students who participated in the workshops complained about the high cost of condoms and that it is too expensive for them to use a condom. Some students even joked that they would prefer to use the money for beer rather than buying condoms! I hope the Irish government will listen the cries of these young people by making condoms affordable for these young people and reduce the tax on condoms. Condoms are not a luxury item.

During my stay in Ireland I also attended various workshops related to the issues of foreign aid. These workshops were organized by Irish Aid, Self Help Africa, Irish Development Education Association and the other one organized by students at Dublin City University (DCU). At the DCU meeting, we were honoured to be invited to this small group meeting and listened to Minister Peter Power debate the governments approach to working with the developing world. At this meeting we were very impressed with Michael Doorly from Concern and his passion for development and development education. I was very impressed to see how Irish people from all walks of life are committed to provide whatever little they have for charity to help people in African countries like Tanzania. I equally felt ashamed after learning that the Irish population is about four million and it this small population provides so much for about forty million of people in Tanzania! Tanzania is naturally endowed with minerals, forests and biodiversity, marine resources, massive fertile lands, animal parks etc and Ireland does not have even half of these resources. found  Still our country is overwhelmingly depending on foreign aid such as that provide by Irish Aid and other charities from Irish people. Are our resources poorly managed for the benefit of the small minority of Tanzanians particularly the business and elite class? I dream of a day when all the poor in Tanzania will have access to quality education, health services, water, housing, and communication infrastructure. This will be the day when pro-poor policies will be born.

I hope for the day when Tanzanian students will be exposed to Development Education, Science Innovation as the students in Ireland are.

I feel indebted to reciprocate the great hospitality I received from Joe Clowry, Patsy, Tom Strong, Hayley, Jamie, Ting Ting and many other staff and students at NUIM for you made my stay in Maynooth a enjoyable one and I would like to say asante sana!

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Wednesday
Jun232010

Week 2 in Kisumu

AuthorRachel | DateWednesday, June 23, 2010 at 10:18AM

With our first week being so eventful, our second week had a lot to live up to. It did not disappoint!

In the lab the primers and probes which I had been waiting on arrived on Thursday. This meant that I could really get going on my project. My first task was to check that the DNA samples I had for the four Plasmodium species (P. falciparum, P. malariae, P. ovale and P. vivax) did in fact contain Plasmodium DNA. To do this I carried out a Real-Time PCR using Plasmodium genus-specific probe and primers. The results confirmed that they did contain Plasmodium DNA. The next step was to check if my species-specific primers were specific for just one species, i.e. did P. falciparum primers only amplify the P. falciparum DNA and not cross react with any of the other Plasmodium species. The first run of this experiment has shown some unexpected results. The reason for this is most likely due to the individual species DNA not being pure. It is quite hard to get pure samples of P. ovale, P. malariae and P. vivax. They are all usually isolated from blood samples. However blood samples may contain mixed infections that may not show up in microscopy. I have now gathered some more DNA for the four species that appear to be pure. I plan to repeat the experiment and hopefully will get some good results!

For the weekend a group of us decided to go to Lake Naivasha. The group included myself, Richie, Emily from the lab and Max and Jennifer from the CDC. We had been told that it was a straight matutu ride away so would not be too much hassle to get there. The journey in fact ended up taking around 7 hours and involved 3 different matatus!

Fish eagle on Lake Naivasha

However it ended up being worth it because along the way we got to see the Kenyan president! He was travelling through Nakuru just as we happened to be driving in. I have never seen such a convoy of cars; there must have been around 100 vehicles driving with him, not to mention two huge helicopters! The traffic on our side of the road came to a halt and everybody got out of their cars to line the street and as his car drove by he waved out the window. The journey up until then had been worth it just to experience that! When we finally reached Lake Naivasha we found a place to stay. It was right on the lake and the grounds it was set on were so peaceful.  The design of the restaurant/ bar area was so nice that it could rival any European establishment. I was surprised to see an Irish blessing in the bathroom but we later found out that one of the owners was an Irish woman! We never met her but it was nice to know there was an Irish connection to the place. On the Sunday morning we got up early and took a boat ride around the lake. It was so quiet and peaceful. Our driver pointed out all the wildlife to us including fish eagles, pelicans and of course hippos! It was the first time I had seen hippos in the wild- there were loads of them!

