A flight instructor once told me: "You should fly a plane, not fight a plane." What he meant was that you should smoothly control a plane without the use of excessive force. So no jerking on the yoke (steering wheel), but everything nice and smooth. To help reducing forces on the yoke a plane can be "trimmed". On the Cessna 206 that means, controlling a small surface on the elevator of the plane to balance the aerodynamics, so you don’t need to pull or push to remain in a level flight. A very nice invention to make a pilot like me lazy. Until today….

I was on my way back to Lodwar after I had picked up a guy from Nariokotome who had a few holes too many in his body after a fight. After reaching my altitude, I trimmed the plane a bit nose down to remain on the right altitude. But the plane still wanted to climb. So I trimmed a bit more, trying to create a nose-down momentum but the trim-wheel didn’t go any further. I looked at the trim-indicator and I saw that the indicator was completely out of the scale! Not good! Not good, because the plane was still trying to climb and I had to use a lot of force to remain on my altitude. So I reduced some power to reduce the airspeed and by reducing the airspeed, I was able to reduce the force it needs to take to keep the plane level.

But now I had to go to Lodwar. There was no use of turning back to Nariokotome, because I have no equipment there to fix the problem. Besides, the problem was not directly affecting flight safety as long as I wouldn’t do something stupid like letting go of the yoke… But this means that I have to be fighting the plane for 35 minutes…

The flight went well. When I approached Lodwar, my arms were getting a bit tired, but I was still able to do the landing. Now the next problem: Normally I use flaps to land. Flaps make the plane slow down and also increase the lift of the plane, making the plane able to fly at lower speeds. But using flaps creates a nose-up momentum. And because of the failure of the trim, I already had a nose-up momentum. I was afraid that I couldn’t control the plane anymore in case I would use full flaps, especially in case I needed to abort my landing and use full power to climb (creating more nose-up momentum). So maybe I should not use flaps. In that case I would approach at a higher airspeed (creating a nose-up momentum), but the plane would be easier to control in case of an aborted landing.

I chose the last option and landed safely without using flaps. Tomorrow I’ll have to fly this thing to Nairobi to fix the problem… Fortunately I’ll take someone with me who can help controlling the plane…

Since the the end of last month, things are really cooling down in this country. Now that the some people have finally agreed on a political settlement, the violence is "back to normal". So still people get killed, but it is not as much as it was before and it is not political orientated anymore.

Last week, for example, I had to fly the body of a bank manager from Lodwar to Kitale. It is speculated that some monkeys got bored and wanted to rob a bank. At least it is not political. Further I had to fly 2 persons this week who had one hole or two holes too many in their body because they were either stealing goats or their goats got stolen. Also nothing special.

So, if everything is back to normal, how come that I still have a fuel shortage? Well, because litterally EVERYTHING is back to normal. So also the efficiency and the corruption is back to normal. Which means: transporters still don’t want to travel to Lodwar, because the insurance companies don’t insure them for that. And the transporters who DO travel to Lodwar, ask 4 times as much for the trip. 

It was around 7 a.m. that I woke up sweating all over. It didnx92t take long to find out why I was sweating. It was because my electric fan was not working. I already had a clue what the problem was, but just to be sure I switched on the light. Indeed, no light neither, so Lodwar had a power-failure again. It was too hot to stay in bed without a fan running, so I decided to go and get some breakfast.

I wanted to go to the office to work todat, but I needed internet for my work and since there was no electricity in Lodwar, I couldnx92t use the internetx85 So I just stayed home and read a bookx85

At 11:50 suddenly my fan started again! Finally I could go to workx85 But now I had to wait for Ali to come with the car to pick me up. After 30 minutes he arrived. But he asked me to stay, because there might be an emergency to Eldoret, so I had to pack my stuff for an overnight in Eldoret. We only had to wait for a confirmation.

