Sally Test Children's Room

Maya and I are working in the Sally Tess Children's Room in the pediatric ward at the Moi University Hospital.  Children come to this room during scheduled morning and afternoon hours to play, sing and dance, listen to stories and go outside to play.  The room is the only one of its kind in the country - conceived and developed by Sarah Ellen Mamlin, our host.

Sarah Ellen has brought to Eldoret many of the modern child life practices that you might find in a US children's hospital.  It is a thrill for me to see many of the components of such a room - e.g. low round tables, open display book shelves, open display shelving for toys, a dramatic play house, a rug surrounded with pillow for story time, a safe place for babies to lie and play - all handmade here in Kenya.  No Lakeshore in this neck of the woods!  When we were here seven years ago, we played with the children out in a hallway.  This room was being built.

We spent last night helping Sarah Ellen catalogue the extensive children's library that she has built over the years.  There is no library in Eldoret, let alone a children's library anywhere else in the country.  Sarah Ellen was so appreciative to have help from people who have actually been to a library before!  Plus, the work scratched an OCD itch for both Maya and me :)

The Kenyan locals who run the playroom are fabulous with the kids.  Some of the kids get around on foot and some are in wheelchairs.  Several are being treated for burns, which are very common from living in huts with open fires for cooking.  There are three babies and a toddler with cerebral palsy (all abandoned) there today, which we take turns holding.  The hospital is seen as a safe place to abandon a baby. 

The children light up when they see Maya.  It's been so lovely to share this experience with her.