So this is it, my trip’s coming to an end. Today we spent in the Nairobi, a bustling cosmopolitan city which is just like Kisumu, or Luanda, just with more cement. But you know, this is not Kenya. Kenya lies in the little towns and the farming villages full of innocence, laughter and smiles; Kenya lies in the 237 childrens’ faces that greeted us each day at the orphanage intrigued at our every move; Kenya is a nation of truly warm, beautiful people who have taught us more than we could possibly teach them. And I’ve got a deeper respect for Scott, a great travelling partner, whose humanity has touched many and has fared quite well in the trying situations we found ourselves in these past few weeks. So the real question is what comes next? We’ve promised a few boxes of books for the children at some of the orphanages. We’ll monitor the water pump project at the Vihiga Children’s Home to make sure it gets installed as planned. We’ll touch base with the girl who needed the operation to see how she’s doing post-op. There are a few promo films I've promised to make for some groups to post online for them, including Peter’s Water Project promo film, one of the main focuses of the trip, an organization we’d like to continue to support and fund a borehole well. We’d like to implement a penpal system between Tsawwassen/Vancouver school kids and the children at the Vihiga Children’s Home, and we were thinking of sending them a couple of laptops with webcams and Internet air time to open up the world to them, and possibly video-conference with children at home. And there’s some travel guides we’ll contact to give them write-ups for some of the places we stayed at, to help them advertise. But you know, this is just the tip of the iceberg; there’s so much need in Africa, and in 80% of the world. The question rolling around in my mind is, how much of a difference can we actually make? Because when I land back in Vancouver and get back to my family, the Matatus will still be dodging potholes on the rugged roads, children will still be playing soccer with rolled up pieces of plastic bags, orphans will still be roaming the streets at night, scavenging for food and looking for a comfortable overhang to bed down for the night. What changes? But if out of all the people we’ve met and all the new friends we’ve made, if one child can see a different side of life and can see choices that they wouldn’t have known before, then I suppose that’s a start. A waterfall begins with just one drop. Though we’ve left our boxes and most of our clothes, and are travelling quite lightly now, I’m leaving Kenya with much more than I came with.
So Scott will be out of Internet access for several days where he’s going. As for me, thanks for sharing the experience, it’s been great having you all along for the ride. Through the different places we';ve explored, we have a good idea where we would return to with our families and continue volunteering in the near future, as it’s been a wonderful experience. Till next time…
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
First night full, clean and not thirsty
Our stay yesterday at the resort was awesome. The hot showers were great; the hamburger and pasta were tasty and everything was actually clean. As the meals at the resort are somewhat pricey we started to head into a local market in the afternoon, along the 6 lane dirt highway. With all the hustling we were receiving we turned back as we didn't think it was worth it.
We managed to squeeze in a workout at the gym and both of us have lost about 5 lbs - which is more than ok for me but Paul is now transparent:) I also wanted to give my daughter Holly a call for here birthday however it was $6 per minute so we borrowed another guest's phone, slipped in our chip and a 10 minute call cost $2.
For dinner we chose Italian - kinda funny to watch African's make an Italian dish for Canadian tastes - it was very different but it was not rice or potatoes or ugali so we very much appreciated it. Afterwards there was a wonderful show of African tribal dancers - what amazing gymnasts - the guys made a 25 ft tower with themselves with the top guy in the handstand position.
A great night's sleep brought us to morning contemplations as it is our last day here together and we started thinking about what this trip meant and how we might change and continue to help. We both like the idea of sending over a couple of old laptop computers and a mobile modem so the teachers can tap into the outside world which they have great difficulty currently doing. Much to think about, appreciate and remember.
I will be heading out of town tomorrow as well and don't expect to be on the internet for a few days so don't worry.
Thanks for sharing the journey thus far with us.
We managed to squeeze in a workout at the gym and both of us have lost about 5 lbs - which is more than ok for me but Paul is now transparent:) I also wanted to give my daughter Holly a call for here birthday however it was $6 per minute so we borrowed another guest's phone, slipped in our chip and a 10 minute call cost $2.
For dinner we chose Italian - kinda funny to watch African's make an Italian dish for Canadian tastes - it was very different but it was not rice or potatoes or ugali so we very much appreciated it. Afterwards there was a wonderful show of African tribal dancers - what amazing gymnasts - the guys made a 25 ft tower with themselves with the top guy in the handstand position.
A great night's sleep brought us to morning contemplations as it is our last day here together and we started thinking about what this trip meant and how we might change and continue to help. We both like the idea of sending over a couple of old laptop computers and a mobile modem so the teachers can tap into the outside world which they have great difficulty currently doing. Much to think about, appreciate and remember.
I will be heading out of town tomorrow as well and don't expect to be on the internet for a few days so don't worry.