We waited for one hour for the phone call which never came and at 13:30 I was fed up and left for the office. But, off course, just after Ix92ve started my computer (and found out that somehow I was unable to connect to the internet), Ali send me an sms:x94Come get your stuff and get your ass up to the plane. Youx92re flying to Eldoret.x94

When I arrived at our house, Ali came walking to me. x93Change of plans: youx92re going to Nairobi.x94
That was good. The plane has some small problems, which are too complicated to fix in Lodwar, but which are not big enough to fly to Nairobi to fix it. But now I could combine the flight to fix the plane with the medevac. The only thing is: we donx92t go to Nairobi for a medevac unless the patient is really dying, so I was a bit curious what kind of patient I would be carrying todayx85

When I arrived at the hangar, it was already busy there. My guard was already fuelling the plane, the patient and his armed escort (later I heard he was the father of a Member of Parliament, so he needs an escort) already arrived as well as Richard. Richard is a flight nurse, but he is the best flightnurse Ix92ve flown with so far. While other flight nurses just get sick in the plane and just watch how I help a patient in the plane, Richard is always ahead of me, at least regarding the patient, and he is really helping during an emergency. And he keeps on helping the patient during the flight, instead of vomiting, which is a big plus for a flight nurse. Richard was giving the patient some injections and I walked up to him for a briefing.

x93Richard, how are you? Tell me a story about this guy.x94
x93Well, hex92s not doing well, but Ix92ve given him some medicines which will probably keep him alive for a few hours and hopefully they can help him further in Nairobi.x94
x93So I have to behave during the flight?x94
Richard smiled: x93Yes, you better behave; hex92s very weak, so no loops or rolls. He will need the stretcher. Donx92t put the stretcher flat, but donx92t raise the backrest too much neither. He has difficulty breathing but he doesnx92t need oxygen. O, and by the way, Ix92m not flying with you. Youx92ll get some fresh meatx85x94
x93Thatx92s just great. A dying patient and a brand new flight nurse on a flight of more than two and a half hour. Youx92re really making my day here. Who is it and where is he or she?x94

Richard introduced me to the lady who would be the flight nurse.
x93So, youx92re going to fly with me to Nairobi?x94, I asked.
She appeared to be a bit nervous, which made me nervous as well. I looked a bit desperate to Richard and started my interrogation:
x93Have you ever flown before?x94
x93No.x94
x93Do you easily get sick?x94
A hesitating x93Nox94
x93Have you seen the patient already?x94
x93No.x94
x93You know what Richard has done to that patient now?x94
x93No.x94
I was starting to become a bit annoyedx85
x93Do you even know what youx92ll have to do as a flight nurse?x94 Richard pinched me.
x93O.k., I have to prepare the plane. I suggest you use the time to see the patient and think about how to keep this guy alive, because if this man dies during the flight, we will spend the Saturday evening in a police station in Nairobi, explaining why that guy died during the flight. And I know those bloodhounds at Wilson airport, if they can screw you, they will and it will take a lot of bribes or a very big mouth before we can leave that police stationx85
Last time a patient died in my plane, they even wanted to start a criminal investigation against me. Now, make sure an ambulance will be arranged to wait for us. I expect to arrive in Nairobi at 18:00.x94

I checked the plane, loaded the patient and the relative and walked up to the flight nurse who was given the last instructions by Richard.
x93We can go now. Do you know what to do now during the flight?x94
x93Yes.x94
x93Good, did you order an ambulance?x94
x93Yes.x94
x93Are you sure?x94 (usually people here say x93yesx94, even when they mean x93nox94, so I usually ask a question 3 to 4 times and take the average answer)
x93Yes.x94
x93So when we arrive in Nairobi, an ambulance will be waiting for us?x94
x93Yes.x94

That was a score of 100%, so the chance was quite high that she really called an ambulance. Besides, we really needed to go if we wanted to reach Nairobi in time, so I had no time to ask more questions. I strapped in the flight nurse beside the patient and off we went.

During the flight everyone behaved according to their role in the flight: the relative just enjoyed the scenery, sometimes looking back to see if his uncle was still alive, the flight nurse was attending the patient and the patient was really looking like he could die any moment. But Richard insured me that the patient would survive the flight, so I just focused on flying the plane.