Hippo!

We got as close as we could before they started grunting at us in warning. It was probably for the best that I only found out after that they have been known to attack people!

Boat trip on Lake Naivasha

After our boat ride we went to the nearby Hell's Gate National Park. This national park is small in comparison to some of the others in Kenya and you are allowed to cycle through it. We hired bikes and cycled past zebra, impala, warthogs and baboons! There is a dormant volcano located nearby so the park is partly covered in ash from the last eruption. One of the main attractions of the park is the gorge.

The gorge

After some consideration we decided to get a tour guide to show us around it. It is a good thing we did because on the way down our guide began to list the ways we were in danger just by being in it. These included perishing through volcanic eruption, earthquake, rocks falling on us and drowning. Water in the gorge can reach 1 meter in just 10 minutes when it rains! It was turning out to be much more than the leisurely stroll I had anticipated. In fact it involved scaling up and down huge boulders, shimmying across rock faces and jumping into streams and small waterfalls - it was brilliant! I can see why some of the film Tomb Raider Two was filmed here! On the way back to the entrance the bikes, which had been such a good idea at the start, turned into a disaster! Half way along a deserted uphill road my gear cog decided to give up and fell off. To add to it all the blazing sun decided to make an appearance. With the ash and the sun I felt like we were stranded in the Sahara! Luckily a bus with a group from an orphanage drove by some time later and picked myself and Jennifer up along with our broken bikes. We tried to get a refund but no such luck. The journey back to Kisumu was much less of a hassle than on the way up. Getting a matutu at night seems to be the way to travel and we made it home in less than 5 hours.

It was really great to visit other parts of Kenya. We got a taste of what Kenya has to offer and I can’t wait to see what else there is to see and do!


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Monday
Jun212010

Rachel's first week in Kisumu

AuthorRachel | DateMonday, June 21, 2010 at 5:53AM

The journey to Kenya was a relatively smooth one and we arrived in Kisumu early Wednesday morning. A potential disaster was avoided in Amsterdam airport due to a mad sprint through the airport to catch our next flight to Nairobi! Our bags however were not as lucky and missed the plane! Luckily the Kenyan Airways staff  in Kisumu were quite helpful and our cases were found and returned to us by the following day. The first thing I noticed while driving through Kisumu from the airport was how busy and full of life the city seemed; there were people everywhere!  Seeing as we didn’t have much to unpack on our first day we decided to go and check out the city and Lake Victoria. I soon found out that walking to town in jeans in the middle of the day is not a good idea and myself and Richie were roasting by the time we made it to the lake! When we reached the lake I was surprised to see cars parked and being washed in the water at the edge! As to how dry or clean the cars were after their wash I do not know! We were tempted to take a boat out onto the lake and look for the hippos we were told live in the lake, but we decided that we should probably try and keep our only set of clothes dry! From the lake we took a tuk tuk to the Impala National Park. Having seen the tuk tuks whizzing and weaving madly in the streets I was a bit nervous getting into one but it turned out to be totally fine! When we reached the park there was quite a large queue so we decided to come back another day! That night John kindly took us out for a few beers in the N bar. We all drank the famous Tusker beer which I found surprisingly nice! A good but tiring first day!

Tuk tuk in Kisumu

We spent the first few days in the lab being introduced to members of the Walter Reed institute and also researching our projects together with Linda and Bashir who will be helping me with mine. My project will be to optimise a multiplex PCR for the four species of Plasmodium- Plasmodium falciparum, P. vivax, P. ovale and P. malariae. It will mostly involve Real-Time PCR. Currently the methods used to detect Plasmodium in samples include microscopic examination of blood smears and PCR. Microscopy however has problems associated with it, including the need for a skilled microscopist; these skilled technicians are not always available. PCR is used to analyse a sample for the presence of one Plasmodium species at a time. This is time consuming and costly. A multiplex PCR would save time and money and detect mixed Plasmodium infections. I am looking forward to trying out techniques I have never used before!