Thanks for sharing the journey thus far with us.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Up Up and away - Happy Birthday Holly
An early rise, some sad good byes and we got into our taxi for th 1hr ride to the airport. What a transformation. Going into the airport was going into the first clean place we had been in for over 2 weeks. We both jumped for joy over bathrooms with flush toilets that actually flushed and had toilet seats. It actually felt like a resort.
That same feeling came over us as we boarded the jet to take us to Nairobi - a cold drink - what a novelty. We flagged a cab or should I say she flagged us to take us to our hotel - Safari Park that we had booked site unseen on the internet. The drive through Nairobi was an hour long drive through a slum - and apparently we had taken the safe way. We were really concerned about what awaited us at our hotel:) When we did arrive shock hit us again for the 4th time today - it is a 64 acre paradise with pools, 4 restaurants and a casino - not to mention a 2.5 km jogging loop. Paul had spaghetti for lunch and I a big hamburger. This place is a paradise done up in a wonderful African lodge style. Hot showers await us to will sign off for now. Cheers everyone!
School Again
The picture above is a girl wearing her "new" shoes for the first time. Thanks for those Betty:)
We spent Monday morning with the children at school, teaching and playing games. Scott and I joined their phys ed class, the kids really loved that. We did jumping jacks, races (although Scott ran the wrong way and lost:) There was a big presentation as the school gave us a send-off, with gifts of tea and flour to make ugali - anyone who comes to visit me in Canada I'm going to make you ugali and you are going to enjoy it. Unfortunately we can't bring the flour into Canada, but the thought was nice. During the presentation we presented the concept that we will be covering the installation of a water pump for the school to get the water from the spring to the school, treated, so the school can have access to clean water all year round. We found our water project for this trip.
That afternoon we were taken to yet another water project nearby funded by a group of Canadians. This was nice to see, as we could see the donated pumphouse and water system in action which was to service hundreds of homes. There's a guy, maintenance man, who sleeps in the pump house, and when the reservoir gets full, he adds chlorine in the tank and manually turns on the pump to get the water to high ground, to let gravity send the treated water to the homes.
After the visit to the pump house we went back to the school and spent some good time playing hide and seek with each other - the kids were laughing hysterically. We also talked a fair bit to the teachers about setting up letter writing programs to Cdn students - so both Paul and I will be looking to find a class to do this with in the fall. Our day finished off with another soccer game and awe at the talent of these kids - yes. we were both huffing and puffing.
We just got back to Prisilla's and then headed off to look at some other accommodation for when we return with our families. The accommodation was nice however it was the 2 km walk home which was fun as it was our first walk in this region without a Kenyan escort - lots of looks and Jambo's for sure.
Returning back to Priscilla's, we had a nice dinner together with her family and packed, as we were to leave for Nairobi the following morning.
Bondo
We took a Matatu to Bondo after waiting an hour for the thing to go. They wait until it is full, which is a drag when you need to meet someone at the other end. Our Matatu broke down along the way, of course, why wouldn't it. It had to be jump-started a few times. Finally the transmission completely conked out, so the driver couldn't take it out of gear without it stopping. So he motors at like Mach 2 to Bondo, scaring the bejeezus out of everyone else on the road. He gets to the spot where Matatus normally park in Bondo, a small dirt driveway up a small incline perpendicular to the highway. Well, he takes the turn into the driveway at pretty much the same speed he was running down the road, up the incline, and straight into the parking spot, stopping dead a few feet from a guy sleeping on a bench. The guy wasn't sleeping anymore. Once we pryed ourselves off the inside of the Matatu we were fine to disembark. Thank you for flying Air Matatu, come again.
Bondo is a tiny village where no one goes to visit, only to pas thru. So Scott and I were a bit of a sight in this little village. After 1/2 an hour or so we met our friend from the Kakamega (btw - our matato ride broke down several times and finally died as we pulled into Bondo)water project whom we had met the week prior. We first went to an ATM to get the cash we wanted to donate but questioned our judgement when we had to sit alone for 1/2 hr in this town that did not feel too warm:)He took us to Lake Victoria where we saw how people fish for a living - quite manual, trapping fish with a bamboo fence and then grabbing them by hand. Everywhere we went the children followed, it was quite cute.
A man came with us who works with orphans on the street, who gave us a pretty hard sell to help the organization. There's just so much need, wherever we go people are looking for help, Bless them for trying. We visited the place where the orphan girls go to learn crafts such as sewing and using a loom to make material, sheets, and so on.
On the way back to Kisumu, the van we were in broke down, the fan belt snapped. So in Kisumu a man was waiting to fix it. We pull into this dark alley, dark since it was now nightfall, and 2 guys pull out the front seats to access the fan, and replace the fan belt while we waited. Fun stuff. Then we were stopped by tire bursting belts on the road by the army as they were looking for illegal firearms.We finally made it home into the evening. Priscilla had dinner waiting for us, she's such a sweetheart.
