Nairobi 2010

heading back to stanford

Sun, 28 Mar 2010 08:13:11 -0700

Sorry, I've been busy doing some "fun" stuff lately - hence no updates. I've lots to write - but I have a flight to catch in 4 hours.

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

Kenya, it's been fun. I hope to visit again soon. Kwa heri.

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vibrant kibera

Sat, 27 Mar 2010 22:54:36 -0700

Although you feel sad about the conditions people in Kibera live in, and the lack of basic amenities there, when you talk with people, you realize that people are actually quite content and happy. And the whole place is so vibrant - in the couple hours I spent there I saw a hairdressing salon school, a pure herbalist clinic, a mobile hacker shop, a sack farming specialist, a local grinder (reminded me of rwanda days) - the list goes on. I wonder how many hacks in this world can actually make it out as real products. My guess is many.

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utilities at kibera

Sat, 27 Mar 2010 22:46:00 -0700

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(Based on some interviews)

There are experts within the Kibera community who can set your house with water and electricity. They make "illegal" connections from the main power lines so that somebody else pays for your electricity usage. In return, you pay the expert 400 Ksh ($5) per month. Variable to fixed price.

The same applies to water access - the main pipes are exposed throughout Kibera, and we saw a lot of water leakage that was used as "access points"

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(Thurs)day at Kibera slum

Thu, 25 Mar 2010 22:30:09 -0700

I will take some time to take in and reflect on the day - visited Kibera slum - home to almost a third of Nairobi's population. Besides being a very emotional and eye-opening experience, I found the place to be so full of life. A lot more posts to come on this - for now, I will leave you with some pictures.

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Interviews (Wednes)day

Thu, 25 Mar 2010 21:56:00 -0700

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Spent the day at the University, meeting with each of the 9 groups individually. The day actually started off with a planned meeting with the whole class at 2p, but we ended up meeting and interviewing each group from 11 in the morning, all the way to 5 in the evening.

One of the downsides of being the only person here is that you don't have much back-ups. I experienced this firsthand when my camera battery ran out in the afternoon. We had to use a student's laptop to record the rest of the interviews. Sub-optimal, but fairly good.

The interviews will be very helpful, as an addition to the formal reports students provided. It adds a touch of emotion to their reports, which (hopefully) will enable Stanford students to connect more. Also, it introduces the UoNairobi team - who, by the way, are super excited about this project. Every team here asked about ways to still be involved - which is amazing. My hope is that the two sides will continue to collaborate and communicate.

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

Special thanks to Judy Wawira, for her expert cinematography, and more importantly, for scheduling such a well-run day.

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change in life

Thu, 25 Mar 2010 21:25:00 -0700

Comparing my life this week in Nairobi to last week in Palo Alto.

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!

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Deep cleaning

Wed, 24 Mar 2010 00:28:58 -0700

At a building in town...

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Field (Tues)day

Tue, 23 Mar 2010 23:34:00 -0700

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After cooking some hot upma in the morning, I headed over to the University. The great thing about living at the BIEA is that it is walk-able to the chiromo campus (where the computer science building is located). It takes about 10-12 minutes to walk, and about 30-40 minutes by cab (traffic!). the only downside is that you walk along the road, inhaling tons of really fragrant pollution. I decided to filter this using my scarf.

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.

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A big (virtual) hug to Lisa Poggiali

Mon, 22 Mar 2010 23:58:00 -0700

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I found out about the Kenya trip not too long ago - maybe about 10 days before I was supposed to take off. The emotions quickly shifted from being super excited to being super nervous. I knew nothing about this place, and didn't know a single person who lived here. And then I met Lisa Poggiali, an anthropology PhD student at Stanford.

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!

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University (Mon)day

Mon, 22 Mar 2010 23:51:00 -0700

Apologies for the late update - I had a bad case of cold, cough and jetlag. After intaking several 1000 % of daily vitamin values, fresh fruits and hot upma, I feel much better now. Oh, and sleep - that always helps.

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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.

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ManU vs. Liverpool @ UoNairobi lounge

Sun, 21 Mar 2010 21:33:02 -0700

the coca cola here is sooo good!

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UoNairobi tour with Hassan

Sun, 21 Mar 2010 21:32:00 -0700

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Hassan is a 2nd year student of Anthropology at UoNairobi. He is off-term currently, enjoying a 4 month vacation. He is Marsabit, 500 kms away from Nairobi.

After a brief chat at the guesthouse, we walked to the Chiromo campus to watch the ManU vs. Liverpool game with other students. The whole university was quiet, and not one person was seen. Everyone was packed in their rooms and lounges following the game very closely. We finally found a seat at one of the lounges - the ambience was quite electric - close to an indo-pak cricket game. I'll upload a video about this soon.

