Another walk to start the day - it is really dry and they are desperate for water. On our first night they had 1mm or rain,last night, it doubled, they had 2mm - but still a mere drop in the ocean and it left the tiniest of puddles in the dam they have built to collect more of this seasons rainfall in. Even though the rain was light the damper conditions seemed to bring out the bird & wildlife. I got good pictures of a red billed hornbill, an augur buzzard and later a scrub robin on our balcony. We also saw elephant, including a mum and very young baby who we made sure we gave a wide berth to, zebra and a small herd of kudu.
At 0930 we met Timothy again and went to see the small hospital which is now fully built and in use (today's photo); the community resource centre and the secondary school.
The hospital is run by Timothy's brother Alfred- a young Dr who trained in Nairobi and always dreamed of having a local hospital for his community and can't quite believe, that thanks to an American philanthropist, they have one. People were using it, the waiting room had several people in it but Alfred would like more - particularly pregnant women. He said many will exhaust the herbal medicines first before coming to the hospital - so the staff are currently touring the area in a mobile clinic trying to spread the word and encourage people to come.
We took baby clothes to give to the the mums with newborns ( which does help entice clinic attendance) and some books for the nurses to read on child development.
Alfred gave us a tour - it's a nice facility but is still in need of lots of equipment and a few more staff to do it justice. They have an in patient section - but currently no one is admitted as the last man left after recovering from pneumonia a few days ago - between adults, pediatrics and labour they have approximately 8 beds but have room for lots more.
The hospital didn't have that clean clinical feel of an English hospital or GPs practice - they definitely need an administrator to keep all the records and equipment, drugs and consumables well ordered and ensure the place runs efficiently - it looks like the medical staff are too busy delivering care. Their drugs were dispensed by the lab technician under the supervision of the doctor....indeed the drugs section was the best equipped - indeed they had just had supplies in from British Aid. The two biggest medical problems they have are HIV and TB - there is stigma around both - I was surprised about TB - people will often go to Nanuyki - 2 hours away- to get their drugs and be anonymous rather than get them locally......education remains a big part of the staff's early role.
While on our tour we met Timothy's wife and 3 children who were down for the weekend from Nanuyki where she is a senior local government worker. His one year old hadn't recognised him in his Masai dress - he only wears western clothes at home, his son Felix aged eight was quiet and thoughtful while his daughter was ' a feisty new breed of young Masai woman, and at 4 years old was lovely but already knew her mind.
We wished Alfred well and headed to the secondary school and resource centre - the resource centre was being used by the children for revision; it is a really well managed asset. The centre will distribute a lot of the stuff we brought out - they were particularly pleased with the wildlife DVDs as they had tried to get them for conservation lessons in Nairobi but with no luck. We then had endless fun fitting the basket ball net to the ring we had brought out - it was a bit like crochet!
Next stop was the secondary school - we went into the 4th year class - there were 21 boys and only 9 girls - a big issue is the drop out rates for girls along with female circumcision after which they can become sexually active - the same is true for the boys as they are circumcised and become morans (warriors) - young girls become wives and mothers and are not seen to need education- indeed while we were visiting the hospital Gill had a big meeting to discuss the issue with the local leaders and professionals.
Timothy encouraged questions from the pupils; and after an initial silence we had very good ones on the UK system of government and the UK economy. These children are well dressed and well nourished and are the future of the community so hopefully they can encourage more girls and their parents to allow them to stay the course.
Back at the lodge I had a swim then just as we were about to finish serving our lunch main course by the pool the heavens opened - we made a mad dash to the library getting soaked enroute but we dried off and ate our main course - as we were cooling off we opted for a hot shower and desert in our house.
It then rained for most of the rest of the day on and off. We fitted in our daily massage at 4pm and arranged for a night drive, with Timothy, to see if we could find the elusive leopard - we see fresh tracks on our morning walk but that's it. Before setting off we checked the rain gauge 7mm had fallen so far today - good - but loads more is needed! The leopard remained elusive albeit we did see a bush duiker which was new for us.
We had a swift dinner at 2015 and then headed to bed. In the middle of the night I heard a bellowing cow and hyenas so guessed the cow had been taken by the hyenas - I later found out I was right. No cows are actually allowed on the conservancy so it was either one illegally grazing or one of the ransom cows the Rangers are holding until the fine is paid by the owner for illegally grazing - but the end result was - hyenas won cows lost!