Bondo is a tiny village where no one goes to visit, only to pas thru. So Scott and I were a bit of a sight in this little village. After 1/2 an hour or so we met our friend from the Kakamega (btw - our matato ride broke down several times and finally died as we pulled into Bondo)water project whom we had met the week prior. We first went to an ATM to get the cash we wanted to donate but questioned our judgement when we had to sit alone for 1/2 hr in this town that did not feel too warm:)He took us to Lake Victoria where we saw how people fish for a living - quite manual, trapping fish with a bamboo fence and then grabbing them by hand. Everywhere we went the children followed, it was quite cute.
A man came with us who works with orphans on the street, who gave us a pretty hard sell to help the organization. There's just so much need, wherever we go people are looking for help, Bless them for trying. We visited the place where the orphan girls go to learn crafts such as sewing and using a loom to make material, sheets, and so on.
On the way back to Kisumu, the van we were in broke down, the fan belt snapped. So in Kisumu a man was waiting to fix it. We pull into this dark alley, dark since it was now nightfall, and 2 guys pull out the front seats to access the fan, and replace the fan belt while we waited. Fun stuff. Then we were stopped by tire bursting belts on the road by the army as they were looking for illegal firearms.We finally made it home into the evening. Priscilla had dinner waiting for us, she's such a sweetheart.
Sunday, May 30, 2010
The Teaching Experience
OK - straight up and down - as much as I thought we instructors/teachers had it hard it is nothing compared to what the teachers give down here. 6 days a week, 10 hrs a day and most volunteer hoping to eventually get a paid position at some point. 36 kids in a room that is 15ft by 25ft with a blackboard and chalk. And to my surprise, it works. The kids pay attention; they learn; they don't fight. It honestly makes our kids (Cdn kids) look like a group...well, less than ideal. Even with the discipline they display they still show inquisitiveness and question things in a polite way. When I think of how Cdn kids can lament spending time in classes and how teachers complain about having too many kids in a classroom outfitted with A/V equipment it was pointing me to the place where we may be relying too much of tech for teaching and not enough on teaching skills. (pls note that I am making these thoughts within the context of the African environment) They are just so grateful for everything and by comparison us so spoiled. They had 30 kids playing soccer yesterday - all ages - no adult ref - if there was conflict it was talked out within 5 seconds - no bullying, no moping. The kids are also tougher - several 11 year olds took on full body shouts from 14 year olds and just kept playing - wow. And can they play - the footwork, the running, the good natured intensity - it was great.
I spent most of my teaching day with the grade 8's discussing the role of the United Nations - I was given about 3 minutes to prep:) - so I drew a map of the world on the chalk board and started using real life examples of Haiti, Afganistan etc to illustrate the humanitarian and peace keeping roles. The students were very inquisitive and only had remote knowledge of worldly events given that their textbooks are dated and focussed on Kenyan issues. We were told to teach for about 1/2 hr but after 70 minutes I went and asked how much longer:) I think the teachers were just happy to have us in there.
At lunch time they all washed their bowls and lined up for a scoup of beans, rice and cabbage and proceeded to sit down on the ground to eat it - for some it may have been the first meal of the day. I am not sure how they do it - focussing on their studies so well without food - it would sure take some more extreme adapting for me to be able to do it.
We are thinking of various ways to help this orphanage and school - we will be financing the purchase of a water pump before we go but also want to help with the lunch program as for about 20$ a day the 237 students can get a lunch - the wheels on how we will help continue to turn.
Was missing home so called Dawson last night for a couple of minutes and had a chat. It was a great boost. It is wonderful doing all these things however in the future I would want to be able to bring the family with - there is so much good stuff to share.
Paul and I will fly to Nairobi on Tuesday for a couple day visit and then he will head home and I off to the coast for another week of adventure.
2 weeks in - Kenyan facts that pause
Was going to sleep last night and was being surrounded by some Kenyan facts that I just wanted to get out:
cars - less than 1% of population has their own - most walk, or ride on a seat pad on a bicycle - if farther you use a motorbike - and for longer still a minivan - btw - motorbike ride for about 10 minutes - 50 cents
School - free for kids up to grade 8 - high school costs about $400 per year ( 4 years) so many with good grades cannot afford to complete their education - students wear uniforms and most schools have heads shaved so no one will play with their hair in class:) Classes are 6 days a week and run from 8 am to 5 pm. On Sundsys they can relax and go to church and do laundry. Chalkboards and pencil and paper are the learning tools here - no computers
No refrigeration - or very little - so when you ask for chicken for dinner they go out into the yard and "catch" your dinner - head, feet and all:)
Tea is very important here - 3 times a day brewed with milk - food is rather bland and low in greens - desserts do not appear to exist - including no chocolate (unles you hunt for it)
Cleanliness - those who know me know I am not the cleanest person around however we have yet to be in a place that even I would call even close to clean - always using disinfectant on our hands - bathrooms are not for the weak constitution - you squat over a hole in the cement - great for working those quads:)
You need earplugs as the freaking chickens don't wait until the sun comes up.