 Bashir

Since we had arrived everyone was talking about the World Cup which is great as I love to watch it! On the Friday after finishing in the lab for the weekend two girls from the lab, Emily and Linda, took us to a place called ‘Mon Amie’ where the South Africa V Mexico game was being shown. The place was packed full of people and there was a great atmosphere! Everyone was cheering for South Africa except for one lone Mexican! The game itself was very exciting and everybody was in great form after it so we decided to have a few drinks and have a dance in the local clubs. On the Saturday we decided to check out the swimming pool in the Aga Khan club. We walked through the town to get there in the hot afternoon sun so nothing felt nicer than jumping into the pool! Another important World Cup match was on that evening- USA V England. We watched it along with some people from the lab in a roof top bar in the Duke of Breeze hotel. People’s support was not so obvious for this match, but we were cheering for the USA mostly because we were surrounded by Americans!  By the end of the match I understood why ‘breeze’ was part of the hotel name, as myself and Linda were freezing from the wind on the roof! So it does get cold in Kenya sometimes!!

On the Sunday myself and Richard decided to go to the Kibuye market. This is a huge open air market just a few minutes from the centre of town. From what I could see they sold anything you could ever think of, including tyre sandals and coffins! I decided to opt out of buying the tyre sandals and instead settled for a pair of conventional flip flops. I also gave the coffins a miss! From the market we got a tuk tuk to a place called Kiboko Bay. I had thought I was relatively used to riding in a tuk tuk but soon found out I hadn’t seen anything yet! The road to Kiboko bay was absolutely full with potholes! The tuk tuk driver didn’t seem in the least bit phased as we were being thrown around the back seat! Kiboko Bay itself was very nice. We had hoped to see some Hippos which supposedly graze on the grass there but I think we went at the wrong time. The trip to Kiboko Bay was made all the more eventful by the fact a magnitude 5 earthquake occurred while we were there. Nothing spectacular happened but the ground I was sitting on had felt like jelly and there was a loud noise like an explosion. However Richie, who was sitting right beside me, didn’t feel or hear any of this!! He thought I was absolutely mad when I told him I thought it was an earthquake! It turns out the epicentre was a few kilometres from Kisumu. Luckily there was no damage done. All in all it was an eventful first week. I am looking forward to the week ahead when I can start on my own project and also explore more of the area!

Kibuye marketKibuye market 2

 

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Thursday
Jun172010

Richard's rant, no. 2: 'My Swahili is coming on a treat...'

AuthorRichard | DateThursday, June 17, 2010 at 11:29AM

My Swahili is coming on a treat.  I know all the essentials: sasa (now),  asante (thanks) poa (dont really know what this means but I’m saying it for everything), niko sawa (no, jaysis, I’m grand) and Tusker (kenyan beer).

Starting to feel like a local. I’ve even become a member of the swimming club and have started (attempted) to go for a run in the mornings. However, I don’t think I’ll be challenging any of the great Kenyan runners any time soon! Today a local kid asked me as I ran by “ Mzungu.. why do you run?” 30 degree heat, legs turning to jelly, I was beginning to ask myself the same question. Then this guy below started to follow my every step. Needless to say I've never run as fast in my life!

We visited the colossal Kibuye market, one of the biggest markets in Africa. Absolute madness. A maze of stalls selling everything from furniture to shoes to fresh fruit and veg and massive piles of clothes that have been donated. In fact I’d say you can get pretty much anything you wanted here. A great experience and I’ll bring my camera with me next time.

I dismissed Rachel’s suggestion that she felt tremors from an earthquake. (in fact I thought she was losing the plot!) Ends up there WAS an earthquake, 5.0 on the richter scale near to us here in Kisumu. I didnt feel a thing. I dont know whether I’m happy or slightly disappointed about that...

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Thursday
Jun172010

Richard's first blog: 'Arrived in Nairobi on Wednesday the 9th of June to be greeted by a swarm of locusts...'