At 17:58 I touched down in Nairobi and I taxied to the apron just to find out there was no ambulance waiting for usx85

It was last year that a patient died on me while we were waiting for an ambulance and that feels even worse than when a patient dies during the flight. So I didnx92t want to let that happen. Time to ask the flight nurse some more questions.
x93I thought you called an ambulance? Now, where is the ambulance?x94
No answer, just a shy (and maybe embarrassed) nurse looking at the ground.
x93And your patient is dying now, while wex92re waiting for an ambulance. I want to know what youx92re going to do nowx85x94
x93I donx92t know. Let me call the ambulance.x94
x93No, you take care of that patient now. I didnx92t fly 600 kmx92s with him just to let him die here. Ix92ll let the relative call an ambulance.x94

The relative called the ambulance:x94They are coming.x94
x93That is not good enough. Where are they and how long will it take before they are here?x94
The relative started calling againx85

Meanwhile a custom-rat came walking to me.
x93Welcome to Nairobi. I come to collect the landing and navigation fees.x94
x93First of all: Ix92m busy at this moment. Second: I pay the fees as soon as I file my flightplan back to Lodwar, as I always do.x94
x93That is not the procedure.x94
x93Ix92m sure itx92s not, but thatx92s how I always do it and thatx92s also how Ix92m going to do it this time. Now if you excuse me, I have work to do.x94

The relative came back to me: x93They are in a traffic jam.x94
x93How long before they are here?x94
And the relative started calling the ambulance again. And at the same time Ali called me:

x93Niels, how are you? Did you arrive in Nairobi safely? Is the patient still alive?x94
x93Yep, the patient is still alive, but there is no ambulance here.x94
x93Well, thatx92s not your problem now, is it? Why are you still waiting with them?x94
x93No, it is not my problem, but the patient is still using my stretcher and if I would just kick him out of the plane and let him lie on the apron, I might get a guilty conscious in later lifex85 And I donx92t want to risk getting a guilty consciousx85x94
Ali laughed: x93Good luck then. Ix92ll call you later.x94

And again the relative came back to me: x94They donx92t know when they will arrive. It is a big traffic jam.x94
x93O.k., Ix92m getting sick of this. That guy is dying and Ix92m getting hungry, let me call the tower for an ambulance. It will cost you 2000 shilling extra, but that will be your problem. You can sort it out with the flight nurse.x94

I called the tower and 3 minutes later an ambulance arrived at my plane. And with the ambulance, the custom-rat came back as well. I ignored the rat and helped loading the patient and the passengers in the ambulance.

x93To which hospital does this patient need to go?x94, the driver asked me.
x93I donx92t know. Ask the flight nurse or the relative.x94
x93They donx92t know neitherx85x94 the driver replied.

The rat overheard the conversation and apparently he smelled blood. He started to raise his voice to me.
x93So youx92re transporting a patient while you donx92t know where he needs to go to?x94
x93No, I’m not. He needed to go to Nairobi and here we are.x94
x93It doesnx92t work that way.x94
x93O.k., in that case, can you show me the regulation stating that a pilot should know the final destination of every passenger he is carrying?x94
x93You know there is no such regulation. But this patient is your responsibility.x94
x93My responsibility over this patient has ended when we closed the doors of that ambulance up there. He is not my problem anymore and to tell you the truth, I donx92t care where he is going to. Now are we going to create a problem over here or can I go? Ix92m really hungry now.x94

The rat hesitated a moment and then he walked away. Finally I could go and eat and prepare for a few days spending in Nairobix85

And as the political crisis continues in Kenya, I’m starting to have a little problem in Lodwar as well. Although it seems that most of the idiots are settling down and continuing with their normal business, there are still a few groups active, making the roads down south unsafe. Especially between Nairobi and Eldoret there are still some groups of armed persons active. And since my fuel needs to come from Nairobi and it needs to travel through Eldoret, it is hard to find a transporter who wants to risk to travel to Eldoret with 8000 liters of aviation fuel.