The imported tv here, if there is any, is very low grade US tv - ie WWE, My name is Earl, etc - computers don't exist in the places we have visited
Drivers are aggressive nuts and if you are not religious you soon are as you do need to pray to survive the van rides.
There is not the same amount of the hustling one would expect if you visited the Caribbean area, etc - most people are polite
The adults don't seem to play much with the kids - it is a hard life so.....
There is garbage everywhere - they just chuck it on the ground
They can't afford to prevent malaria but they will treat it. You need a net at night.
That's it for now
cars - less than 1% of population has their own - most walk, or ride on a seat pad on a bicycle - if farther you use a motorbike - and for longer still a minivan - btw - motorbike ride for about 10 minutes - 50 cents
School - free for kids up to grade 8 - high school costs about $400 per year ( 4 years) so many with good grades cannot afford to complete their education - students wear uniforms and most schools have heads shaved so no one will play with their hair in class:) Classes are 6 days a week and run from 8 am to 5 pm. On Sundsys they can relax and go to church and do laundry. Chalkboards and pencil and paper are the learning tools here - no computers
No refrigeration - or very little - so when you ask for chicken for dinner they go out into the yard and "catch" your dinner - head, feet and all:)
Tea is very important here - 3 times a day brewed with milk - food is rather bland and low in greens - desserts do not appear to exist - including no chocolate (unles you hunt for it)
Cleanliness - those who know me know I am not the cleanest person around however we have yet to be in a place that even I would call even close to clean - always using disinfectant on our hands - bathrooms are not for the weak constitution - you squat over a hole in the cement - great for working those quads:)
You need earplugs as the freaking chickens don't wait until the sun comes up.
The imported tv here, if there is any, is very low grade US tv - ie WWE, My name is Earl, etc - computers don't exist in the places we have visited
Drivers are aggressive nuts and if you are not religious you soon are as you do need to pray to survive the van rides.
There is not the same amount of the hustling one would expect if you visited the Caribbean area, etc - most people are polite
The adults don't seem to play much with the kids - it is a hard life so.....
There is garbage everywhere - they just chuck it on the ground
They can't afford to prevent malaria but they will treat it. You need a net at night.
That's it for now
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Teaching the Children
It's Sunday, the day of rest here in Africa. We spent the past few days at Priscilla's house across the road from her orphanage. We were at the orphanage school most of yesterday. I taught a math class and a music class. The classes are quite crowded, hot, quite dusty, but the kids seems to accept that and learn the best they can. The children are so respectful, they stand when I enter the room, and even stand to answer a question when I ask. I had to get them to chill and have a fun time in the class. They laughed quite hard when I tried to use my Swahili to tell them which page in the textbook to turn to, and of course they proceeded to give me a lesson in Swahili. Not sure who's getting the most out of these classes.
The music class they crammed in about 3 different grades, so there were 4 people sitting at a desk/bench made for 1 or 2, but they didn't seem to mind. I taught them the doe-ree-mi's and then Sound of Music's 'Doe a deer...' - that was so cute, them singing this song. I let them off for a break after an hour, and went to the 'teacher's room' where the teachers seemed to be just as intrigued with Scott and I as the kids. About 15 minutes later I heard in the distance this Sound of Music song. So I go back to the class and that's how they were calling me to come back, they all congregated back into the class and started singing that song to get me back. Man, that was something. I did a simple coin trick with the kids, making a coin disappear and pulling it out of one of the kids' ear. Well, that went over much bigger than I anticipated. The classroom jammed with kids wanting to see this 'magic' and wanting me to pull a coin out of their ear, belly-laughing when I did. They wanted me to put the coin thru the blackboard, so I did. Then they all ran outside to the other side of the wall to find the coin, and when they couldn't find it, they accused the other class of taking it, until they finally found it under my shoe. Very cute kids. We gave them 2 soccer balls Scott brought - of course this had to be a 20-minute ceremony with the whole school in attendance. All this happens on the grass/mud field as the only indoors they have are the crammed classrooms. Then for the rest of the day everyone played with the balls, even the teachers. I could never have imagined the happiness 2 soccer balls could have brought to these people, it's quite amazing. Scott and I played soccer for an hour or so with the kids - some of them really have quite the soccer skills. They seem to use a crumpled piece of plastic garbage tied in a ball, as their soccer ball, which is quite small, and I wonder if they're used to messing around with such a small ball, that when they get to a real ball, they can be that much more accurate. But they were kicking the ball flipping, out of the air, with very accurate shots. Was quite fun.
