The good thing about the day before being so chaotic was that we learned our lesson. Today we put an early cap on the amount of patients we could see (250). This helped us all in terms of controlling the flow of patients throughout the day and budgeting our time more wisely. Another added benefit was that we had been at this exact location the year before, so the returning students from both schools knew exactly how to set it up to maximize flow.

Once everything was set up and almost ready to go, we went outside to be welcomed and listen to various community elders, leaders, clinic officials, and Tumutumu students to address the crowd. There were already about 50-100 people waiting for us to screen them. The Tumutumu students gave a health message to the crowd, explaining diabetes and hypertension. They also explained the informed consent process so that patients would be able to register more quickly once we got started.

Things got underway quickly once introductions were completed. After the day before, the team had a much better idea of what to expect, and all of the Kenyan/US pairs had worked out systems of their own that worked for them. We were all impressed with how well everyone collaborated and how smoothly everything flowed. This time, Darren and I were in the front with the screeners while Annya worked in the back with the clinicians and graduate students.

One hitch we ran into- no light bulbs! The screening room was already dark in the early morning and we were concerned we wouldn’t be able to work for long without some illumination. Fortunately, Jacob came to the rescue! He appeared out of nowhere once we had started screening, and stacking chairs on top of tables (hakuna matata), quickly installed light bulbs for us.

After a few hours, we began giving people breaks, which was something that was impossible to structure the day before. Another huge thank you to James and the Tumutumu peer mentors (especially Mary!) for making sure all of their students (especially the ones doing registration, anthropometrics, and back of the card) got breaks. James even stepped in and started screening patients!

I spoke with a woman I remembered seeing at the clinic last year, and was so happy to see that she had again braved the long line to come and see us! What a great feeling. She thanked us for what we were doing and was so grateful for the services we were able to provide her.

We ended up seeing all 250 people in a timely manner, and managed to finish up before dark! What a relief. The contrast between the day before impressed all of us. Mary arrived at the end, as we were finishing up the last 10-15 patients and handed out hot samosas to all the students, which were well appreciated.

Back at the guest house, we had dinner and hangout time with our Tumutumu partners. After dinner, they invited us to take a more informal tour of their hospital since we had not gotten to take a tour as we originally planned. Despite being tired, most of us went. We loaded up with our partners and drove the short distance to the hospital.

Here we split into smaller groups and our Tumutumu friends showed us the various wards, outpatient settings, student dorms, classrooms, and the hospital grounds. We saw an avocado tree and some were lucky enough to claim a couple avocados for themselves. Despite the long day, our gracious hosts were willing to answer our numerous questions. After the tour, we said goodbye to our partners and returned to the guest house.

We all turned in upon our return and gathered our things for the long journey to Kijabe the next morning.