I hope to write a lot on the plane, and publish it when I reach Stanford.

Note to self: Videos are kept in the reports folder - copy it to the external hard drive.

iPhone ---> simple Nokia phone (major improvement - i don't check my email every 3 minutes, my thumbs feel rested, but i have a hard time SMSing people)

Macbook ---> Netbook (positives include a lighter bag and a lighter mind; negatives include microsoft windows and tiny keyboards - thanks miss marcia lee for lending me this)

Credit Card ---> Cash (I thought this will be the worst transition - but there's something about using cash, that allows you to bargain more with people as well as with yourself)

Tap water ---> Bottled water (mehh... just a pain)

New addition: Malaria pills every day - yummy! 

Spent the morning finishing up the document readings, and thinking about collaboration environments. As a prototype, we set up a facebook group - it's a work in progress. But what I realized quickly was that people use facebook very heavily here, so instead of using a new platform (like a wiki), it would be nice to plug into something that they already use. Readers, do you have ideas on how to efficiently collaborate for geographically distributed teams? There are about 25 students on each side - Stanford and UoNairobi. Any ideas would be much appreciated. Please do note that the internet in Kenya is definitely not the ethernet lines found in US colleges, but it's not too bad.

Over lunch, I got to know that students will be fairly tied up with classes today, so there won't be much opportunity to meet with them personally. I thought this would be a good opportunity to do some fieldwork. And that's what I did...

I called up Gilbert, aka my local "fixer". I was introduced to Gilbert by Julius to help me visit hospitals and clinics informally (More on Gilbert in next post). Although most people speak English here, having a local with you helps out a lot - as experienced in my previous trip to Rwanda. We decided to meet in town after lunch at the Hilton hotel (because of its central location). I had good feeling about the day - nothing excites me more than jumping right in and doing needs finding - applying those d.school lessons...

First stop: Kenyatta National Hospital

We only had the afternoon, so we quickly walked to the nearest Matatu station, and took one to Kenyatta National Hospital. KNH is the biggest public hospital in Kenya. After failing to get a formal permission to interview doctors and patients (apparently, you need to talk with the deputy director), we decided to sit at the entry point, and observe people. This was tremendously useful. Gilbert was also able to chat up with patients and doctors sitting outside. Taking any sort of media was particularly hard, but we got some good videos. People complained about long lines, long forms, lunch hours (when everybody at the hospital leaves), long wait times, etc. Everybody seemed to suggest that they need more doctors. Agreed, but probably there are other ways to help? In order to get a first-hand experience, I then went in to show to a doctor (maybe get some advice for cold/cough). that's when I realized that KNH mostly works on referrals - you can't just walk in to show to a doctor. I was told to go to Mbagathi district clinic. On the road again...

Next stop: Mbagathi district clinic

Decided to show to a doc here. Stood in line for 5 minutes to get a form. 60 Kenyan shillings. I was asked my Name, Address and age (not so bad) and told to go to Room 3. Stood in another line for another 5 minutes. The woman took my form - replaced it with a small card. Told to wait in the room until my name is called. There were about 50 people waiting. Waited for about 45 minutes, until a guy shows up and calls out names. About 20 people were directed to Room 5. We continue to wait. Another 45 minutes. The 2 hours spent there gave me fantastic insights on the whole public health system. Lots of good notes in the book. We decided to leave - doubt if I would've ever got a chance. Imagine if you're not down with cold/cough, but really really sick. Major empathy gained. 

Next stop: Acacia private hospital

Just to get a different perspective, we decided to visit a private clinic. Super clean, super efficient and fast - I was able to meet with the doctor in 5 minutes. Had a great discussion with the doc about the project - agreed to chat more on Friday, over lunch. 

Good day overall. Time to get some sleep.

In one hour at the CoHo, she was able to make the right connections, send the right emails and guide me to the best things in Nairobi. Thanks to her, I am living at the British Institute guest house, which is by far the best housing I could've gotten here. Thanks to her, I don't starve and eat at the right restaurants. and thanks to her, I've met some amazing people - like Hassan.

A big hug to you, Lisa - thought you might enjoy these sights: Kenyan traffic, Lunch at Trattoria and internet problems!

Had a full day at University on Monday. For the benefit of those who don't know why I'm here: UoNairobi and Stanford are collaborating on a really cool class together, which will design and develop mobile applications (or services) to help with healthcare in Kenya. I am here in Nairobi to make this collaboration stronger, and help enable a smooth transfer of knowledge from both sides. The hope is that together, students will come up with innovative projects that will actually make a difference. More details about Stanford's course can be found at http://cs379l.stanford.edu.

UoNairobi students have spent the last couple weeks in the field to uncover needs - from both sides - people who provide healthcare and people who access healthcare. In total, 27 students are enrolled in the class here - they divided themselves into 9 groups of three, each targeting a particular stakeholder (for eg. Community Health Worker, Nurses, Insurance companies, etc). I just received their research findings last evening - so the next few days will be spent uncovering that with them. 

I also got an opportunity to interact with a few students yesterday - and that was the highlight of the day! Students here are not only smart and intelligent, they are very easily approachable and extremely humble. Talking to them about their fieldwork, all of them got really excited to share their experience. A huge sigh of relief, because I was worried about being able to communicate well with them. Based on these initial interactions, I am excited to work with them in the next few days, and uncover some solid needs that can be passed on to students in Stanford.

Pictures: some sights from the university. the computer lab is very well equipped - i will be spending most of my time this week around here.