A Ukrainian Easter in Kenya

One of the long termers and her 4 children love Easter and they had asked me last December if I could introduce them to Ukrainian Easter egg making. I brought the supplies back from the states in January and earlier this week we had a wonderful arts and crafts afternoon!

I have not made Ukrainian Easter eggs since middle school and wow did this bring me back. Everything from holding the stylus over the candle to the smell of the beeswax made me remember the many years of Ukrainian school, Ukrainian girlscouts, and Ukrainian church. It also made me feel grateful for the traditions, language, and sense of community my family instilled in me so early on (often against my will!!).

Here are some pictures of the finished products!

my egg...I was and never will be very artistic :)


My friend's egg...isn't it beautiful?? I told her that Ukrainian Babchias everwhere would be thrilled with this.


All of our creations.


Happy Easter!!

TB Screening at Tumaini

On Monday, we conducted our third TB screening at the Tumaini Children's Drop-In Center. Two kids died last fall from what was thought to be TB related causes so the center collaborated with the TB Projects Office to organize TB screening.

This is how the screening works:
Two cough monitors who are assigned to the Eldoret community come to Tumaini and lead a sensitization talk about TB. The children usually ask questions after the talk regarding TB symptoms and transmission.
Then the cough monitors are stationed in a private room so that children can meet with them individually. They are asked a 6 question questionnaire (eg Have you been coughing for more than 2 weeks? etc) and the cough monitor can then decide if the child is at risk and needs to provide a sputum sample.

Here are some pictures from past screenings...

Talking about TB after the morning assembly


One of the cough monitors screening a child


Another cough monitor doing screening


Entertainment while waiting to be screened