AuthorRichard | DateThursday, June 17, 2010 at 11:28AM

Arrived in Nairobi on Wednesday the 9th of June to be greeted by a swarm of locusts.  They were everywhere, all over the runway, on the outside of the plane and even found one trying to share my drink and snack on the flight to Kisumu! Full of protein, they are supposedly good to nibble on... I declined and stuck to the nuts!

Our flight took a half an hour from Nairobi.  The view from our window gave us the first chance to witness the lush Kenyan countryside eventually circling over the vast Lake Victoria to our final destination Kisumu.

Both Rachel and I arrived safely in Kisumu, our bags, however, did not.  A problem that may have been more difficult to overcome if it weren't for the help of Oloya (my new best friend) from Kenyan Airways.

We were taken to the guesthouse where we will be staying until September. An enormous house surrounded by tropical gardens immaculately kept by Julius and Shenaz who run it.  We were shown our rooms, the large back garden (which is like a rainforest in itself) and of course the large satellite TV!! There is also a gym in the house, where I plan to spend most of my time! (ahem...)

Julius made us most welcome and cooked us great traditional food for lunch and dinner. We sampled the tilapia (local fish) and I must compliment him on his chapatis too which are amazing. I told him I would repay him some night and cook for him... he didn't look too excited.

We went for a walk downtown for our first taste of Kisumu. The first thing that strikes you is the sheer number of people. This gives off a great energy that you can feel when walking through the city. Kisumu is full of life.

We passed by the various stalls that sell everything from batteries, rubber stamps, school books and drums. I have my eye on a rather fetching pair of sandles made out of car tyres. Oh.. and of course any amount of Obama t-shirts (they like him over here... sure his granny lives just up the road!)

We got a good general tour of the city. Down by the lake, where guys wash their cars - literally. At the lake we jumped on board a tuk tuk, which I’m sure is quite a challenging drive having to negotiate the bumpy roads, but it was great fun. I will aim to try all modes of public transport here from the boda boda (bicycle) to the matatu (a minibus that you can fit up to a hundred people in!)

Upon meeting John Waitumbi I knew I would settle in well in Kenya. He made us feel so welcome and even brought us out for a welcoming drink with his “gang” at a bar called the Nyanza club. We pencilled in a few suggestions of things we’re going to do and see...... oh and talked about the project... almost forgot the reason why I was over here!

Through the Combat Diseases of Poverty Consortium I have been offered the opportunity to undertake my research project in Kisumu in Kenya; an opportunity I could not let pass.  The lab is an association of the US Army Medical Research Unit with the Kenya Medical Research Institute and my project (or the plan at least) is to create a multiplex PCR reaction to differentiate between typhoidal and non-typhoidal Salmonella in the blood of children with bacteremia.

Visiting the laboratory for the first time, we were introduced to the staff who gave us a warm “karibu” (Swahili for welcome) to Kisumu and all seem willing to offer advice or help if needed. The laboratory is well equipped by any standards, which will be a great help to us in the practical element to our projects. The lab is  neighboured by the children’s hospital opened by Barack Obama (that guy again) when he was senator in 2007.

There is home cooked local food provided in the canteen at lunch times, where I got my first taste of ugali, a staple of the Kenyan diet. Essentially, it’s boiled grains cooked into a thick porridge until it sets hard... sounds tasty?.. well.. to be honest its not great but it would certainly fill you up!..

Oloya from Kenyan Airlines phoned to say our bags had been found. I think he was more excited than me, so much so that he delivered them personally to the laboratory. How's that for service??? I’m looking forward (as I’m sure everyone else is) to changing out of clothes that I've been wearing for the past three days! 

The World Cup starts while we’re over here. I have a feeling that the people are going to go nuts about it here. There seems to be an obsession with the premiership footballers; I even saw a nice decorated matatu with Wayne Rooney’s head on it (obviously to put fear into the other drivers)/

Some colleagues in the lab took us out around Kisumu to soak up the atmosphere and watch the opening game with South Africa vs Mexico. A great experience with everyone being extremely passionate about their football. It was great to see the Kenyan people supporting the South African team, as they do for all the African teams competing. I'm sure I will show the same support for my neighbours England when they play!! Now, where did i put my American flag????...

