KENYA MEASLES PREVENTION "MISSION" and AFRICAN SAFARIS

Introduction
by Dick and Lawana Johnson 2009

Around the end of 2008, Elder Dick and Sister Lawana Johnson had completed their three year "Be Smart!" mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Most of their time since Dick's retirement had gone to that very enjoyable and successful endeavor. Now, it was 2009 and they were enjoying becoming more like normal retired people... traveling, seeing grandkids, and even doing some remodeling.

But, then came an exciting invitation from Lawana's brother and his wife to visit them in Kenya while they were serving there on a special three month measles prevention mission! The Church has provided around $1 Million/year on measles programs in 45 countries so far and has sent senior missionary couples like Elder and Sister Ogborn to implement the program. It is a very worthwhile & needed work, because, even though vaccinations stop measles in developed countries, over 500 children still die every day from measles, mostly in undeveloped countries like Africa where shots are not readily available.

Quite honestly, Dick and Lawana's initial thoughts were that they would help out where they could on the measles work, but probably spend much of their time in a vacation mode seeing wild and exciting Africa. This seemed reasonable, especially considering that they were financing the whole trip themselves, rather than having their big travel costs and other expenses (like, over $2,000 in medical shots before going!) paid by the Church. As it turned out, though, because they quickly fell so much in love with the wonderful African people and quickly saw the great need for the work, they very willingly devoted over 3/4's of their six weeks time in Africa assisting the measles campaign.

Living among the African people and working with and for them on the measles work was a wonderful, unique, adventure and spiritual awakening for the Johnsons. Lawana has gone to many countries now and Dick has traveled to practically every continent and around 100 countries in this great world. But, neither have experienced as life-changing a time as in Africa. It will be remembered forever!

This journal chronicles our experiences and feelings in a series of 27 e-mails we sent home to family and friends during the six week trip. Besides learning about the measles work, you will also see and enjoy reading in these writings that Heavenly Father seemed to reward us for our decision to devote most of our time to the measles work by providing us with many very unique and exciting wildlife viewings during those few days we were able to go on safaris in Africa's wild bush. Indeed, our experienced guide of 25 years, said he had never seen so many unique sightings, especially of the big predator cats and so many baby animals so close up. It was Springtime in Africa and every species had babies everywhere!

We promise you will feel as you read this journal, the wonderful, loving spirit of the very poor, but very noble and much to be admired and respected, African people. And, we hope that somehow our words and pictures give you a sense of that wild, dangerous, and beautiful country that is unlike anywhere else in the world.

Love,
Dick and Lawana Johnson

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AFRICAN MEASLES PROGRAM 1 of 27 Emails

Hi Everybody!

After flying for 3 days with an overnight stay in Amsterdam, we arrived in Nairobi and took a closing puddle-jumper flight to Mombasa…whew! For 2 weeks now we’ve been trying to e-mail you several hours of our verbally recorded day by day thoughts in 15 minute segments, but have been unable to do it via Internet. So, I’ll try to recap it for you this way and try to send you the verbal recordings another time.





About 3/4’s of our time has gone to the measles campaign which has touched our lives deeply. We began by helping Corwin & Peggy organize local African volunteers to work with us and the Red Cross. The Red Cross has been great to work with, with much more professionalism and less corruption than the Ministry of Health. Many of them are Muslims, whom we have found to be wonderful people.

It's Ramadan time and the Muslim calls to prayers occur regularly throughout the day.






Women are dressed in their black burkas, some only showing their eyes, others their faces. Many wear beautiful shawls over the top of the burka and sometimes you can see a bit of a matching dress on the bottom. Many of our volunteers came from the local Church branches. We provided red hats and red t-shirts for them, which they loved. Many were so proud of them that we could see them wearing them underneath their clothing at Church!




We created a little choir of kids to sing a cute measles jingle for the introductory meetings and the radio. The volunteers then went from door to door, hut to hut, spreading the word that measles shots would be given at the local health clinics. The shot-giving was kicked off at two slums here in Mombasa and then have been going on all over Kenya the past several days.

