Our first day in Eldoret...

We left Nairobi this morning and flew to Eldoret on a regional “airline” called Jetlink.  Things are a little different here when flying domestically on the regional connections.  When you walk into the terminal you put everything onto a big conveyor belt to be X-rayed and then walk through a metal detector….no 3-1-1 rules for liquids and gels, all the bags, checked and carry on go through together.  I was sent back through the metal detector twice, the last time I was instructed to hold my hands above my head when I walked through….it still went off but they just smiled (I’m sure they were really laughing at the game of “Simon Says” with the American tourist!) and then told me to just go on and pick up my things.  Not sure how that made me feel. At least I know I wasn’t carrying a concealed weapon…. not sure about anyone else that set it off though!  After clearing the X-ray machines we went to the counter to check-in.  Another first, our boarding passes were actually filled out by hand.  After that, no more security, just walk on through to the gate and wait until they call your flight…there was some sort of PA system but it didn’t work all that well so you just had to listen for the airline representative to come out and yell out your flight number.  When our flight was called we walked out and followed the airline reps right out onto the tarmac, walked all the way around the perimeter to the back fence where our jet was parked and got on board!  The jet itself was very typical to the regional jets here in the US and once we were airborne it was a quick 45 minute flight to Eldoret. 

The skies were clear and I asked for a window seat so I could look at the countryside.  The area around Nairobi where we took off was quite populated but as we flew northwest along the Rift Valley, the population became much sparser.  The land around Nairobi seemed to be quite fertile and there were clearly pockets along the way where it looked like it was good for agriculture.  Of course, we also so many ridges, dry arid spots, and even a couple of volcanic craters…much more diverse than the Midwestern landscape for sure!  As we got closer to Eldoret the soil became quite red, it reminded me of the Georgia clay that we have in the States.  Eldoret is a relatively rural area and in spite of the quality of the soil, there are still many farms that raise various vegetable crops and graze cows, sheep, or goats.

We landed without incident and our escort were there to meet us and load us into a van for what we were about to learn was likely the most dangerous part of our entire Kenyan adventure…..the ride to Eldoret.  It was about a 30 minute drive along a narrow road, which we were informed was actually one of the widest and well kept roads in the surrounding area.  Of course, we also had to get used to the fact that they drive on the wrong (left) side of the road and the road was shared with all manner of motorized vehicle, people powered vehicles, and pedestrians.  I’ll try and attach a picture or two to give you an idea of what the experience looked like from inside the van….at least during the time that my eyes were open!  At one point we passed a group of farmers along the side of the road.  They were huddled around several yellow plastic drums that looked to hold about 3 gallons of something.  A bit later we passed a man carrying about 5 such small barrels strapped onto his bicycle.  That’s when our host explained that the barrels contained fresh milk and the farmer was riding into town to sell the milk at the markets or to the hotels…..we also spotted several of these around mid-day when we broke for lunch and the temperatures were rounding 80F…I made a mental note, not to drink any milk in the hotels!

We spent a couple hours in the morning and another hour or so in the afternoon touring the various living quarters for the volunteers and residents at what they refer to as the IU Compound.  It is a secure, gated area that holds several large communal style buildings with common living, dining, laundry and bathrooms and private bedrooms.  The complex also has its own dining hall where I believe we will eat a couple of meals throughout the week.  We were able to meet several folks and talk to them about what they do with AMPATH, where they’re from etc.  Some have been back several times, others its their first time and a few have been there for years.  It gave us a good sense of what it might be like if anyone from Lilly were to go there for a short term assignment.

We walked from our hotel to the IU Compound (about a 15 minute walk) and then we walked from there to lunch at a local restaurant called Mama Mia’s.  There are no sidewalks but there are well-worn paths in the red clay dirt along the sides of the road…we just need to be cautious of the drivers as they certainly wouldn’t notice (or even care) if they were to bump a pedestrian or two on their way by!  It was good to walk and tour the areas but we were definitely ready for a nice lunch and we weren’t disappointed.  We had some local-style pizzas and something called chicken lollipops…think small chicken drummettes dipped in a sweet barbeque sauce.  After lunch we had a driver take us into town…another adventure on the roads and went to the local version of K-Mart to pick up some bottled water for our rooms.

After a couple hours of rest during the heat of the day, we walked back to the IU Compound to meet with Joe…the man behind much of the vision of the current AMPATH and IU-Kenya partnership.  He gave us lots of good and interesting background on how things have come to be the way they are and shared his thoughts on where we, Lilly might be able to help them out.  One of the key areas he is concerned about is the operation of their laboratories, the need to set-up a QC testing lab to test imported generics, and testing for counterfeit medicines…..now I know why I’m here!  After listening to him, I can’t wait to get into some of the labs and meet with the lab managers in the next couple of days.  It was great to hear his perception of what could be….now I need to see how it really is!

We had a great dinner with several of the staff, feasted on some local Indian cuisine.  The Indian population is quite high in the area.  Many are 5^th and 6^th generation families that were brought in to colonize the area when it was under British rule.  There are also many true Kenyans and everyone we have met has greeted us with huge smiles, warm handshakes and the words, “Karibu, Karibu” which means “welcome, welcome” in Swahili.  It feels good to be here and we’re all looking forward to what the rest of the week holds in store.