Let the Sun Shine Down

I have absolutely loved the sunny weather in Mombasa. The temperatures are not nearly as warm as they are currently in the States, but hot none the less. People say the sun is hotter at the equator, I’m not sure if I completely agree, but I do have a little sun burn that may prove the point. This morning I spent my time in the KMFRI offices. The first scientist I talked to this morning was Eddie, working in the socio-economics side of KMFRI. He told me about the methods used to survey local and rural villages. The methods KMFRI uses are very similar to the methods I worked with during my time on the CHIESA project at icipe. They are using questionnaires and focus group discussions to gather information on where people are fishing, how much they are fishing, the value of the fish they are catching, etc. Being knowledgeable in this subject due to my experience in Nairobi, it was nice to converse and ask questions over their analysis methods and what was done with the results. Eddie said supposedly the reports get sent to management and disseminated throughout the KMFRI organization to help other projects. Whether this happens or not is questionable. The second man I met with, Charles, is in charge of marine ecology and monitoring of the water quality in the area. Instead of using biology components to monitor the water quality, as I did in Kakamega, they use chemistry components to analyze the metal and hydrocarbon levels. Charles went on to explain the effects of biomagnification. Today was my last day at KMFRI. I learned a plethora of new knowledge which will be helpful in deciding paths for my future.

When working on my research report and going through some old blogs, I realized I had been spelling vial wrong in every post. I apologize. I also apologize for all of the typos I am finding throughout the posts.

I was given the afternoon off to enjoy the beautiful weather. After saying my goodbyes and thanking everyone who made my trip in Mombasa an enjoyable one, I headed to the beach for an afternoon of reading. Tonight at dinner I had to say my goodbyes to the mission team working around the Mombasa area. Ever since being in Kenya, I have realized how much more enjoyable meals are with people. I was very fortunate to meet a group of adults from Southern United States this week to eat dinner with. Although, most of them were at least twice my age their stories were very inspiration. Tonight at dinner, I was once again reminded of my mission here, as they told me stories about the poverty they found in the Bush—children drinking out of puddles, families eating the bones of the chicken, and the diseases running rampant. Although our missions for our stay in Kenya may be slightly different, we share a common goal of improving the lives of those we interact with.