It costs 300 shillings (about $4) to get from Funzi Island to Msambweni District Hospital. Unfortunately, that’s far more than most of the islanders can afford, so once a month the Mother-Child-Health team packs up and goes on an outreach day to Funzi. I got to join along yesterday, and it was unlike any day of work I’ve ever had! We drove for 45 minutes, then, when we were bordering the Indian Ocean in the middle of nowhere we got on a small motor boat. After a half hour long boat ride to help me work on my sunburn, we arrived on the gorgeous island.
The people living on Funzi Island are so poor, it was really hard to see. It makes Kisita Kwao, the village I live in, look downright modern. I had ventured to Diani Beach, the closest tourist hotspot, earlier this week for a little R&R (thanks to my pale skin I can walk into any hotel and enjoy the amenities without being questioned). Comparing my experience in Funzi with the excess of Diani is really tough. How do these places exist within just a couple of hours of each other? It’s like being transported to different worlds. Luckily, comparing the two makes Msambweni look like the perfect medium.
I got to give dozens of babies their Oral Polio Vaccines, and the rest of the team vaccinated for measles and gave the BCG vax for tuberculosis. We had a relaxing lunch of beans and chapatti on the island after clinic and left feeling like we had accomplished a lot.
On the way to Funzi Island
Me and Nurse Jane
Carrying free mosquito bed nets to the clinic
So many moms and babies showed up that there was overflow outside the clinic
Funzi Island
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