If our first couple of days are anything to go by, settling into Kisumu life will be a cinch. Our guesthouse is amazing and the laboratory standard is second to none. John Waitumbi and his staff are most friendly and helpful and we’ve already made some good friends. I look forward to seeing what adventures lie ahead in the forthcoming months...

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Friday
May282010

Sarah Kituyi Naulikha's first blog

AuthorSarah Kituyi | DateFriday, May 28, 2010 at 9:36AM

I arrived in Ireland on the 13th of April to a warm welcome by Hayley Coristine. I was very stirred up with lots of energy and anxiety to see more of Maynooth and could not resist the idea of being orientated to the University moments after my arrival. It was a good experience being taken around and introduced to various individuals in CDPC whom I would say are very kind and friendly. The reception I got on my first day swept away all the homesick that had accrued on my flight. I got to know Joe who devoted his time  to taking me around, introducing me to his colleagues and what he does with the Education Outreach program which I found to be very interesting.

Maynooth is not a place one would get lost; the campus is well structured with every facility in what I would call an ideal location. The Weather in Ireland amazed me, I could see the sun but could not feel it, luckily for me, it was not too cold as I had feared.  I proceeded with the registration in the South Campus and got myself a student Identity Card and particulars that would enable me to make use of the facilities on the University as a student. This I did on my second day.

On Thursday the 15th, I had my first experience on the train to Dublin in the company of Kamugisha; Joe met us in Dublin and took us for a very nice walk around the city before we proceeded for a meeting with various education workshop facilitators. We attended a meeting of the Irish Development Education Assocation. (IDEA).It was very interesting getting to know the different methodologies being used by facilitators in their workshops to address a number of global issues in Irish schools.

My first weekend in Ireland was very interesting as well; I spend the day with Kamugisha, Joseph and John( CDPC fellows) along with Joe at a very interesting orientation day in Maynooth. This orientation was organised by REALT  for trainee teachers from the following teacher training colleges in Dublin, Marino, St. Patricks and Church of  Ireland College. These teachers were going to teach in Uganda and Ghana  for 12 weeks. It was very interesting comparing the perception of a teacher especially a primary school teacher back in my own country and here in Ireland. We further tackled the cultural practices in Africa and gave the young teachers an overview of what to expect when they get to Africa.

 In the south campus, NUIM

Monday 19th April, the start of my second week in Ireland, I took the train again to Dublin in the company of all the other CDPC trainees. We attended an HEA/Irish Aid Workshop. We met a couple of East African Students undertaking their studies in Ireland .It was very good getting to know how concerned the Irish People are about the situation of poverty in Africa and the co-operation between Irish Aid and the Higher Education Authority in  training African Researchers to change their own continent.. It is a very innovative approach and I am glad that I have gotten the opportunity to train with the CDPC in NUIM as a result of this programme.

 In Dublin after the HEA/Irish Aid Workshop

On Tuesday the 20th, I travelled to Donegal in the company of Kamugisha, Joe and Patsy Toland. Patsy is the Education Development Co-ordinator with Self Help Africa. On our 5 hour journey we passed through Northern Ireland, which is part of the UK.  It was such a nice experience seeing the fields and the changing countryside along the way. The long journey went by very smoothly as Patsy is a safe driver. Patsy and Joe gave Kamughisha and myself a good history lesson as we drove along the country roads. The North has a lot of history; the people in this place speak differently from the people back in the South. Northern Ireland is considered as part of Great Britain, and one can tell the difference between the south and the north with regard to the type of currency, the roads and some of the architecture.

 Kamugisha and Myself with the students who attended the workshop in Bunchrana

We got to Buncrana  where we held our workshops with three schools in attendance including the Crana College, Royal and Prior College, VEC college.   We had a workshop on HIV/AIDS and it was disturbing to me that most of the students had very little information about the virus. It was equally interesting listening to them as they tried to figure out what the disease was all about. I was equally pleased with the fact that some of the students in one of the schools had visited  schools in Kenya and had developed a long lasting link with the school. It was great to see these young Irish people so ready to extend a helping hand to those in need. I knew they were committed to helping  from the way they talked with passion about the situation in African schools and how they were going to develop better and better links in the future. 