I spent some time looking at their facility and trekking down to the water spring where the kids go to get water and wash their clothes. The school's plan is to pipe this water up to the school from the spring so they can have safe drinking water at the school. They have already laid the pipe and they have the required reservoirs, they just need an electric pump and some digging and plumpbing work done. Part of the goal of this trip was to find our next water project. I think we've found it.
Judy, Priscilla's daughter-in-law who lives with them, took me on a tour of their sugar cane fields. That was quite something, long fields of high purple sugar cane as far as you can see. She pulled out a stalk so Scott and I could try it, very sweet, I can see why the kids here love it.
Today we took a motorcycle early from Priscilla's to Majango where we caught a Matatu into Kisumu where we are right now at an Internet cafe. The muddy road on the way to Majengo was a bit crazy on a motorcycle. We get 1/2 way to Majengo, the road gets real slippery, and the driver reaches for his helmet and puts it on. Yeah, thanks, instills alot of confidence in his driving ability. How about a ride where the passenger gets to wear the helmet? In the Matatu, We were stopped by a policeman looking for a bribe from the Matatu driver to pass, which is standard - the driver needs to pay them to pass, inconspicuously of course so the police don't get in trouble. The Matatu loves having us white people with them, as police seem afraid of us and our cameras that can prove their corruption so they generally let the Matatu's we are in pass. The Matatu's are all quite used, the insides are generally the steel frame, and if we're lucky, some padding on the roof for when you bang your head when they speed over the potholes. Reminded me of the taxi driver's car in Nakuru when we were looking at the animals last week. Did I mention that days ago? I was in the back while he was touring us thru the game park. We came upon a family of baboons who surrounded the car. We were fine to watch them from the car, I opened the back window and get a better look, as they were a safe distance from the car. Then the driver throws a samosa out his window! We're like 'Dude, stop feeding them! Don't do that on our account!' So a huge baboon comes to take the samosa, and of course wants more. So he sits outside MY open window behind the driver's seat in the back, wanting more. He's like 2 feet from me, staring me down thru my open window. So I go to close the window, but of course the window can't be closed - I believe it's a feature in these taxi's - so the driver's reaching back helping me to pry the bloody window shut while the baboon edges closer and closer, watching this frenzy. Sure, we can laugh about it now...
We are to meet our friend in nearby Bondo, a friend we met in Kakamega, who will show us around and take us back to the orphanage. We probably won't get to the Internet until Tuesday in Nairobi. We have our flights booked from Kisumu to Nairobi Tuesday morning, where we'll spend a few days before I fly back to Canada and Scott heads east to Mombasa. Time is getting short, but I know the next few days will seem like weeks, as the past days have seemed. We will be teaching again tomorrow - fun stuff. I was finally able to figure out the telecommunications here in Kenya and was able to get to a phone to make a call to Ute and the kids to wish them luck in their Jiu Jitsu grading yesterday. It was so good to hear their voices - it seems like I haven't talked to them in months! Very nice to hear their voices.
Till Tuesday...
This is a photo of Priscilla, the wonderful woman who is putting us up, who runs the orphanage and school.
Friday, May 28, 2010
Vihiga Children's Home
We had a bitter-sweet goodbye to our friends at Kipepeo and said farewell to Kima. Alot of great memories here. We took a Matatu to Priscilla's house, across the road from her 'Vihiga Children's Home', the orphanage she runs. We unloaded at her home, as no one was there, and just when we thought we had a few minutes to relax outside and wait, her husband came home very happy to see us and right away took us to the school across the street. We thought we'd just say hi and go back to their house since the school day was almost done, but noooo, the children were all prepared to greet us and were waiting for us all day. So they put our chairs front and centre in the field, and all 237 kids ages 5 to 14 put on a show for us which included singing, dancing, plays, recitations - wow, they really know how to greet people.
The teachers all stood and greeted us formally, as did Priscilla. It's funny, we're just Scott and I, but to them our visit is something quite special. We toured the school, Priscilla is doing quite a good job for the little that they have to work with. Scott and I fell in love with the place and the people, we'll try to spend the rest of our time here with these kids. I told them I'm going to teach them music. I asked where they kept their electric guitars, amps and distortion units - actually, I'll just teach them some songs from home. I'm going to teach a math class as well, should be fun. Scott said he'll teach some geography and socials. The classes are very small for the number of students, very small actually. And because they've been so successful and run out of space, they had to sell the cow and turn the cow's stall into a kitchen (with very little renovation I may add) so they could make another classroom out of the existing kitchen space. They have a water problem, as their well is dry and not deep enough, and they need to get through rock to get it deeper. Most water comes from the rain eavestrough runnoff into a 20,000 gallon barrel, and a nearby stream. They've laid piping from the stream but need a pump to get the water to the school. I'm going to sit with one of her sons who is in charge of getting water to the school, to see what he's got planned and see what kind of help we can give him.