But there is another problem. The fuel is shipped through Mombassa in bulk. And before the fuel can be put into 200 liter barrels it needs to be tested. But the device which is supposed to test the fuel is broken down since 3 weeks or so. So there is no aviation fuel comming into Nairobi in the first place.

The last few weeks I’ve been struggling to keep the plane in the air. I even had to cancel a few emergencies. Not because that I didn’t have fuel at all, but just because of the simpel reason that I can only help 1 person during an emergency. With clinics I can help 50-100 persons at the same time. So I’d better safe the fuel for the clinics and let those few persons who needed a medical evacuation (fortunately it have been only 3 up to now) die.

Last week we were able to borrow 3 barrels of fuel from the police here in Lodwar. That gave me the opportunity to evacuate 1 person and to do 4 clinics. Right now I have 1 barrel left, which is good for about 4 hours of flight time.

But there is light at the end of the tunnel. I just hope that it is not a train comming my way, but we’ve found a transporter who wants to carry some fuel up to Lodwar from Nairobi. The only problem is that we can only get 6 barrels from Nairobi at this moment. From those 6 barrels, we have to give 3 barrels back to the police and another barrel to MAF (Mission Aviation Fellowship) from which we’ve previously borrowed 1  barrel. So that will leave me with two barrels…

Yesterday Ali got in contact with a company in Kisumu who was willing to sell us some barrels. Unfortunately it is a Kenyan company, so the business goes the Kenyan way:
At 10 a.m. Ali came to me:
"I’ve found a company in Kisumu who’s willing to sell us 12 barrels of fuel."
"Good, but do we have someone who can transport those barrels to Lodwar."
"Not yet, but I’ll call someone."

10:30 Ali came back:
"I might have found a transporter who’s willing to bring the barrels to Kitale, from there the other truck from Nairobi, who is carrying those other barrels as well, can carry these barrels to Lodwar. Let me call the regional office now to arrange the payment."

11:00…
"Niels, I’ve called that guy in Kisumu again who was going to sell the fuel to us, but now he says that he has only 6 barrels for sale…"
"Take whatever you can get."

11:15…
"I’ve just talked to the transporter who was supposed to bring the fuel from Kisumu to Kitale. But he doesn’t want to risk the travel anymore, especially not when it is only 6 barrels instead of 12."
"Maybe the truck from Nairobi wants to make a detour through Kisumu?", I replied. And Ali went off again…

12:45…
"I’ve finally made the deal. The company in Kisumu can only sell us 4 barrels, not 6. But I bought the 4 barrels anyway. The truck comming from Nairobi will pass by Kisumu to pick up the 4 barrels and he will be in Lodwar this weekend."

So to do the calculations again: 6 barrels are comming from Nairobi, but I have to give 4 barrels to people from whom I’ve borrowed fuel in the past. In addition 4 barrels will be coming from Kisumu, leaving me with a total of 6 barrels. That will keep me flying up to the end of March. I hope the political circus will be over by then everything will be quiet again.

The plan for today was to take a clinic up to Akatuman (a small town 70 km’s east from Lodwar). It takes 2 hours to get there by car, but with the plane it takes only 20 minutes. But today there was a new challenge.

Normally I take 4 people up to Akatuman. The strip of Akatuman is quite short and the surface is soft, so because of the soft surface, it takes longer before the plane has enough speed to lift off. With 4 persons and 100 kg. cargo it is possible to do it, but today I had 1 person extra, because of the large amount of patients expected in Akatuman. So I had to calculate a few things. After 5 minutes of calculating I found we were flying within limits and it should be possible to do the take off in Akatuman. At 8:20 I took off from Lodwar and 20 minutes later I made a nice short-field landing in Akatuman (I only needed 120 meters from touchdown to come to a complete stand-still).

