About Kenya Medical Training College-Nyeri

Ø  Location

Just as a recap if you missed my previous introduction into Nyeri town. KMTC Nyeri is located in Nyeri County, which is located 150km form Kenya’s capital, Nairobi. It will take you about 2hours to step foot in Nyeri from Nairobi. KMTC Nyeri is embraced within Nyeri Provincial Hospital, which is located approximately 500meters from what many will call Nyeri Town. This is where most of the practical works are done.

Ø  Brief History (according to KMTC official website)

The college was started in 1948 as a School of Nursing where it was training Kenya Enrolled Nurses. Later the institution started Enrolled Community Health Nursing programme and later on the first class of KRCHN (Diploma) was started in March 1995. In 1977, the Department of Environmental Health Sciences was started where it was training Certificate course in Public Health Technicians but was later upgraded to Diploma level.
Certificate course in Medical Laboratory Sciences was started in 1981 until later when it started training Diploma programme.
In September 2005, the Department of Clinical Medicine was started and qualitated its first class in 2008. In September 2010, the college saw two new departments pumped into its system, being Department of Pharmacy and The Department of Imaging Science.

Ø  Courses

Currently KMTC-Nyeri offers six Medical related diploma courses;

ü  Pharmacy

ü  Medical Imaging Science

ü  Clinical Medicine

ü  Public Health Technologists

ü  Environmental Health Science

ü  Nursing

ü  Enrolled Nurse/Midwives upgrading course into KRCH Basic

ü  Distance Learning Programme for enrolled Community Health nurses into KRCHN Basic

Ø  Administration

As it is with all KMTC colleges, Nyeri MTC is headed by a principal (MRS.GRACE MBUTHIA), Deputy Principal (insert name) Departmental Heads, Section Heads, Lectures and Supportive Staff. Well the rank according to the website http://www.kmtc.ac.ke, but we have a student council, which is ‘inactive’ because I haven’t seen any of the representatives come around.

Ø  Sport

We have a variety of games within the college; although most of the practices are done outside the college in a nearby Secondary School (St. Mary’s), this is so because there isn’t enough land in the hospital to ‘waste’ in construction of fields and whatever, this is a medical school, period! Some of the games include; Badminton, Basketball, Football, Netball, Handball, Table Tennis, Volleyball, a variety of indoor games including Chess (if lucky, you might find me here), Scrabble among others.

Ø  Entertainment/Computing

If you are a party monster, then prepare yourself for the worst when it comes to this sector. All Nyeri MTC has as entertainment is a TV with an aerial (no DSTV), which is in the so-called-Dining Hall. This therefore means that what you can watch is entirely dependant upon the local TV station which is limited to NTV, Citizen, K24 and KTN. I once saw E-Africa, but I don’t know where it disappeared to. Usually the TV will be on when students are out of class (Lunch time, or after classes). Nyeri MTC’s I.T department needs serious improvement. What the college offers are eight computers, internet-enabled, fast enough but not enough in number for the large community of wannabe Medics. I.T opens about 9:00am and usually closes at 4:30 pm. (this means one thing, you can only have access to this section either when you have no class, or risk skipping one to do your research. This is because; classes run from 8:00am to 4:00pm or 6:00pm depending on which department you are in, with breaks at 10:00am ad 12:30pm.

Ø  Religious Matters

I don’t know if we have other religion in this college, but the main two are Christians and Muslims. Christian are further subdivided into; Seventh Day Adventist, Catholic Association and Christian Union. Each movement runs its own program;

·         SDA

SDAs worship on Saturday, and will either be in the college for an internal service, or will be out to the Mother church, Nyeri SDA (usual every first Sabbath of every month) or will be out to other Sabbath Schools for a rally or so. They also do meet every Wednesday and Friday evenings for encouragement and prayers.

·         Catholic

Catholics worship on Sunday, and normally will be out every Sunday to the mother church for Mass. They hold internal Masses every Wednesday evenings at the College’s hall. Friday evenings have less activities for the CA(as it is called), as on the choir meet for practice, although more activities do accompany it.

·         CU

CU also worships on Sunday, and will always hold their services internally at the College’s hall. They also do meet on Mondays after-classes for….is it intercessory? Something like that. CU forms the largest religious movement in this campus, as it envelopes many denominations into the CU community.

·         Muslims

I have interacted with most of them to know how they do their things, but they usually meet at the mosque every Friday.

I don’t know if I covered everything about the religious aspect of MTC Nyeri... normally debates do come up about the ones religion and religious believes, with the most common being the Day of Worship, How to Pray e.t.c. this are commons debates which leaves us one big happy family.

Ø  Buildings

MTC Nyeri has a few buildings here and there, the main buildings are Block A and Block B, which are hosts to some classes, offices and the library. We also have a new building, (I don’t now what they will call it) which host the Pharmacy labs and others classes plus the new departmental offices which are slowly being occupied by the relevant departments. Block A, majors mainly on Female hostels (192 hostels), the Dining Hall, the IT department, the principal’s office (which should be re-locating into the new building)….Block B, majors on Male hostels (192 hostels), the Library, some classes and offices.