I can’t describe the terrible living conditions adequately to you… especially in this area of Kenya where the drought is into it’s 3rd year. People and animals are dying in the worst areas and living on whatever they can scrape up. I’m not just talking about the slums.
In the poorer areas, the Red Cross is giving out bags of maize and after a truck distributed them, we passed for hours and miles lines of mostly women, many with babies strapped to their backs, carrying the bags on their heads walking through inches of red African dust to their shacks/huts in the countryside. That’s all they would have to eat in their little shacks, many with dirt floors, no electricity, of course, and no running water.

The slums were terrible. We climbed down a narrow, slippery, rocky path about a half mile to the river bottom…walking past and through trashy, filthy huts and dug out places to live in the ground. We passed people with obvious diseases, including AIDS, of course, who have little hope in life.





At the river bottom, hundreds of mothers and their babies and small children stood waiting in around 15 lines for the shots. Their eyes were filled with gratitude as their little babies and children cried out as the shot was given and their little finger dipped in purple ink. Despite measles being totally preventable, over 500 children die each day from it around the world. Our hearts especially went out to these in the slums… because, similar to most African people we’ve met, most of them, even here in the slums, give us big smiles and friendly faces and many times respond to our “Jumbo!” with their own response back to us. We have gotten very used to gracious, kind, genuine interchanges like that…it's the African way and truly admirable, considering their poor living conditions and opportunities in life. They truly are in the “first shall be last and the last shall be first” category and make many of us consider more seriously that “where much is given, much is expected in return” because for sure I know I fall very short. The difference with these poor people here in these slums is that the fact is there is little hope for them in any way…yet, here they were, still smiling loving faces and giving kind words back to us we seldom could understand.


We had been regularly passing every day football field size trash dumps and seeing goats, cattle, and adults and children shifting through the trash for food. But, we never realized how truly bad it is until we climbed and walked amidst where they lived in the slums. How can you describe being fearful of even shaking hands with a person or not really wanting to sit on the dirt floor with a woman and her baby inside her little “home” the size of a small bathroom because of the filth and fear of disease? We definitely did not drink the filthy water from their same cup or even consider taking a bite from an apple offered in such a humble way. The truth is that we were not offered such a thing in the slums because they had little to offer that way.


The branch members and other volunteers have been wonderful to work with. Some of Corwin and Peggy's church funds are being used to provide them transport. But, instead of using it for that, they are walking 3-4 hours to the villages to contact people about measles, and then using the transport money to buy food for their own families and sometimes the people they are contacting.


Then, at the end of the day, they walk 3-4 hours back to their own homes to get a few hours of sleep before the next day. What giant, noble hearts they have! Though poor, it became quickly obvious to us how intelligent they are and that all they need is a chance to improve their lives. But, when a dollar here will feed a family, though only with some maize and a little greenery, for several days, you begin to understand how inwardly strong and noble they are.


For Church members, in their tattered. but clean clothes, their greatest goal is to go to the temple someday. Few have gone, but it is their dream. In the Chyulu hills, we met in branches with no electricity or running water, but hymns sung with their Swahili dialect with gusto and joy.
We talked with Branch Presidents who were so grateful for their jobs cleaning car windows at gas stations and living in homes with no roof, electricity, etc. Yet, Corwin and Peggy regularly said the Church had progressed so much since their first mission here several years ago. Indeed, there were branches who met in little school buildings and other kinds of places which would be considered quite substandard, but to them are a huge step up and very blessed to have. For example, they did have an accompaniment to their songs, even if it was a car battery-operated recording of a piano. Yet, even from that branch, we watched these wonderful people walk to their small hut homes close by the branch building where we knew they were going to go to sleep that night with no electricity or running water. And, of course, as we drove home, before finally reaching the highway to Mombasa miles away, we saw no other cars.




At the very best, we saw a few old bicycles being ridden, but mostly they all walked everywhere in the countryside. Even in the city, few owned cars, but either walk or catch a tricycle-motor scooter Tu Tu or Matatu, a communal taxi.
At first, as we drove along the main road between the villages to Mombasa (our base town and the 2nd largest city in Kenya), we were puzzled why at night there were so many people still walking or mingling all along the way. Then, we realized it was because it was dark in their homes and not much to do unless they were sleeping! Also, all along the way were little huts where food and everything was being sold…anything to scratch out some kind of a living.