But my job wasn’t done yet. Plan was to inspect 2 nearby airstrips today, so they can be used for clinics next month. First

Lately I’ve got a lot of requests from readers to show some pictures about Turkana. There are only 2 problems:

1. I am not really a photographer. I don’t take a lot of photo’s. (I either forget my camera or I don’t think it is interesting enough to make a photo)

2. My internet connection is too slow to upload photo’s

But now I have a sollution to both of these problems. First of all I had 2 visitors who really like to take pictures. Second I found a program which can upload 50 photo’s in only 6 hours! So here is the link to my first album with special thanks to my sister Martine and my girlfriend Joleyn.

http://picasaweb.google.nl/nielsvanderlinden81/FotoSBezoekMartineEnJoleyn

Saturdaymorning at 7:45 I arrived in the hangar. Feeling sleepy, feeling hungry, feeling thirsty and feeling miserable after my 2nd night in a empty bed. But, I had a job to do. There was still a guy with one hole too many in his body down in Lokori. So quickly I started with the pre-flight inspection of my plane and installing the stretcher. I knew that at 8 o’clock all the HF radio’s of the dispenseries in Turkana will open and that would give me the chance to inquire the status of the patient (it would be a bit stupid to fly all the way down to Lokori only to find out that the patient died last night).

But when I asked for the status of the patient, the radio-operator in Lokori couldn’t give me an answer. He had to send someone to the hospital to find out. Well, the patient was already waiting for a whole night, 30 minutes more or less shouldn’t make a difference now.

In the meantime the flightnurse arrived at my hangar. It was David, the same flightnurse I had yesterday.
"Morning, David, how are you?"
"Sleepy, and how about you?"
"Don’t ask. How did that guy we evacuated yesterday end up?"
"Well, we have given him some medicines and food and he is improving. I think he’ll survive."
"Not bad… not bad at all. I really thought he wouldn’t make it. Good job."
"Thanks. What do you know about this one?" The nurse replied.
"Some guy got shot near Lokori. I’ve got the call yesterday, but it was too late to pick him up. Right now people in Lokori are looking if this guy has made it through the night."

20 Minutes later we got the green light from Lokori and when we touched down in Lokori the patient was already waiting at the airstrip together with a nurse. Time for a briefing:
"This guy has been shot 2 weeks ago, but he arrived in Lokori yesterday. He has been shot in the lower left leg." The nurse from Lokori explained.
"How is the wound." I asked. Reason that I ask is that I need to know if there is a fracture or if it’s "just" a flesh-wound because of movement of the leg. In case of a fracture (or in case the bullet is still in the body) I need to put extra straps around the leg to avoid further damage from movement.

"Well, the bullet is out but…" (here the nurse started rattling with lots of medical terms, which I, as a pilot, don’t understand)
"Wow, wow, me pilot, me fly plane, me don’t understand medical stuff. Tell me about the bone. Is it fractured or not? Can we move the leg?"
The nurse smiled: "The bullet has hit the bone and shattered it. There are lots of splinters in the leg and he might even loose his leg, so don’t move it!"
"That makes sense. If someone would shoot my plane, hit the tail and shatter it, I wouldn’t want to move the tail too much neither and the plane would probably loose it’s tail as well. How about the hydrolics?"
The nurse stared at me like she saw a cow flying: "Hydrolics?"
"Blood. Is this guy still leaking… I mean, bleeding? Do I need to install a bottle of plasma in the plane?"
"No, we have stopped most of the bleeding"
"Ok. Let’s see how we can get this guy in the plane."

While I was removing the stretcher from the plane, David asked the nurse a few more questions and started examining the patient. I took the stretcher to the back of the ambulance and took a look at the patient myself. A familiar smell entered my nose… rotting flesh… It reminded me of that man I had evacuated the day before. There were a lot of flies on the bandage and, since the man has been moved around with an open wound for 10 days, I really didn’t want to see what was under the bandage.

Carefully we put the patient on the stretcher and while David was finishing up the paperwork with the nurse, I secured the leg with some extra straps. 10 Minutes later the patient was loaded in the plane and we took off back to Lodwar. Although it was still early in the morning, I decided to climb a bit higher than normal to avoid most of the turbulence along the way.

