Academic News

The Public Health Summer 1 students at The Center are definitely making the most of their time with SFS in Kenya. They have completed the field data collection segment for their water and sanitation projects, which includes topics on household sanitation, hand washing, water source and collection, water storage and use, and household illnesses. They are now beginning data analysis and then will prepare the final presentations for the upcoming community presentation. They have recently completed two community service projects. The students visited a local primary school and taught a health lesson from the school's curriculum. The most recent community service project was completed with the Kimana Community Water Resource Conservation Project team where students helped community members reroute a stream to increase water flow rates for downstream agricultural uses. We also just returned from a camping trip to Tsavo West National Park where we enjoyed two days of game driving.
- Katie Grasty, Student Affairs Manager

Three-and-a-half weeks into our work in Kenya, many of us are thinking, “where did the time go?”  With just about ten days left until we leave Kimana and the Kilimanjaro Bush Camp, we are all still having a great time and are trying to soak up each minute. Since the last New From the Field, a lot has happened. Bill MacLeod, an instructor from Boston University joined us here and helped us prepare a survey tool in order to investigate the affects of water and sanitation issues on children living in Kimana Group Ranch. Bill's time here flew by as we were all rushing to complete the steps in survey-making, from developing study objectives to conducting key informant interviews to question development to pre-testing the completed survey tool.

There were many days that required us to work from morning until night without stopping so that we could maximize our efficiency as a team and develop and administer an excellent survey. It was an exciting atmosphere – each day, new committees were formed and responsibilities were delegated. Consultations with local leaders and with SFS staff helped guide us as we took our survey out to the field and interviewed community members. Some of us were happier about the fast pace than others but either way, it was great preparation for the “real world.” If nothing else, the process showed us all what the world of international public health can really look like in practice and it helped many of us figure out where and in which avenue of public health we want to work. What really struck me was how well we all worked together as a team. When it came down to it, we all had a lot invested in the survey and its results and we all want to help the community members of Kimana Group Ranch. That mutual passion is what has really made the past few weeks a success. As Bill left us last weekend, another professor from Boston University, Katherine Semrau, joined us to help with our data analysis. So far, we are having a wonderful time working with her and are eager to see the survey results.

Of course, it's not all work and no play here – we just returned last night from an amazing camping trip at Tsavo National Park. We didn't get to see as many animals as we did at Amboseli, but there were plenty of giraffes and zebras that allowed us to photograph them, and the terrain at Tsavo is breathtaking. We camped out in the park for one night and the SFS staff did an amazing job of making the non-campers in the group feel very comfortable. Before leaving for Tsavo, we worked as a team to help dig a huge trench at one of the EU funded water project sites in the area. For about four hours, we dug and hoed and cut down thorny plants in order to help the water flow from a natural spring to a furrow nearby. On another community service trip, we visited an orphanage in nearby Loitokitok and were able to talk to the children and see how they live day to day. Afterwards, we went on a hike to Loitokitok Falls and were able to see the spot where Kenya ends and Tanzania begins.

All in all, we have been having an amazing time. The surveys gave us a chance to interact with community members on a level that we could not have if we were just tourists. We were able to speak to them about real problems and about their thoughts and feelings on the water and sanitation issues in Kimana. This aspect, combined with the adventures we've had on our off-days as well as the organization and enthusiasm of the SFS staff has made for an awesome three-and-a-half weeks!
- Shari Krishnaratne, Boston University

The past two weeks since our last update have been busy, to say the least. Our work here in Kenya involves assessing water and sanitation practices within the Kimana community and its impact on the health of children.

The first step was to develop a survey to be administered one household at a time. We took all of the information we had learned from our visits to nearby clinics and hospitals along with the insight of other knowledgeable community members to come up with a questionnaire that, hopefully, got to the root of water and sanitation issues that residents of this region face. These issues ranged from access to clean water and water collection methods to hand-washing practices and latrine use. The survey was by no means perfect, but we had a great deal of valuable input from local staff that know the community as well as professors from Boston University and Moi University with lots of experience administering such surveys. We also got a chance to pre-test our survey in a nearby community to find out exactly which questions were culturally appropriate and relevant.

The process of data collection in the field was intensive and complex. As we worked out the logistics of each day in the hope of covering the entire region evenly, we soon discovered that field work rarely works out exactly as planned. We were divided into teams of two students with one guide/translator to each team. With limited prep time and very little data on the exact locations of the “bomas” or households we were to survey, many of us found ourselves walking great lengths only to discover that the home had already been surveyed by another team. Nevertheless, we set ambitious goals for each day in terms of how many houses to survey and how much ground to cover and were pleasantly surprised to discover that we met those goals each day. Everyone from the SFS staff and the visiting professors to the students in the field worked extremely hard, and we ended up with enough data to begin analysis two days earlier than scheduled.

As we begin analyzing the data we have collected, we managed to take a couple days for a well-deserved break. The SFS staff was gracious enough to organize a mini expedition to Tsavo West National Park. Before this, though, we spent a grueling morning clearing a path and digging a trench as part of a local water project in Kimana. We reached Tsavo that evening to find our camp already set up and dinner ready and waiting for us due to the tireless efforts of the staff. The next day was filled with hiking and game driving. Now, we are back at camp ready to begin analyzing our data so we can present our findings to the community and the Kenyan government next week.
- Anand Sridharan, Boston University