Back at Priscilla's home in the evening, we finally had a chance to relax a bit, sponge-bath so-to-speak, and chat with Priscilla and her husband Sham. They are really nice people, Kenyans who have spent a bit of time in the 60's abroad and so they seem to have more of a worldly outlook than most people we've met. We asked them, 'Do all Kenyans think white people are rich?' and they said 'Well, yes, because you are.' We told them we have poor people and people on the streets as well, but their thought is that we take care of our poor, whereas they can't. It was an interesting conversation. Sham said he was in New York in 1961 and he saw someone getting food out of a dumpster, and he said that floored him. He never in his wildest dreams thought someone in the US would not have enough money for food. We chatted about their history, and how the school came to be. Had dnner and went to bed. That's when the fun started for Scott, as he had stomach problems all night. He felt somewhat better in the morning after taking some of the antibiotics we brought with us just in case, but still not 100%. The kids were having their track and field day today with a bunch of other schools, so I went ahead and Scott was to meet me there around noon. I walked over with some of the teachers - "It's just down the road, not far..." - 40 minutes later we arrive. There was a crowd of over 1,000 kids of all ages listening to a guy on the loudspeaker. I had to walk through the group to get to where we were to be seated, and of course by the time I was in the middle of the group the focus had shifted from the loudspeaker to me. All around I saw a sea of little heads trying to catch a glimpse of me. I tried to cature this on video but not sure if it can do the moment justice, it was quite something. We took our benches and their activities began.
I remember the longest track event to be 1,000 metres in my schools when I was young and I don't think they're much longer today. Well, these kids were racing 5 and 10 kilometres - 24 times around their field was 10 k! I timed some of the races, and they're doing 10 k between 30 and 40 minutes, 40 being the slowest kids. So the average Kenyan child is running a 10k in like 35 minutes! Most people in the Sun Run are 1 hour+ - these kids are born runners. All are in bare feet, the funniest thing I saw was one kid who was lucky enough to have running shoes, but 1/2 way through the race I saw him carrying his running shoes, running in his socks to keep up with the others! They also had high jump - into less than a foot of dried corn stalks piled up. It was a great event to watch.
Scott soon met me at the field, watched for a bit and Scott showed the kids how to throw a javelin and how to use a shot put - Earl Haig days: and then we headed into Majengo on motorcycles and took a Matatu to Kisumu. The Matatu ride over all the potholes didn't do wonders with Scott's stomach, but we found a place that does Internet and so are entering this blog now. It looks like we will stay at the children's home until Tuesday morning, then I'll fly out of Kisumu Tuesday, back to Nairobi, and spend 2 nites there before flying back to Canada.
We plan to come back to Kisumu this Sunday and enter more on the blog, so till then...
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Hurry Up and Wait:)
Kenyan time is so different - if they say 9 it means sometime between 10-11. We are adjusting.
After getting our buckets of hot water this morning (yeah) we headed outside to do our first washing since arriving - I know all you clean folk out there are grimacing however without the water or time - well, let's just say it was time:) We then headed to a nearby town and spoke to a group of 15 women who had just finished their first cycle of micro finance ( 1 year) As a result of the groups efforts each member was able to make about a 95% profit on their original investment, in addition to growing their businesses. We spoke about differentiation here as many of the products they sell are commodities like so they need to look to display, customer service and group buying to increase profits. After this 2 hr lecture we were taken to a group of boys who live on the street - we played soccer with them, sang with them and prayed with them, encouraging them to respect themselves and to allow help to assist them. Great kids but lots of behaviours already entrenched. While there are numerous strong male role models, there appears to be more of fathers in absence so guidance in tranining and behaviour is often left to the youth - not unlike a Lord of the Flies scenario - certainly pulls at the heart strings.
After a hair raising ride in a small mini van back Kima where we are staying we had a great lunch with our first cold beverage in over a week. No, in was not beer - it was just cold which tasted sooooooooooo good. After that we were taken to a playing field and watched a play on aides sensitization performed by the local youth to other youth - it displayed a young preganant girl testing positive trying to get her boyfriend to go get tested to - meeting the resistance she persists and he finally goes to get counselling and tested - where he discovers he is positive and confesses he has another girlfriend - who also tests positive. In this country apparently 70% of girls first encounter with sex is rape - as father's both Paul and I just cringed. It is a male ego dominated society however the women are very proactive and certainly give strong hope for the future via education and enterprise.