It took only 40 minutes to get to Lodwar (if he had to travel by car, it would have taken him at least 5 hours). At 10:45 I put the patient in the ambulance in  Lodwar and I went home… time for breakfast.

Saturdaymorning at 7:45 I arrived in the hangar. Feeling sleepy, feeling hungry, feeling thirsty and feeling miserable after my 2nd night in a empty bed. But, I had a job to do. There was still a guy with one hole too many in his body down in Lokori. So quickly I started with the pre-flight inspection of my plane and installing the stretcher. I knew that at 8 o’clock all the HF radio’s of the dispenseries in Turkana will open and that would give me the chance to inquire the status of the patient (it would be a bit stupid to fly all the way down to Lokori only to find out that the patient died last night).

But when I asked for the status of the patient, the radio-operator in Lokori couldn’t give me an answer. He had to send someone to the hospital to find out. Well, the patient was already waiting for a whole night, 30 minutes more or less shouldn’t make a difference now.

In the meantime the flightnurse arrived at my hangar. It was David, the same flightnurse I had yesterday.
"Morning, David, how are you?"
"Sleepy, and how about you?"
"Don’t ask. How did that guy we evacuated yesterday end up?"
"Well, we have given him some medicines and food and he is improving. I think he’ll survive."
"Not bad… not bad at all. I really thought he wouldn’t make it. Good job."
"Thanks. What do you know about this one?" The nurse replied.
"Some guy got shot near Lokori. I’ve got the call yesterday, but it was too late to pick him up. Right now people in Lokori are looking if this guy has made it through the night."

20 Minutes later we got the green light from Lokori and when we touched down in Lokori the patient was already waiting at the airstrip together with a nurse. Time for a briefing:
"This guy has been shot 2 weeks ago, but he arrived in Lokori yesterday. He has been shot in the lower left leg." The nurse from Lokori explained.
"How is the wound." I asked. Reason that I ask is that I need to know if there is a fracture or if it’s "just" a flesh-wound because of movement of the leg. In case of a fracture (or in case the bullet is still in the body) I need to put extra straps around the leg to avoid further damage from movement.

"Well, the bullet is out but…" (here the nurse started rattling with lots of medical terms, which I, as a pilot, don’t understand)
"Wow, wow, me pilot, me fly plane, me don’t understand medical stuff. Tell me about the bone. Is it fractured or not? Can we move the leg?"
The nurse smiled: "The bullet has hit the bone and shattered it. There are lots of splinters in the leg and he might even loose his leg, so don’t move it!"
"That makes sense. If someone would shoot my plane, hit the tail and shatter it, I wouldn’t want to move the tail too much neither and the plane would probably loose it’s tail as well. How about the hydrolics?"
The nurse stared at me like she saw a cow flying: "Hydrolics?"
"Blood. Is this guy still leaking… I mean, bleeding? Do I need to install a bottle of plasma in the plane?"
"No, we have stopped most of the bleeding"
"Ok. Let’s see how we can get this guy in the plane."

While I was removing the stretcher from the plane, David asked the nurse a few more questions and started examining the patient. I took the stretcher to the back of the ambulance and took a look at the patient myself. A familiar smell entered my nose… rotting flesh… It reminded me of that man I had evacuated the day before. There were a lot of flies on the bandage and, since the man has been moved around with an open wound for 10 days, I really didn’t want to see what was under the bandage.

Carefully we put the patient on the stretcher and while David was finishing up the paperwork with the nurse, I secured the leg with some extra straps. 10 Minutes later the patient was loaded in the plane and we took off back to Lodwar. Although it was still early in the morning, I decided to climb a bit higher than normal to avoid most of the turbulence along the way.

It took only 40 minutes to get to Lodwar (if he had to travel by car, it would have taken him at least 5 hours). At 10:45 I put the patient in the ambulance in  Lodwar and I went home… time for breakfast.

