Katie Burke's Blog

• Near-Death Experiences, and Then Dancing.

  July 4, 2009

  • (Originally posted on Karibu Kenya, May 29, 2009.)I spent most of today with Baraza - Ray of Hope's Coordinator - and my teammate Robin. We took five million buses and matatus to travel fifty feet ... or so it felt. I didn't mind at all, as I was excited to see the big city of Nairobi, having spent the previous seven days in Kawangware, the slum I've come to love, but not the only part of Nairobi ...
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• The Power of the Purse

  July 2, 2009

  • (Originally posted on Karibu Kenya, May 28, 2009.)This morning, several women who utilize Ray of Hope's feeding program and/or HIV support group sang, danced, and performed theatre for us. Elation abounded during the song, as our Glide team members were each called forth to join hands and dance with various women. Here, I'm not a "white girl" in the sense that I am in my home of San ...
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• Gratitude for the Uninhabitable

  July 2, 2009

  • (Originally posted on Karibu Kenya, May 27, 2009.)Today, I ventured into the heart of Kawangware slum, with two of my Glide teammates and one of our Ray of Hope colleagues, Hendricka. Hendricka is the Community Health Worker for the Ray of Hope, and every morning, she does what we spent three hours doing this morning: conducting home visits to the Ray of Hope Medical Clinic patients, to assess ...
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• All It Takes

  June 28, 2009

  • (Originally posted on Karibu Kenya, May 26, 2009.) I spent all day today with the children in the Learning Centre: 59 of them, sharing two classrooms that are both tiny by U.S. standards. The youngest child is five years old; the oldest is 11. All of their heads are shaved, as many of the children come to the Learning Centre with ringworm. The Ray of Hope staff treats them when they come in, ...
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• Karibu Kawangware, Katie

  June 27, 2009

  • (Originally posted on Karibu Kenya, May 25, 2009.) Yesterday, my heart was too full - and my jet lag too pronounced - for me to gather my thoughts into any discernible writings. As we raced down the unpaved, littered dirt road in our Matatu - a bus that features loud music, audacious near-collisions with passing vehicles, and men hanging off the side to spot prospective new ride sales - I ...
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