Money, Money, Money, Money

The agricultural show is fast approaching and our exhibit needs more paint and custom-made posters and a visitor’s book and skirts for the display tables. We must pay the graphic artist for painting our name on the building’s eaves and for painting out logo on the front. He even created a “Health Clinic” sign complete with red lettering and an arrow pointing down to the door. Our health clinic in the student hostel will open a temporary branch in our exhibit to assist show goers who may not feel well. We have a small room where we’ll place a table and two chairs, for consultations and medicine dispensing. I’m making curtains for the health clinic, to provide privacy, in TICH green satin to match the TICH blue satin table skirts.

We need more green paint, Peter the painter tells me. The graphic artist shows up at TICH’s gate, burning with Malaria, asking for his payment in full. We need rugs for the entrance and exit, safe drinking water for our staff. I request a hand-painted poster of our partnership sites in Nyanza Province and the director approves the expense.

Money, Money, Money, Money. Money. We need lots of money (not really, by Kenyan currency). We’ll move potted plants from our front porch to the site. We’ll also take tables and chairs, stools and colorful paintings to dress up the place. We’re busy printing marketing materials, applications, notices about our upcoming nutrition workshop and color copies of our newsletter—12 pages this edition!

We’ll be selling handmade goods provided by community health workers in the rural communities. They’ll be delivered on Monday and set up in our “TICH Shop” at the exhibit. The director visits the site and seems pleased. He only demands of the landscaper we get the new gravel we paid for and not the used that’s currently on the ground. We’re promised new, gray, clean gravel will soon be down.

The show is fast approaching and we’ll be ready…somehow.