It has been a bit quiet from my side the last few weeks. I’ve had some visitors from Holland (my sister and my girlfriend) so I had something better to do than writing a blog. But unfortunately everything comes to an end and last Thursday my visitors left again for Holland.

So yesterday was the time for me to do the administration for the last 2 weeks. But when I was sitting in my office thinking that something was missing, my phone rang. And then I realized what I was missing: an emergency. Off course, I can’t just go to the office, make appointments and plan my day, because then something will happen.

This time I had to pick up a man in Nariokotome with severe malaria. O well, I don’t like office work anyway. At 9:30 I arrived in Nariokotome and 10 minutes later the patient arrived. When I was laying the patient in my plane I noticed his smell: sweat, blood, urine, and rotting flesh. But somehow he was still breathing, so he was alive, but I was almost certain that this evacuation would be a waste of fuel.
"Yes, we tried for 10 days now to cure him," the nurse said, "but he doesn’t respond to our antibiotics. So I don’t know what to do with him."
"Well, to start with, you could have washed him before giving him to me, but anyway, let’s see if they can do something for him in Lodwar."

30 Minutes later I touched down in Lodwar and I went to the office to start with the paperwork.

At 16:30 I was done with my planning and decided to call it a day, but when I came home, my phone rang again. It was sister Margaret:
"Niels, we have an emergency in Lokori."
"Not today, if I would fly to Lokori now, I won’t be able to reach Lodwar before dark."
"But this guy has been shot and needs to be transferred to Lodwar immediately.", the sister replied.
"I couldn’t care less, I will not fly now. Tell the doctor in Lokori to hang on and I’ll come tomorrow morning."

And when I put down my phone I realized: I had an appointment tomorrow morning at 10 a.m. with a friend. Again I got reminded never to make an appointment…

Although I like flying, there are a few flights I’d rather not do. Flying dead bodies for instance. Fortunately, Uzima is a medical service. So I only fly when I think I can save a life, not when I’m sure that I can’t save a life. But like every rule, also this rule has its exeptions…

Let me tell you a story about a taxi-driver in Lodwar. This taxi-driver was nicely settled in Lodwar, just bought a new car and business was good. He had a wife and two children (1 and 3 years old) and life was good for him. Last wednesdaynight he had to pick up 2 customers and bring them to a small town next to Lodwar. On thursday morning his burned corpse was found not far away from Lodwar. His car was found 1500 meters further also completely burned out. The shotwounds found on the body later that day indicate that it was a murder. Well, shit happens… One and a half year of saving lives, but also one and a half year of seeing people die, might have made me a bit numb in these situations. But what has Uzima got to do with that?

Well, the taxidriver happens to be coming from the Kikuyu-tribe, and Kikuyu’s are on the national-shit-list in Kenya, since president Kibaki is a Kikuyu and a lot of people don’t agree with him being the president. And this gives a few overdeveloped idiots the excuse to hunt Kikuyu’s down and kill them. A few of these idiots have set up roadblocks between Kitale and Lodwar. All cars are stopped, people have to get out and show their ID’s. If you are a Kikuyu, you will be killed.

This means that the family of this taxidriver couldn’t travel by road to Nakuru, because those idiots down country have no problems with killing women and children neither. So they called Uzima. And although normally we don’t do body transports, we would make an exception considering the current safety-situation of Kikuyu’s

But, although the body was found on Thursday, we’ve got the request on Friday, and I could fly him over on Saturday. So the crispy, deep fried body was already 3 days old. Maybe there are people who have ever smelled a burned body after 3 days laying in a room where it is about 30 degrees average. For the readers who didn’t: even if I would like to describe the smell, you couldn’t imagine it. But lucky for you, I don’t even want to describe it. I flew 2 hours with that corpse in my plane, but I know that I will be smelling it at least for the next 2 days. I just hope that the children, who were also in the plane, didn’t know that it was their farther they were smelling.

But at least I’ve brought the family and the body safely to Nakuru and I’ve probably saved 3 lives by preventing the family from travelling by road, so I guess I’ve done my good deed for today…