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After saying goodbyes in Lwala, a 4 day safari, and 39 hours of sitting in airplanes and airports, I’ve finally arrived home to Denver. Jet-lagged and missing Kenya, I’ve thought multiple times, “I should’ve just stayed in Lwala,” but then I fill up a glass of water using a faucet, or switch on a light to read by at night, or stand under a constant stream of hot water in the shower, and I’m reminded at how truly easy (and wonderful) life in the US is.

Our safari was incredible. We saw giraffes, elephants, a pride of lions, hippos, thousands of flamingos, a rhino, a migration of zebras and wildebeests, and monkeys galore. Our guide pointed out a cool bird called the “Secretary Bird” and asked us if we knew why it was named this. When we didn’t know, he replied in his thick Kenyan accent, “It’s called the Secretary Bird for two reasons. One, it walks like a secretary. Two, it looks like it has black leggings.” We should have known.

One of the highlights for me of the safari was when we saw a group of 10 elephants- two of which were babies- literally fifteen feet from our vehicle. One baby elephant crossed right in front of us, stopped to face us, and waved his trunk like he was saying “Hey! What’s up!” It was pretty great.

Looking back, the trip to Lwala was very successful. I’m left with amazing memories of both people and moments in Lwala- I’ll never forget the baby who came to the clinic with blistered, peeling burns over both legs, the man with late stage malaria (sweating, shaking, with a fever of 105), the pregnant women who heard their babies’ heartbeats for the first time in the clinic, the man who came to the Ochieng’ house with a bad snake bite, dancing with the women’s group, listening to the choir, playing the huge African drum, walking miles every day, and the kids at the school eagerly writing their pen pal letters.

I included some pictures of the village. If you want to see more, just click on the links below.

Thanks for the support during my travels, and if you’re interested in making a donation to the Lwala clinic, just let me know!

Ortiti,
Abbie Atoti


Album 1:
vanderbilt.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2069689&l=22d41&id=4700947


Album 2:
vanderbilt.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2069683&l=631ec&id=4700947