Everywhere we go we see people, especially women, carrying yellow jugs of water, usually on their heads. Because of the drought, water is a huge factor in their lives and a daily task to somehow acquire.
Yet, somehow the members come out of their poor homes looking sparkling clean, even if it is in tattered clothes. Their testimonies of the Gospel are so very strong and when they bear them, a person is surprised how deep they are. Their understanding may not be broad, but their conviction of the most important essentials goes very deep to their souls.




For example, we met a Branch President whose daughter had been bitten by a snake and died. But, he was at Church the next day and when Peggy broke down in tears, he put his arm around her and said, “Don’t be so sad, Sister Ogborn, I will see her in the resurrection.” We met another whose garden had been destroyed by elephants who just said, “I’ll replant and God will take care of us.”
Each Sunday, we have been asked to speak in church, teach classes, give prayers, etc. Yet, we feel they should be teaching us, not the other way around.



Many of the leaders are young converts who have somehow filled a mission, even though here that usually means never going to college because of the mission expense. Oh yes, “college” could likely mean 6 months training to become a carpenter. After Church, we drove away looking behind at scores of little children running behind us in the red dust for a mile till their little legs finally gave out.







We will share more this way when we can get Internet connections. And, we have taken hundreds of pictures. For sure, when we get home we will share our Ipod recordings where we have vocally recorded our impressions. Needless to say, many of those have our voice cracking as tears come as we share such memories.
We love you all very much and miss you, too. Thanks for letting us share these thoughts with you. The time is flying by, but we love each day and feel so blessed to have the opportunity to be among these wonderful people.

Love from Kenya,
Mom and Dad, Gma Gpa, Dick and Lawana


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FIRST SAFARI IN AFRICA 2nd of 27 Emails

Hi Loved Ones & Friends,

After around 10 days of traveling and working on the measles program, we finally went on safari & game drives…what an adventure!!!! We hope you’ll enjoy some of the attached photos. Sunset on the right is our view of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania from our Kilaguni Lodge in Tsavo West.


We think Heavenly Father was blessing us for our work because we saw enough animals in our 2 days to last a lifetime, including some unusual experiences I’ll describe below.






We could hardly believe it all. Around 300 elephants, herds of zebras, water buffalo, many giraffes, baboons, monkeys, wildebeests, heartbeats, ostriches, hippos, warthogs, jackals, hyenas, many varieties of gazelles, elands, sable bucks, water bucks, and all kinds of birds, etc etc etc.


There were so many in the different waterholes and game drives that seeing them got a little mundane as we were anxiously looking for rhino, cheetah, lions, and leopards. And, we did see lions and leopards! And, we hope to see rhinos and cheetahs sometime along the way. It was so exciting!



The lodge and tent we stayed in overlooked waterholes, where the animals regularly came to drink throughout the day.


Using binoculars, we saw them coming from a mile away out of the bush or along the vast savannas and grasses. Elephants would come in small herds of 4 or 5, led by the female matriarch.

Zebras in large herds, water buffaloes in lines of a dozen or so, hippos in the water during the day and out to feed during the early morning and evening hours, baboons scampering in from everywhere, gazelles everywhere, warthogs running in and out with their cute tails straight up, reminding us of “Lion King,” jackals skulking around, giraffes coming in and out in 2’s and 3’s, huge storks and other exotic birds swooping in and out, etc etc.


Especially enjoyable was watching the baby elephants walking directly under their mothers and also being protected by other elephants around them, too. They frequently nursed. All would drink and also throw water from their trunks high and backward over their bodies to cool off.. Then, inexplicably, they would do the same with red dirt, ending up with their being called the “pink elephants” of Tsavo. Baby giraffes running with their mothers were fun to watch in their funny, but fast gait. How do they keep that long neck coordinated with those long legs and large body? Huge water buffalo walked along, daring any to cross their path. Nobody did. Zebras were beautiful in their black and white stripes.