Kamugisha and Myself with teachers and organizers of the Buncrana Workshop.

After our days workshop, we proceeded further through the beautiful hilly landscape of the Inishowen peninsula,  to the Ballyliffin Lodge where we spend the night and treated ourselves to Irish delicacies. The Irish Breakfast served in this place is magnificent. While returning to the South, we dropped by the North Pole !! (see pic!!)

We eventually arrived at the North Pole but we could not find Santa.

We stopped in Derry city on the way home. Derry is a very historical city. There are  lots of art murals depicting what happened in the city throughout the terrible times of the Troubles and the civil rights movement.

One of the Art Murals in Derry

It was a very wonderful experience being to the North. We then drove for 7 hours where we proceeded to Carlow and spend the night at Joe’s house because we had an early workshop in Carlow the following morning.

The experience of driving through Ireland and staying in the countryside, made me realize that there exists a very big difference between my own countryside and the Countryside in Carlow.  There is excellent architecture in the countryside in Ireland. Its very lovely and cool being in such a house .We left the next morning for another workshop at the Presentation College in Carlow. This was a very nice workshop since the students were quite knowledgeable on HIV/AIDS. We had what I would call a very informative exchange of ideas on what was needed to stop the spread of the disease in Ireland. Joe told us that this school were doing a Development Education course and it was obvious that they had a greater understanding of issues relating to the developing world. Both the teachers and the students were amazed with the finding that the issue of HIV/AIDS in Africa is not in any way related to the fact that Africans are more promiscuous but rather it is connected heavily to poverty. The type of statistical data that we presented was an ideal eye opener to many in this forum who had been misguided about the situation of HIV in Africa. It was interesting to have some of the students agreeing that the rate of premarital sex and extra marital affairs is far much greater in western countries than it is in Africa. I travelled back to Maynooth alongside Kamugisha after the workshop. 

Kamugisha and myself in the company of the students at the Presentation College moments after the workshop.

I still wanted to have an experience of yet another type of workshop and thus had to accompany Patsy  from Self Help Africa, the next day to Carrickmacross. Patsy’s workshops were on Development in general are not as specific in approach as the type of workshops I had initially attended with Joe. He has an  interesting approach to addressing a number of issues around the globe in an effort to open the eyes of the Young Irish People to the what seems to be happening around the world and what they can do to make the world a better place for everybody. I have a feeling that I am the most privileged trainee to have travelled a lot in Ireland within a period of only two weeks. What I have gained so far is very essential to me especially with the various experiences and the resources I have been provided with. Am actually in the right place to develop a number of resources for use in my own country in fostering science education in both secondary and primary schools.

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Wednesday
May192010

On the 17th March 2010 we had a wonderful meeting with the young Irish Teacher Trainees...

AuthorJoseph Erume | DateWednesday, May 19, 2010 at 7:59AM

On the 17th March 2010 we had a wonderful meeting with the young Irish Teacher Trainees who will be going to teach in schools in Uganda and Ghana this June. This was at NUIM South Campus. My thanks Joe Clowry for organizing this event. It was such an eventful meeting. Had lunch together with the students and went forward to discuss with the students about the Ugandan culture, how the teaching profession is held over in Uganda and what they should expect when they arrive. I liked the organization, it was interactive and cordial. All the four current CDPC trainees were present and we were also privileged to meet one Ugandan student who is currently in Dublin for his Masters. We shared and talked freely about Ugandan (East African) peoples and more especially their incredibly diverse cultures and welcoming nature. I am so excited to see these Irish student teachers come and interact and inspire our teachers and students in Uganda. Many thanks for CDPC for this twinning arrangement and it’s my wish that it prospers from strength to strength.

I am also full of gratitude to CDPC for all the tangible benefits through the training and skills I have acquired. I can’t forget the best day of my stay in NUIM, 23rd April 2010, the day Dr. Martina shocked me with the epidemiology book I always longed for. This was courtesy of Drs. Martina and Noel Murphy CDPC.