After the game, we met with one of his friends in a dorm room. The room was tiny - but well arranged, divided into two halves - sleep and study. Then we walked all the way to city center, through the university campus.

The campus is green, quite well maintained. Facilities are pretty good - made me realize that I've never actually visited an Indian college - I wonder how it is? We finally had a brief snack at a somali restaurant (all i got was chips and water).

Cabbed it back to the guesthouse. I just ate a couple granola bars, took my malaria pills, drank a Vit C booster and now heading to sleep. Early night @ 9p. Hopefully I don't wake up at 4am.

Good night!

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life is good

Sun, 21 Mar 2010 21:21:26 -0700

To get back to my guesthouse, I took a cab from the Sarova hotel.

The main guy (in yellow) asked me, "How're you" - I said "Mzuri (I'm fine)".

I said, "How's everything going?" He said, "Hakuna Matata."

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Meet with Julius + friend

Sun, 21 Mar 2010 21:19:00 -0700

Big thanks to Deb Meisel for introducing me to Julius.

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Julius is a young, smart and extremely easy-going person - he works for Nuru, and was in town to pick up the Extreme folks who were arriving today. I had a great time walking in the city downtown, and living the "local" sunday life. Reminds me a lot of Bombay.

The weather, if I haven't mentioned enough, is amazing! Flip flops between cloudy and sunshine.

I transferred 50 Ksh to Julius' phone using the Sambaza system - all the hype about easy mobile money transfer is justified. it took me all of 7 seconds, and it was painless. So easy that it made me think a bit about the wrong use of the system (aka frauds, scams, etc)

After going to almost 6 different places to find something vegetarian, we finally ended up at Highlands restaurant, which served north african food. I had rice, beans and potato curry, which was decent. More notes on Julius + friend in notebook: particularly read about his mobile usage.

Good news - The safaricom dongle works great now, and I have internet everywhere I go. Heading back to the guest house to meet with Hussain. More blogging soon.

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brunch at java house...

Sun, 21 Mar 2010 21:07:00 -0700

... still no internet at home.

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a bit jetlagged - waking up at 5am. had banana pancakes at java house. the whole place is filled with expats and rich people - very different from an average nairobi site. part of me likes the stable internet and decent food java house provides, part of me wants to head into city center to see the real nairobi (safely).

awaiting a call from my friend, hassan, with whom I will explore University of Nairobi and city later today.

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my new home...

Sun, 21 Mar 2010 01:04:00 -0700

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... for the next 8 days.

BIEA is located in the beautiful kilaleshwa hills. it's super green here, and it smells amazing! the house is fantastic, with 2 guards providing ample security. the room is small, but clean. i will be living with 4 other ethnographers/researchers (mostly from oxford). it's a 2 kilometer walk from the city center. i will be headed there soon...

i have yet to figure out internet connectivity - the guesthouse internet isn't working - i've been posting all of this from the java house - which is a cool coffee place (mostly for expats). i hope the safaricom place is open today so that i can buy the internet dongle. hopefully the next post will be from my room!

so far so good.

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Karibu NAIROBI!

Sun, 21 Mar 2010 00:58:00 -0700

my seat near the wings didn't allow a great aerial view - hopefully its better when i take off for SFO next week!

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iphone addict

Sun, 21 Mar 2010 00:50:00 -0700

using his iphone as a personal tv to watch youtube videos, while eating greasy burgers and french fries.

@ dubai airport

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sights of dubai

Sun, 21 Mar 2010 00:44:00 -0700

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what? city tour of dubai

when? friday night 11p-1a

why? i) see the glitzy city and ii) kill jet lag by sleeping late

pictures:

burj khalifa - its almost 4x the next tallest building (pretty stunning, wish i could have gone up)

burj al arab - best sight of the tour - it looks super cool from the jumeira beach

airport - most efficient airport i've been too

number plates - i like how the number plates are so simple and elegant

blurry skyline - almost asleep on the car ride back

this is going to be such a contrast from my next destination - nairobi!

for some reason, i found dubai super-dead, there were hardly any people - on the beach, near the islands, at all the big sights. granted it was midnight, but i expected it to be more lively on a friday night.

it was also quite warm - about 30 degrees and very humid. with emirates taking over the world, with amazing connections, i'm sure i'll be back in this city. until then, dubai, keep spending your dhirams on ridiculous projects.

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12 hour halt at Dubai

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 10:49:17 -0700

Just paid $8 for 15 minutes of internet - I've only been in this city
for an hour now, but it already feels so glitzy and... fake. heading
out to see the modern arab world. Nairobi flight in 12 hours, will
upload pics when I don't get bankrupt doing it. Until next time...

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