Below are "the team": Meghna (in the middle) grew up in Tanzania and has worked in Kisumu before. She is Atlanta-based and is supervising me on this project. She was absolutely fabulous to travel with (even 5 months pregnant), completely in her element here, and great to work with. On the right in Frank, who is Kenyan and the study coordinator for the main trial that ours is a part of - Frank is incredible, totally organized, and one of those people who makes things happen, plus he's really nice! Chris, on the right, is the study coordinator for Meghna's and my study - also incredibly terrific. We have worked so well together over the past few weeks - he's a very hard worker, and totally on the ball.
Here we are in the clinic room of Bondo District Hospital that we will use for registering and examining the children in our study, planning clinic flow.
So, I haven't gotten out on any wild adventures yet, but it's fun to sit by Lake Victoria, only sometimes you wouldn't necessarily realize you're by a lake! Several years ago, water hyacinth was introduced to Lake Victoria, according to local tradition, by a British woman. Since then, it has practically taken over much of the lake in huge mats, and according to Frank, "looks like a football pitch" (soccer field). The green "field" in the background of this picture is actually part of the lake. It has resisted both mechanical and biological (special beetle that eats water hyacinth) attempts at control.
Close-up of water hyacinth - apparently the mats get so thick you can walk on them. It seems maybe they are not all bad, even though the fishing industry has tanked. Formerly, the Nile Perch (another introduced species) was decimating the Lake Victoria cichlids (colorful little fish, often found in pet stores, many species found only in Lake Victoria). Since the introduction of water hyacinth, the cichlids are making a comeback. Another ecologist had predicted that Lake Victoria would be "dead" due to industrial waste in a decade, but the water hyacinth seems to play a role in re-oxygenating the water and keeping it healthy. :) Oh, the tangled web we weave!
Back to people - this is Mary Hamel, the malaria branch chief here in Kenya (and the Kenya-based primary investigator of the study I'm working on - there are many cooks in this kitchen) and her daughter Yala (named after a river here). It has been fun to get to know the CDC community here - they often all go out to the same place to eat, usually a place where all the kids can run around together and then adults can socialize in peace. Reminds me a little of my growing up. Yala is a lot of fun - very high energy, needs constant stimulation - I love grabbing her and going for a walk, picking flowers, touching the hippo signs at Kiboko (hippo in KiSwahili) Bay.
Me by Lake Victoria - can actually see some Lake in this picture!
Sunset over the lake
Some EIS officers work a lot with their supervisors - not so much in the malaria branch. My predecessor crossed paths in the field with his supervisor once - by accident. I don't think I will ever cross paths outside Atlanta with my primary supervisor, Rob, but my secondary supervisor is the CDC Atlanta Malaria Branch chief (Larry Slutsker), and he was here for an unrelated visit, so I had to get documentation that I had been in the field with one of my supervisors once. :) Below are Larry and I. He just finished a 4 year stint being director of the field station here and just loves Kisumu.
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