So we leave here tomorrow for Priscilla's school and are very much looking forward to it. These 4 days have been quite tough re eating, accommodation, scheduling and the intensity of the topics/presentations. Neither Paul and I think we will be complaining as much as we would have.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
More Business School and The Orphanage
We decided to take a Matatu past Kima to Majengo and briefly visit the Vihiga Children’s Home, which was our last place of volunteering. We wanted to meet Priscilla who runs the place, and have a look at the school, to decide how much time we would stay there. The ride was long and arduous, again over many potholes and broken highway. When we reached Majengo, we were to take a motorcycle up the road a few kilometers to the Children’s Home. It started to rain as we got on the motorcycles. Our drivers were wearing helmets, but of course there was none for the passengers. This was the only transport up the road as it was narrow and unpaved. We set out on a steep climb, the tires spinning in the wet sand. The motorcycle I was on rode behind Scott’s, and at one point we were lagging back. My driver asked me if it was OK to go faster to catch up. Of course he’s going to want to go fast in the rain on the mud – HE’S THE ONE WEARING THE HELMET! The rain worsened as did the road, but we were lucky to get to our destination, soaked. As the two motorcycles with pulled into the children’s home, hundreds of children stopped what they were doing and cheered us on, watching these odd white people get off the bikes. We had a quick look at the school and were taken to a nearby house where Priscilla lived. We were welcomed in by Priscilla, a very warm, motherly lady and her husband. They had a nice, quaint home with much more space than we were used to the past few days. The walls were wooden and plaster – are we still in Africa? We had a long chat with her, this lady has quite an amazing past, and she told us how she came about running the children’s school. Scott and I both knew we wanted to spend as much time here as we could. The rain worsened, there was heavy thunder and lightening. Priscilla arranged a taxi to get us back to Kima. The taxi had trouble getting up the road to her home, but finally made it. In the taxi we thought about our situation. We’re leaving a nice house with fairly modern facilities in a huge rainstorm so that we can go back to a mud hut and sleep in an insect-infested room on the dirt floor – what’s wrong with this picture? Oh well, all in the name of volunteering, it’s all good. We arrived back in Kima, walked the long trek back to Jesse’s house in the rain, and quickly fell asleep.
The next morning we awoke to a breakfast of peanuts and tea. Interesting combination for breakfast, but it worked. Our first stop was the Andeka Men Group to continue the lesson on small business. We both lectured for about three hours. The group was quite intent on learning, though the concepts were quite foreign to them. Scott did a great job breaking down the basics of running a business, and I covered how to expand the business once you had an idea that was working. We then did a brainstorming session with them on the potential types of businesses they could think about researching. That was an interesting exercise for them as well as us: putting ourselves in their shoes, what would we do to start a business within the frame of their lifestyles in Africa? The audience ranged from 20 years old to 70, many with families to feed, all part of this new micro-finance organization they were about to start. Again they were very appreciative for the lessons. It occurred to us that this was one way to really make a difference, as these are skills none of these people seemed to have, skills that they now need, and they seemed truly grateful.
We relaxed for the afternoon, waiting for 4PM when we were due at the orphanage we visited 2 days ago. This time we brought soccer balls, crayons and paper, and Jennifer’s infamous maple syrup for the children to try. The orphanage greeted us warmly. They loved the balls and the colouring items. They did a show for Scott and I, singing, acting, reciting poems, it was quite cute and they appreciated having a Canadian audience to practice their English on. Then we brought out the buns we had bought in the market and showed the kids how to dip pieces of the buns into the maple syrup. All the children tried it – they seemed to like its sweetness. They were happy we brought it, and we left for the long walk back to Kima. It was now time for us to check into the guesthouse in Kima. The accommodation was not great, but it was a bed, it seemed safe, and the people were very nice. And, it had electricity! And they even boiled hot water for us to sponge bath! It’s amazing how excited you get over the smallest things, it’s all perspective. As I type, it is nearing midnight, the crickets are loud, the 70–year-old security guard is watching me, the night air is warm, life is good. Good-night.
The next morning we awoke to a breakfast of peanuts and tea. Interesting combination for breakfast, but it worked. Our first stop was the Andeka Men Group to continue the lesson on small business. We both lectured for about three hours. The group was quite intent on learning, though the concepts were quite foreign to them. Scott did a great job breaking down the basics of running a business, and I covered how to expand the business once you had an idea that was working. We then did a brainstorming session with them on the potential types of businesses they could think about researching. That was an interesting exercise for them as well as us: putting ourselves in their shoes, what would we do to start a business within the frame of their lifestyles in Africa? The audience ranged from 20 years old to 70, many with families to feed, all part of this new micro-finance organization they were about to start. Again they were very appreciative for the lessons. It occurred to us that this was one way to really make a difference, as these are skills none of these people seemed to have, skills that they now need, and they seemed truly grateful.
We relaxed for the afternoon, waiting for 4PM when we were due at the orphanage we visited 2 days ago. This time we brought soccer balls, crayons and paper, and Jennifer’s infamous maple syrup for the children to try. The orphanage greeted us warmly. They loved the balls and the colouring items. They did a show for Scott and I, singing, acting, reciting poems, it was quite cute and they appreciated having a Canadian audience to practice their English on. Then we brought out the buns we had bought in the market and showed the kids how to dip pieces of the buns into the maple syrup. All the children tried it – they seemed to like its sweetness. They were happy we brought it, and we left for the long walk back to Kima. It was now time for us to check into the guesthouse in Kima. The accommodation was not great, but it was a bed, it seemed safe, and the people were very nice. And, it had electricity! And they even boiled hot water for us to sponge bath! It’s amazing how excited you get over the smallest things, it’s all perspective. As I type, it is nearing midnight, the crickets are loud, the 70–year-old security guard is watching me, the night air is warm, life is good. Good-night.
