Somewhere behind these hills is the home of Daktari Maria
Last week I very briefly met an Austrian Doctor Maria during her medical supply fill-up visit in Nairobi. She used to work for the same NGO as me. Over 10 years Maria has been a doctor serving the Maasai in Entasekera deep in the bush of Maasai land all by herself. The Maasai call her “Daktari”, meaning Doctor. She recently retired but is still working as a volunteer. I met Maria when picking up a colleague at a missionary hostel in Nairobi but unfortunately could only exchange quick greetings with her.
Four days later I find myself on a spontaneous weekend trip to the Maasai Mara. Located only 240km south-west of Nairobi though it is a 4-5 hour drive. Three friends and myself were invited by my friend who grew up in the Mara and still works there frequently. I thought it would be cool if we could meet up with Maria and explained to my friend hoping he would know. Unfortunately he had no idea how to find her. A quick check with my colleague regarding Maria’s phone number also remained unsuccessful. Oh well ..I tried.
Five minutes after our discussion about Maria we were stopping over in Narok, a town of around 40,000 people a three hour drive from Nairobi and the last real settlement before the wide open. We needed to shop for grocery supplies as we were staying at a self-contained lodge. We stopped at a huge shopping center which to my surprised turned out to be better and bigger than most of the once I have seen in Nairobi.
Just when I stepped out of the car, my friend said „ there is your Austrian Doctor“. I thought he was joking but when I turned around I saw Maria filling up her Jeep with groceries! What a coincidence!! At the right time at the right place! Remember she lives a 4 hour dirt road ride away into the bush from Narok. We exchanged phone numbers and promised to stop by on our next visit.
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