The Dining Hall is one hell of a mess, which I will talk about later on.

Ø  Hostelling

A single room is home to four individuals, resting on two double-decker beds. There is electricity (sockets and florescent tubes for male and Bulbs for female). Though it is stated clearly in the school rules that no electrical gadgets are allowed, most rooms have entertainment systems ranging from simple TVs, Woofers, Radios, DVD Players and Computers. (At this age, that rule should be done away with).

Ø  Freedom and Rules

As it is in any learning institution, MTC-Nyeri has rules and regulations which students are supposed to follow. One hard rule one that give the administration a ‘hell-on-earth’ is that of uniform.  The rule demands that, all students should be in uniform when attending classes or when doing ‘rounds’ in the hospital. Of course the rule is adhered to with no much hustle, but what happens when the weather changes? You have to adjust yourself but the problem is, the school uniform is rigid to weather changes, hence will lead to; me wearing a Combat jumper on my school uniform, while my female desky decides to wear her jeans and civilian top under the school uniform. Scuffs and gloves are common, not bad trying to keep warm in a rather cold Nyeri climate; the school should understand that…

I would not like to go another rule that forbids Female students from entering male hostels and vice versa…that will be a story for another day.

I don’t know about you, but you will never find me walking in the streets with my uniform. After classes, I transform into my rather comfortable casual wear, am not into this official clothing style, Jeans, T-shirt and my white ‘South Pole’ do it for me after classes.

Ø  Parting Shot

Come, have fun, socialize, learn everything that there is to learn, but make sure you pass your EXAMS.

Welcome to Nyeri County

Allow me begin my introduction into this institution-KMTC NYERI- by welcoming you to the Nyeri County. Nyeri is located in the former Central province, and was or is the Headquarter of this province until the ‘county-thing’ took over from the ‘province-thing’.  Apparently, it has less to show for being the HQ of a province where the current president comes from... I will blame it on the poor architectural design that kicked-off the building of Nyeri as a town, below is my fur fur description of how I see this town, or should I call it former HQ or New NYERI COUNTY?

ROADS AND STREETS

Let’s begin with the distance of Nyeri from Kenya’s capital, Nairobi. It’s approximately 150km from it, and at a speed of 80km/h it will take you not more than two hours to be in Nyeri County. Unlike many small towns I have been to, which are not HQs as Nyeri was, (before COUNTYfication) this town has no streets, no parking, no walking paths… all you’ll find are small ‘corridors’ which are shared equally by both the drivers and the pedestrian, not mention the fast rising number of motorists who have ventured into this business because of the high percentage of unemployment in Nyeri. The roads and building are very dirty and dusty, I don’t know how to paint this picture in your minds, but put it as simple as dirty, old and dusty (not murram though, tarmac). I would recommend serious improvement in the infrastructure sector in Nyeri, with many of the street lights non-functional, no street markings, no sidewalks, and no parking.

ü  BUILDINGS

I have been here for not more than four months; you will therefore forgive me if I shoot a blank about this one. I don’t refute the fact that a significant number of new building are coming up, as per the current situation, all your will spot as you walk along the narrow paths are the not-very-high buildings, with the tallest being either six storey (not bad, considering we have many prominent politician in Central province). More works is needed in terms of decorating these buildings with the last painting of many of these buildings done years ago, leaving them more ugly and unpleasing than they should be, considering the age.

ü  TECHNOLOGY

If you are a techsavvy,-like me- (Google will do you good when defining this)-then you know when talking about technology, we kickoff with computing and internet connectivity. Since am addicted to websites and ‘googling’-as they call it-, my second day (September 15^th 2010), 14^th was registration day, in Nyeri begun with the hunt for a suitable Cyber Café that will be my regular joint of surfing since I couldn’t carry my Standalone PC all the way here… Well, I must admit that it was long day for me. I managed to find the first Cyber Café just outside the College and Hospital environ. Popped in, and I wasn’t really impressed with what I first saw. The Café had six so-called-computers, with two of which had been rendered ‘Hazifanyi’. As usual, I first right-clicked ‘My Computer’ clicked ‘Properties’ to view what the computer had to offer for me. The whole process took about four minutes of imminent waiting. 128MB of RAM with a processing speed of 560MB….WOW! Quite slow for those who know what I mean…the whole experience was undesirable, spending one hour on the computer with nothing to show for all that. I don’t want to talk soooo much about Nyeri’s technology, but the next Café I found, after a long search was worth more than the first, but far from what I expect in an HQ. I knew it-technology- was bad, but not that bad. Downloading speeds are nothing to smile about, and would disconnect midpoint.

