Namelok, Massai

Here are some pictures from my recent trip to Namelok. Namelok is a small Massai village near the base of Mt. Kilimanjaro. The landscape was similar to Oldonyonyokie, Namelok is also in the Rift Valley. It was extremely dry, lack of water is a major concern in Namelok. We drove by fields and fields of dead corn, caked in dust. The picture with the trees and hut gives a feel of the landscape. The hut in the picture is a typical Massai hut, the Massai live much as they did hundreds of years ago. The Massai herd cattle, they don't practice agriculture. Most of the Massai live in the Rift Valley which is very dry and barren, not conducive to growing crops.
The trip to Namelok was similar to the trip to Meru; we presented health seminars, performed HIV testing, and played with the children. The health seminars often get intense. We break the villagers into groups to do the health presentations. Although we almost always have the seminars at schools, we invite the parents and elders to come for presentations as well. I worked with the children, the presentation was fairly straightforward. We talked about HIV, stigma associated with HIV and the importance of being kind to those who are positive, emotions that might accompany illness, and hand washing. Most of the children know how HIV is transmitted, but talking about stigma and reinforcing the knowledge that you can't get HIV from playing with a friend who is positive is really important. It is also good to talk about emotions, culturally it is not acceptable to cry.
After talking with the children we played. I can't tell you how many times I was asked how many children I have, one girl asked me if I was a spinster when I told her that I wasn't married. Massai girls typically marry between the ages of 15 and 18. The children nicknamed me "Bisquick" because my hair is apparently the color of Bisquick. I don't know how they know what Bisquick is, but apparently they do. They loved to stroke and play with my hair. I was absolutely mobbed by the children. They loved to hear me sing, I sang "Bananas", "The Hokey Pokey", and "Head Shoulders Knees and Toes" repeatedly. I have also learned a Swahili song called "Hakuna Mungu" which they all know and love. A sure way to get a laugh out of the children is to try to speak either Swahili or their tribal language, I am so bad at it!
The children's presentation wasn't very intense, although the young boys seminar got heated. Isaac, a HEART staff member did the the young ( 11-16) boys presentation. Out of the fifty some odd boys that were there, 34 were sexually active.
Overall the trip was a success, out of the 195 people we tested only 2 were HIV positive. Both of the people who tested positive are younger than 14, they received counseling and ARVS are readily available for free. There is still stigma surrounding HIV but hopefully the children will take ARVS and get follow up medical attention.
Tomorrow is a relaxing day at the HEART compound but Wednesday we go to the US Embassy. I'll post and account and pictures of my adventures.
Best,
Margaret