A Very Busy Week at TICH

Life at TICH (The Tropical Institute of Community Health & Development in Africa, in case you have forgotten) has been pretty relaxed since I arrived in late February. There have been few students around and people quietly work at whatever it is they do. It has reminded me of an old “Yes, Minister” episode (a British TV comedy) where upon inspecting a new hospital the Minister discovers that due to budget cuts that only the Administration department is operational. TICH has had a bit of that feel to it. However, a few weeks ago things started to pick-up noticeably. Facilities were being fixed, supplies acquired, meetings held and rocks painted white (just the big ones). Over a 10-day period there would be the 4th Annual TICH Scientific Conference, the TICH AGM and Board of Directors meetings, and the Graduation Ceremony.

The conference was quite impressive. The theme was “linking research to policy for evidence-based action towards the realization of the millenium development goals.” With a theme like that how could they go wrong? I apologize in advance if this comes across as preaching, but for those of us who didn’t know the millunium development goals are:
1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
2. Achieve universal primary education
3. Promote gender equity and empower women
4. Reduce child mortality
5. Improve maternal health
6. Combat HIV/AIDs, malaria and other diseases
7. Ensure environmental sustainability
8. Develop a global partnership to development

People from 17 countries attended the conference, most of them academics, consultants or practitioners working in one or more of the above areas. In addition to these specialists, there was a large contingent from the local villages that partner with TICH. There were also special appearances, including the ambassador from Israel (he actually didn’t come to the conference, but to open an entrepreneurial course being put on under their sponsorship) and a Government Assistant Cabinet Minister (he turned-up twice). I didn’t have any duties at the conference so was able to listen to most of the speakers. It was a lot to take in, but I learned a lot from some very impressive people. Besides, it sure beats accounting.

While the calibre of speakers and the organization for the most part were excellent, it wouldn’t be Kenya without a few comical gliches. On the start of the first day, following prayers, it was identified that the first speaker had not yet arrived. The moderator started calling names out from the morning’s agenda in hopes of finding someone to get things started. Finally, he joked “well, next on the agenda is lunch.”

By the end of the three-day conference I had pretty much had my fill of listening to people talk. I skipped the AGM but did have a chance for a long chat with the auditor. This confirmed that I’m not the only one who thinks that TICH has some issues. Unfortunately, the Director doesn’t as when I discussed the cash-flow status with him this week he dismissed my concerns stating that things were even worse two years ago. Anyways, I thought that skipping the AGM and resting-up would give me the endurance to sit through the graduation ceremony on Tuesday. I was wrong.

The grad was for two groups: 20 Masters students (TICH is affiliated with the Great Lakes University in Goma, Democratic Repulic of the Congo) and about 80 Community Health workers from the surrounding villages. Having attended a few grads over the years (just to confirm that I really did pass) I know that I get pretty restless at these things (actually, I get pretty restless at a lot of things). There was little doubt that such an event in Kenya would be long and drawn-out so I had already developed an escape strategy.

I was fashionably late for the ceremony, but found that they were just getting warmed-up on the religious component. After a couple of prayers, one hymn, and identifying that there were enough Bishops in attendance to start a chess game, I made a run for it. I then had a very productive day in town. I went to the library to return and pick-up some books (including a David Livingstone biography – checked out 8 times since 1981; this being its first withdrawal since January 1990), walked through the market, had my first haircut in three months (that attracted a crowd), went for lunch, and then caught a boda boda to the Sunset Hotel to pick-up a few novels that a Scottish professor had left for me. Eventually, I returned to the ceremony. It was about 3 hours later and the degrees and diplomas had already been distributed, but I was able to catch the last couple of prayers. All in all, quite an enjoyable event.