Bangale and Garissa

I do believe I’d have to say that my trip to Bangale (pronounced Bon’-ga-lay) and Garissa (Ga-ris’-sa) ranks amongst my most interesting experiences in Kenya. I found it all to be quite fascinating.

The town of Garissa, on the banks of the Tana River and just on the edge of North Eastern Province, is located about 200 miles west, northwest of Nairobi. [I can now boast that I’ve been in each of the eight provinces in Kenya!]

Another 60 miles northwest of Garissa is the large Dadaab refugee camp. Currently tens of thousands of new Somali refugees are seeking shelter there. Just very recently polio was discovered in a 3-year old Somali girl. It’s the first reported case in Kenya in many, many years. As a result, the UN is now conducting mandatory immunization for the disease. While we were in Bangale, we saw numerous UN vehicles heading to the camp.