My visit also gave me the opportunity to go to the veterinary department at UCD on 29th April 2010 where I met two scientists, courtesy of Dr. Noel Murphy. We had a fruitful discussion where I made links for immediate and future research collaboration. I will soon be going back to Uganda but very happy for the opportunity CDPC gave me to come over to Ireland. Thanks everyone and thanks to Hayley Coristine in particular for coordinating the training.

Joseph in Dublin city centre

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Thursday
Apr222010

First impressions from John

AuthorJohn Kariuki | DateThursday, April 22, 2010 at 6:54AM

My journey to Ireland started as expected, though the flight had to be delayed for 20 minutes after one passenger went down with flu. It was the most anticipated trip I have ever had, so everything about it was exciting.

The journey truly exceeded my expectations. I have never imagined what freezing weather felt like. Hayley had advised me beforehand to carry warm clothing. But it’s really hard to prepare for something you have never experienced before. I have never imagined of a place as cold as inside a fridge. I just tried to imagine how I usually rush to the cold room at the university to pick an item, and then get out as fast as possible, but now I had nowhere to run to.

Just about 20 minutes before landing in Amsterdam, the pilot announced that the weather was between 1 and 2 degrees, I longed to feel it but I was mistaken. A whistling cold wind passed through my face as I disembarked from the plane. My face was left numb. I moved quickly to the Dublin flight gate. The room was open but no one was inside. I realised that the room was being heated; I went straight to the heating element and literally sat on it!

Extreme weather!

I waited at the airport for approximately 3 hours for the flight to Dublin. Finally an Aer Lingus plane came. I went through the usual security checks and finally boarded the plane. It was so sad that though I was sitting by the window I couldn’t see below. All I could see was a large wool-like cloud. Within an hour and a half I was at Dublin airport. There were some delays here and there as the immigration officials went through my papers, but I was patient enough.

By now I had started developing some sores in my lips from the biting cold. The cab driver was very friendly; he even called his son and daughter to say hi to me. I felt so welcome.

Finally Hayley ushered me in to my accommodation, where I met the other CDPC trainee from Tanzania, Kamugisha.

Will see you later with more…………..

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Tuesday
Apr062010

Hello to everybody! This is Kamugisha Gosbert...

AuthorKamugisha Gosbert | DateTuesday, April 6, 2010 at 8:59AM

Hello to everybody! This is Kamugisha Gosbert from University of Dar es salaam, Tanzania.  I arrived here in Maynooth on 28th January 2010. I am having training in research methodology at NUIM in the Department of Anthropology and doing literature review on patient-health provider relationship in Tanzania as part of my PhD studies. 

I have never felt like a stranger since I arrived. People here are so amazing, lovely and interactive. Many thanks to Anthropology department staff who are always handy for help, having regular reading and discussions with me on various burning issues in the contemporary world like HIV/AIDS, biomedicine versus traditional healing systems, relations between developed and underdeveloped countries etc. Reading and writing has been made easier for me as I have been accommodated in a new well furnished office with electronic connection to enormous electronic resources available in the Pope John Paul II library here in NUIM. Many thanks to Jamie, Tom and Hayley for your wonderful support. I would like also express my sincere thanks to Ting Ting and your postgraduate friends for giving me a warm welcome to Maynooth. Joe (CDPC education officer) you have been great to me. I have enjoyed tours you have been organizing for us and through you I am now used to Dublin city and the beautiful countryside. Out-reach programmes have been fantastic as have been able to share my experience on HIV/AIDS with secondary school students and their teachers.

Outreach session at St. Mary’s Academy in Carlow town

With the kind of support I am getting from various people here no doubt I will be able to realize goals of my training before flying back to Tanzania in mid May. I find this place to be conducive socially and academically and fortunately the weather has changed from the freezing weather that caused my nose to go wet soon after landing on Irish soil back in January to a relatively good weather and I can now at least walk around with my gloves off!

Outside our accommodation in Maynooth

I will be back soon to share with you my experience about my training and my Irish experience. 

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