Large baboons and smaller monkeys were everywhere, swinging from the trees and bushes and scampering in the savanna. Many had babies under their mothers’ belly or riding on top. But, it didn’t slow their mothers down at all.

We later found why protecting the baby elephants was so critical. A baby elephant and a hippo was killed by lions at the waterhole and the carcass of a water buffalo was being fed upon farther out on the Savannah. Our first lion sighting was almost before dark, hunting close to the ground, and awesome with it’s black mane and large body. We could barely distinguish it so low to the ground, reminding us of the movie, “Ghost & the Darkness” which was filmed here. We tried to imagine the fear the other animals must feel, especially the parents for their babies, as they came in and out of the waterhole and throughout the bush.


Because of the drought, many waterholes are dried up, so those still in existence become prime hunting areas for the big cats. We saw a leopard sleuth in towards a baby elephant at the waterhole. He was, fortunately, driven away by the mother and other big elephants.

It was interesting to watch the pecking order. Water buffaloes and elephants sometimes would not let other animals drink with them. And, nobody tangled with the hippos when they came out of the water!

We made 2 game drives led by guides in the early morning and early evening during the 2 days and also drove around ourselves. It was amazing that we found tons of animals ourselves! But, the guides were needed to help find the big cats on the drives.. We went with them on big, old fashioned safari land rovers, reminding me of the “Hatari” (Danger!) John Wayne movie, which was filmed either around here or in the Masai Mara where we will be on safari next week. We found a giraffe kill and watched a female lion feed voraciously on it one evening and the rest of the pride lurking back in the bush. The next morning we went back and again sat within a car’s distance watching a big male sleeping and feeding on the giraffe.


Later, we spotted a pride of 8 sleeping under the trees…the baby lion was the most active, while the rest were beginning their napping which would last until the evening’s hunt & feeding. Magnificent animals!!!

Now, for the wondrous unusual sightings, which few people see. The first was seeing the mating ritual and foreplay of two giraffes. We saw this on our own game drive and were later told by the guides that it’s unusual to see in the wild, especially without a guide.
The two lovers were swaying their long necks low to the ground and around each other’s necks over and over. We couldn't’t believe how very flexible their long necks were…it seemed like they would break their necks! But, it was evident that love was in the air. We wished we could have stayed to see the culmination of it all, but we had to get on our way out of the park to work on the measles program.

The second event was even more unusual and we got to see the whole x- rated event! It occurred at night at the lit waterhole. Everyone was to bed, but we stayed up late each night to see as much as we could. A large male approached two females one by one in the herd with “lovin’ on his mind.” But, was rejected as they flared their large ears at him. He then approached another and began nudging her on the side of her head and shoulders. Then, for 20 minutes they would each alternately raise their huge heads, trunks, and tusks high in the air over and over again.
Slowly, the male worked his way along her side toward the back, nuzzling her along the way. In this e-mail I won’t detail the rest of the story, but you know what happened at the end. We were amazed how the smaller female could bear the weight of her big lover, but after it all she seemed pretty happy. The whole thing lasted about an hour and was amazing to see in the wild!



We saw a few park rangers carrying guns. It reminded me of how hard it was for the great lady in “Gorillas in the Mist” to get the gov’t to get a few rangers to protect against poachers. We were told their guns were not to protect us from the animals, but rather to protect the animals from people, especially, of course, poachers, who are after tusks and horns and paws and tails. How very sad…the land is so vast and wild that rangers cannot possibly cover a small fraction of it.








Our tent lodging was especially wonderful. Nice, floored tents, with separate compartments for a bathroom…complete with a water bag for an overhead shower! We slept at night with the animals all around us and wondered how the sole guard with his gun could possibly protect 22 tents! The sounds of the night were awesome and sometimes frightening…elephants trumpeting, lions roaring, hippos laughing, water buffalo grunting, etc etc etc.
The food was excellent, prepared by great chefs in a veranda overlooking the waterholes. Our African hosts were gracious and friendly, quick to explain the various African dishes. Mostly Pork, lamb, and chicken dishes. Omelets, delicious African crepes, all kinds of fruits, like mangoes, passion fruit, etc. Water, as always, was a premium, with water around twice as expensive as a soda pop!

