day of banned demonstration

I'm still safe. It was a big day today because of a banned demonstration by ODM (the party that "lost" the pres. election) and of course there is still a lot of violence and problems in many areas around Kenya. I'm not sure it's clear from western media but on Kenyan TV there are a lot of calls for peace and condemnation of protesters looting and burning buildings. At the same time, the media is clearly stating that there needs to be talks between Odinga and Kibaki(pres) and that the problems of the elections should not be swept under the rug to keep peace. Today I went to the clinic I will be more or less visiting/working at for the next couple of weeks. I took about 6 pages of notes, weighed babies, observed a lot.... mostly learned from Magedeline, the head nurse there. I can never write for long because there are always people more or less waiting for me. Our host family prefers that we not go places alone. I am glad we have locals to guide us. The clinic I was at today is not a free clinic but charges minimal fees to keep going. A consultation or 2-3 drugs run about 200-350 kenyan shillings (around $5) but they do not turn people away but treat them for as much as they can pay. When I asked Magdeline if she was from the area she explained to me that she was a community nurse, living and working in her community. That is why, she said, "...I cannot turn people away. If I do and they die I have to pay money for the burial anyway" (the whole community shares the responsibility and financial burden of burying community members). Over the weekend the group will be going on a safari- one of the sons in the family is a tour guide.