You never know where you will find a new friend.
Thuku Kamau is an administrator in training at Good Samaritan Society – Ottumwa in Iowa.
He lives in Fargo, North Dakota, but his roots are more than 10,000 miles away – in Nairobi, Kenya.
“We spoke three languages straight from when you're a kid,” says Thuku, who was born and raised in Kenya. “You speak English, you speak Swahili, which is a national language, and then you speak the tribe language. And there are 43 tribes in Kenya.”
He also feels right at home taking care of others.
“My father was in health care. My mother was in health care,” Thuku says. “Therefore, I grew up around clinicians, and I understood clearly what it is to be able to serve in the community, in health care.”
So, when the opportunity came to join the Administrator in Training program, he set off for southeast Iowa.
“I always used to think: What can I do in long-term care to assist the older folk to be able to have great care, be able to have more quality of life, be able to do more for themselves?” Thuku says.
New friend from familiar home
While staying in the assisted living guest apartment in Ottumwa, Thuku made it a point to meet each of his new neighbors. And what better place than the dining room?
“Everybody was curious,” he recalls. “We spoke about where I'm from in Fargo and I gave them a little history about where I'm from in East Africa.”
On his third day of introductions, one resident left Thuku nearly speechless.
“She tapped me on the back and she said, ‘Habari yako.’ That means ‘How are you?’ in Swahili. It was a jaw-dropping moment. Her Swahili was pretty good,” Thuku says. “So, I asked her, how does she know Swahili? And then she told me in Kiswahili that she was raised in Tanzania – Tanganyika, she called it.”
Tanzania is Kenya’s neighbor to the south, and home of Mount Kilimanjaro, the birthplace of Thuku’s Swahili-speaking friend, Deborah Johnson.
Deborah’s parents were Lutheran missionaries, which meant four-year stretches of growing up in Tanzania, and brief periods back in the United States.
“It had the climate I was used to. It had the foods I was used to. It had the kind of people I was used to,” Deborah says with a laugh. “I mean, it was normal. It was the states that was difficult to adjust to.”
Of course, there was also a significant change in scenery.
“Depending on the time of the year you would have to stop for all the animals crossing the road,” Deborah says. “So, you saw a lot of things. And what you saw was real. It wasn't something on a Disney channel.”
Building bonds and quality care
Thuku and Deborah get together a couple times a week to talk and sing in Swahili.
“I've always wanted to be able to talk to people that are from East Africa,” Deborah says. “It's changed a lot, and I have no idea what things are really like now.”
They even share a meal from their homeland from time to time.
“Sometimes when I cook, I bring food to my colleagues and I'll always bring her some,” Thuku says. “She says to me, ‘I want it spicy. I want it hot. That's how I ate it.’”
It’s a connection that means the world to both of them.
“It was special for me, and it created a bond right away,” says Thuku, who has lived in the United States for more than two decades.
“I'm always happy when I can connect with a friend,” Deborah adds.
It also strengthens Thuku’s desire to provide quality care.
“I am not afraid to find a challenge out there,” he says. “Any facility that I may be able to go in and be able to work with team members to be able to make residents’ lives much easier and meaningful is an opportunity for me that I thank Good Samaritan for providing.”
Thuku’s experience with the AIT program also serves as an inspiration for whatever his next adventure may be – possibly with a new friend.
“I look forward to a day or a time when I might be able to receive an administrator in training and hopefully be able to have them have a meaningful learning experience like I have had here at Ottumwa,” he says. “It has been very meaningful for me and it's very rewarding.”
If you have questions about the AIT program or application process, email us at Emily.Jones@Sanfordhealth.org .
