A Surprise Visit to the Morgue

One of the other volunteers and I had a really interesting time after class on Wednesday. Rhea, a medical student from Tasmania in Australia, went to observe the class with me on Wednesday. Afterwards we headed into Bungoma to do internet, stop at the market and pick up a birthday cake we had ordered for Mama Betty's birthday.

Also, we wanted to stop at the VCT (Voluntary Testing and Counseling) Center, which is housed on the grounds of the Bungoma District Hospital. We needed to get female (Reality) condoms for class on Thursday. When we pulled into the grounds and asked where the VCT was, they pointed to this building towards the back. We walked in that direction and saw two men in an open door. So, we walked in and asked about female condoms. As soon as I asked, I looked through another door and realized that the blanket on the floor was in the shape of a body. Then in the back corner on a little raised slab were two male corpses with just their genitally covered. (This is really a run on paragraph, but tough) The man responded to may request for female condoms by saying, "Yes, we accept female bodies." Then, we asked where to go to get the female condoms, and he said "Yes, I can give you a tour." Eventually, he pointed us to the pharmacy.

We had no luck in getting the female condoms at the hospital pharmacy, but on the way back to the car, Rhea asked if we should take the man up on his offer for the tour. I was game so we headed back into the morgue. The morgue can hold up to 12 bodies in the 3 coolers (4 each). The first door was for patients who died in the hospital. The second door was for private bodies. And the third door was for police forensics. He pulled the second door open to show us the four bodies, 3 men and 1 woman. They don't cover them with a sheet or anything. They all looked surprisingly young. In the meantime, the body in the blanket was being lifted into the back of a pickup truck. Despite, the appearance of formality, the body was being treated quite gingerly and with respect. It's important to note that in this rural area, embalming is not the norm. As I said in my last posting, most people are prepared at home.

The smell of formaldehyde and slight decomposition was one that stuck with us for a while afterwards.