Our lodge and tent lodging was around 3 star, which was plenty luxurious for us. The lodge had a swimming pool. The second lodge had 2 pools, a spa, exercise facility, massage, conference rooms, and beautiful grounds. Other more expensive places, even tent lodging, had individual small swimming pools for each tent!

The safari game drive guides really knew their business. Ours was especially good as we were the second vehicle to the giraffe kill and the first vehicle to see the pride of lions with the baby cub. They cooperate together by 2-way radio, letting other vehicles know about exciting animal happenings. So, the 2-way radios are buzzing as they race through the red dust to get to a find that another guide has discovered. We were fortunate on our 2 guided drives to just tip the guide and join his group in his land rover, rather than having to pay the usual huge fee. That wonderful opportunity came as a blessing from our measles work as we had previously met the owner of the Southern Cross Safaris who set it up for us because he was so impressed by our measles work. During the other times when we drove around the bush on our own, we could spot a guide vehicle speeding along and tag along behind to the animal sighting. They usually graciously let us nudge our truck along besides theirs if their weren’t many there already. So, we usually saw the same things that their guided groups saw without having to pay the big bucks!

It was interesting to visit with other guests at the lodges and on safari. Many were Europeans. One group had hiked Mt.Kilimanjaro, which is the tallest mountain in Africa and the 2nd tallest free-standing mountain in the world. It took them 4 days, with the final climb ascent to the top taking 12 hours on the final day. We admired their youthful vigor…most were in their 20’s. Oh well…maybe in the next life! Mt. Kilimanjaro is famous from Hemingway’s book and the resultant movie, “Snows of Kilimanjaro” We are looking forward to seeing Karen Blixen’s coffee plantation and Denys Finch Hatten’s hunting lodge where “Out of Africa” was filmed, starring Robert Redford and Meryl Strep and we saw the Mombasa Railway Station and the area where ”Ghost & the Darkness,” starring Michael Douglas and Val Kilmer was filmed. Additionally, we’ll visit places where other books and movies were done, like “I Dreamed of Africa”, the “African Queen,” etc. That’s because Mombasa was the first and biggest port entrance into Africa from everywhere…Europe, Asia, India, etc. From the very beginning, in this “Cradle of Civilization” where they think life began, all the exciting and most well known African events began…big game hunting, slavery, ivory, road and railroad building, trading, political activities, etc etc. In a week we will be going to Nairobi which later became the capital. But, it all began here in Mombasa, this little island city on the coast.

Well, it’s time for bed and preparing for tomorrow’s work on the measles campaign. We’ll again sleep under mosquito netting and hope our malaria shots work (and, shots for typhoid, tetanus, HIV, yellow fever, etc., too) It’s a constant worry, but we feel the Lord will protect us in His work here.

We love you all very much. Please continue helping us with your prayers,
Dick and Lawana

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MISSIONARY APARTMENT AND SAFARI 3rd of 27 Emails

Hi Everybody from Africa!

Our time here in Mombasa has been living in two different locations: Several weeks in Corwin & Peggy’s missionary apartment and one week in the Royal Reserve Safari Lodge on the Indian Ocean beach which we traded a timeshare week for. Both are special places which we will never forget.

The missionary apartment overlooks the beautiful Tudor ocean channel high above the water. Every morning there are beautiful sunrises and sunsets as we look across the channel to the mainland and beyond to the bush. Small fishing dugout canoes go back and forth and fishermen throw their nets out at low tide. Palm trees line the shoreline in this fairly well-to-do area, although it is only about a ½ mile from a large slum. That’s the way the entire island city is…a mix of nicer areas with poorer areas and slums and the bustling city in between. We drink only bottled water and use our water purifiers when bottled water is not available as we travel to the villages and in the bush.