ü  SOCIAL LIFE

Maybe you’ve heard about it on radio, TV or read it in one of the local dailies; forget the ‘Tequila effect’, this can be said to be the ‘Chang’aa effect’ in Central province. Been here for less than four months-sorry, I repeat this-but I have seen much more than what you’ve possibly seen or heard in the NEWS. It might make less or no sense to you because you experienced it once on the NEWS, but the effects are more than what you can imagine….it’s all Alcohol and Bhang, period!

ü  BUSINESSES

I know little or less when it comes to evaluating the business aspect of a town. Nyeri town herself has some supermarkets, actually two if am not wrong being Samrat and Mathai. We have no major hyper-supermarkets the like of Tuskys, Uchumi and Nakumatt in Nyeri town, though Uchumi can be found in Karatina, a town of its own away from Nyeri town. On either sides of the narrow streets, you find several normal small businesses the likes of; Berber shops, Salons, Dukas, Wholesales Kiosks, Butcheries, Bars <several and unshakable by the New Mututho Laws> and Groceries. Small scale businesses are the major players here.

ü  RELIGION

Nyeri has a rich selection of religious places, considering we are in Kikuyu land and money-making is the story of the day. I won’t mention the several unknown churches and shrines that are mushrooming each day in this place; By mushrooming I mean coming up one day and the next you hear nothing about them, as it is with a mushroom. But the real churches (Don’t ask me that question) we have in Nyeri are; The Seventh Day Adventist Church (SDA), Presbyterian, Anglican, Pentecostal and the Catholic Church of which many are  located not very far from the town or college in that matter. We also have a Mosque, just outside the Hospital, where KMTC Nyeri is located. I have seen Hindus around, but I haven’t spotted a Temple yet, what else?

ü  TRANSPORT MEANS

Let me begin with a simple question, do you remember that old Nissan {KYZ 890X) your uncle once had which used to ferry people from your interior part of the village to the nearest stage? That old Volkswagen that broke-down after every 500m? He sold it right? To where?...Nyeri of course. This is the mother of all old vehicles on Planet earth. No hate, but we have a few new cars. Most of the vehicle that ferry people from Kangemi to town, from Majengo to town are quite something, that if packed on the road side you’ll probably confuse it with an abandoned. The Michuki rules probably did not reach this place, as these vehicles have no safety belts, no yellow line, and no uniform for the turn-boys and the drivers…well of course what do you expect? I mention motorists earlier, didn’t I? They constitute what transport is in Nyeri town.

ü  HOUSING

This will be another hard one to discuss, but I will just give you a small preview of what you will expect if you will be moving to Nyeri. A single room can go for 1500Ksh/M, with electricity which you will be paying for per month on a different billing sheet. Water isn’t a problem in Nyeri as it is in many towns in Kenya, considering the proximity of Mt. Kenya which serves as a source to many streams and water companies in this town. It will be safe to say that Nyeri water is safe for drinking. Furniture is readily available with several entrepreneurs venturing into this business. The cost of living is low here, which is attributed to the local economic which is based on Agriculture and fertile lands.

ü  EDUCATION

Besides all the bad things I have said about Nyeri in the above posts, I want to recommend the Education set-up in Nyeri. In my usual evening walks around the town, I see several types of primary and secondary school ‘uniforms’ walking along the streets, of course from school to home. We also have universities in Nyeri (Kimathi University College of Technology and Karatina University College), Kenyatta University and University of Nairobi also have constituent colleges here. Polytechnic colleges, a government nursing school, several private and public primary and secondary schools constitute the Educational aspect. The medical schools are primarily led by Kenya Medical Training College-Nyeri, a constituent college of the wider KMTC family, Consolata Hospital and School of Nursing and a private and prestigious Outspan Medical College. I don’t know if all this that Nyeri has really helps her, considering the high level of unemployment and the poor social status of this town. That isn’t for me to comment about, I am just an invader.

ü  ENTERTAINMENT AND LUXURY

I want to conclude my Nyeri review by brushing on the various hotspots of entertainment you can find in Nyeri. Apparently, in this old Kenyan town we have some modern hotels which can be rated Four Star in the hotel ranks. The hotels here don’t come anywhere near Sarova Stanley, Hilton, Serena, Safari Park or Intercontinental which are rated five star, but they can host some import guests with no shame at all. Just to mention a few in no particular order; Green Hills, The Outspan (not the college, now the hotel but under the same management), Aberdares Country Club, The Ark, Sangare Ranch Tented Camp, Mount Kenya National Park, e.t.c. if you are a ‘Law Abiding Citizen’ like me, then a famous joint of keg can lead you into F2 Club, or Kongomaitu for Nyam-Chom, Soup and Muturaa. Major Friday happenings common for many college students make Banana Leaf the joint.

Nyeri also hosts the graves of the Scout’s movement founder-Robert Baden Powell- and his wife, with his Paxtu cottage a famous tourist attraction, which current stand on The Outspan Hotel grounds.

QUESTIONS?.......no questions, thank you.