The apartment is gated with a guard, so we feel relatively safe, although we definitely do not go out at night. We don’t risk buying any food from the small stands that line the streets, except for bananas. We would never buy meat from those stands which are swirling with flies. We shop at a nicer market, but still avoid many foods there, even disinfecting fruits and vegetables at home that we get there. The basic food in Kenya is a maize (corn) porridge. It makes us feel guilty when we think about the food we eat and waste at home in America. Compared to the regular elders’ apartments throughout the villages, this apartment is luxurious, complete with what we consider basics, but Kenyans consider luxuries only for the rich (washing machine, dryer, electricity, running water). Yet, there are beautiful homes along the beach here and very nice resorts.

Communications and finances is a major time-consuming issue as there are no land lines and we have to regularly go to ATM machines to get Kenya shillings. We weren’t surprised to have to pass armed guards at the bank after we had already done that in front of the market! Surprisingly, many of the people carry cell phones, which the gov’t subsidizes and saves us much time. This program would take 100 times longer without cell phones, because hardly anyone have cars, only a few have bicycles, and most travel miles and miles anywhere on foot, sometimes barefoot in the dusty red dirt. Few have computers, of course.

Driving is a major concern through the bustling, bee-hive like confusing traffic. It is a mixture of cars, mostly driven by rich Muslims and Indians, taxis, Tu Tu’s, a tricycle scooter motor cycle and matatu’s, which are communal vans with a driver and hustler leaning out the window trying to lure in passengers. The streets are narrow, usually with no sidewalks, and lined with small stands selling food and everything else you can imagine.

Many of the goods are just spread out on the ground. We have to be very careful to avoid an accident, because the white person is always in the wrong and usually whisked off to jail, where it usually takes a bribe to be turned loose for small fender benders. It can be prison for more serious accidents. We did not see another white person for the first week here.

Muslims are everywhere because Mombasa has the largest concentration of Muslims in Africa. They are the dominant religion, but we were pleased to find also a lot of Christians, mostly Pentecostal. The Muslim calls to prayer occur regularly throughout the day and we also have the unique opportunity to be here during the closing weeks of their 30 day Ramadan time. The women are in long black burkas, many with only their eyes showing and they usually walk several steps behind the men. Some wear beautifully colored scarves with the tips of matching dresses showing at the bottom. It’s fun to watch the people stare at us because they see so few whites.

We’ve stayed one week at the Royal Reserve Beach & Safari Resort, a beautiful resort along the Indian Ocean beach which we traded a timeshare week for.

It’s only ½ mile along the beach from the Israel resort which was bombed by terrorists in 2002, killing around 20, including some Americans. It really hurt tourism and the economy here for several years thereafter.

The resort is beautiful and luxurious with pools, 5 course dining, and entertainment.

Our room overlooks the beach with palm trees swaying in the winds and gorgeous sunsets. “Beach boys” walk the beach trying to get tourists to take a walk on the reef at low tide and go on day trips at lower prices than the resort. Corwin and Peggy stayed with us here several nights, which was nice for them to enjoy.

We weren’t able to enjoy a full week’s vacation time here like we usually do at a resort, because much of the time was working on the measles campaign, but the luxury was a nice break for them and us. A nice highlight was our inviting Khulda, the Mombasa Red Cross Director, and her fiance here for dinner one evening. She is a tall, stately, elegant lady, around 30 years old, who has been an enormous help to the program.

We were curious to meet her fiance and to see how they interacted because she is so intelligent, educated, and professional. We were pleased to find him quite modern as we quizzed him about marriage and women and are hopeful he will remain that way after they marry. We wish we could stay awhile, because she has observed our ways and asked some questions about the Church and our views on women, marriage, and family life.

We have great admiration for Corwin and Peggy’s mission and dedication, especially because their days are jam-packed with the work, leaving them and now us exhausted at the end of the day. Yet, their phone keeps ringing long into the night with emergencies and crisis-solving. It’s hard for them to be organized and plan and set priorities because so many of their contacts are backward, poor, uneducated. Yet, the thing that keeps them and us going is the great goodness of the people and the benefit our program is to them and their sweet little children.

Well, we’d better close for now. It’s time to go out to another measles clinic

We miss you all….and, send you our love from the dark continent,

Dad & Mom/Grandpa & Grandma/Dick & Lawana

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