Business African Style
We woke up early with the roosters in the field. We crawled out of our mosquito netting cocoons and had breakfast with Jesse, Julius and Jesse’s father. Scott pulled out a jar of maple syrup his neighbor Jennifer had given him for the trip,which was a big hit. They had never heard of maple syrup before, and couldn’t believe it came from a tree. We dipped our masami buns in the syrup which tasted great. Then it dawned on us that this is what we should do at the orphanage – we’ll buy 40 masami buns and do the same with the children. After breakfast, we packed for the day, and before we left I caught a glimpse of Julius shining his shoes with shoe polish. This was somewhat of an odd sight, in a mud hut, dust and dirt everywhere, and his clothes are neatly pressed, shining his shoes. Very amazing, the pride some Kenyans take in themselves. We trekked the long walk back into town to the Kipepeo office, a small, dark storefront – kind of – with a bunch of dust, empty shelves and a 1990’s computer. Today we were to visit a group of people who were about to put together a micro-finance organization – that is, they will each put money into a pot, and each member has a chance in a merry-go-round fashion to borrow money from the pot. They must repay the money within a month, 3 months max, with 10% interest per month, the loan being to start a small business. We soon found the group to be The Andeka Men Group, a group of people who are HIV positive, that is what they have in common, and we were unknowingly about to embark on quite a journey.
We met Dan, who was HIV+. After chatting with him, he quickly verified my personal belief that eating enough vegetables and having a great outlook on life is the key to keeping your immune system strong, as he has been living with HIV for now over 12 years, and to see him and his love of life and jovial attitude, you would never know. When I asked him his secret, these are some of the things I learned. We were taken to the nearby hospital where HIV+ people receive their medication, supplied by US-AID, a US organization that supplies this medicine across Kenya. We were greeted by the admin staff, and as in Kakamega, we were taken into an office to meet the highest officials at the hospital in a very formal setting. Every meeting here seems very formal, a holdover I assume from the British influence before their independence in 1963. They were happy to see us and told us to tour the facilities. We will upload photos when we can, but even they won’t do the tour justice. It Is hard to believe the condition of this place, built with mud walls, quite dirty and not kept up very well – I suppose they do what they have to with what they have, with a lineup of 40 or so people waiting for their medication, the line constantly growing. We were taken to the dispensing room, and of course they stopped giving out medication to greet us. I’m like ‘Keep working, you’ve got many people waiting more important than us’, but they insisted we come in and have a formal name-introduction of everyone. I looked at the faces of the people sitting waiting in line, some with their kids on their laps, they didn’t seem destitute looking for pity, it was more that this was their life, welcome to it. And then there’s Dan, also HIV+ as I said, flitting around like a little bumble bee, introducing us to many of the staff at the hospital – it was a wide range of personalities dealing with the disease.
We proceeded to a final room, a small classroom I suppose, where we were informed we were to teach a lesson on small business start-ups to the group. Scott began the lesson, taking the group of men and women through how to start a small business within the context of this community. It was an interesting exercise to take our knowledge of small business and apply it to selling vegetables, or buying a few chickens, or renting a spot in a busy market to sell wares. We were to continue the lesson the following day at the headquarters for the Andeka Men Group.
They were very happy with Scott’s lesson, you could tell they were very eager to learn and appreciative. After the lesson their applause was rubbing their hands together before a cheer. Then we walked through a tiny village to a home of a woman Dan wanted us to meet, a young woman 22 years old who is HIV+. She is mostly bedridden and needs a critical operation, as she bleeds when she stands. We entered the mud hut and Dan took us to a room in the back where she lay. It’s an image that will stay with us: the smoke from burning wood in the cooking room wafting in the air of the hallways and into her small, dark, mud-walled room where she lay in a small bed. The only light in the room was streaming in from a tiny window beside her, the smoke making the light in the room glow. There she lay, a young, frail young woman, seemingly quite happy to see us visit her. She tried to sit up but it was difficult for her. We spoke with the woman, she was very nice, and spends her days in that room, seemingly just waiting. After some time we left the house, but couldn’t leave the image.
Out on the road we took a Matatu (remember that small minivan with benches to cram in passengers that we spoke of earlier?) for a 40 minute ride to Luanda. The highway was so potholed that most of the time was spent driving on the dirt shoulder or driving up and down the potholes, some a foot or so deep. Luanda is a very busy village with a large outdoor market selling everything from fruits and vegetables to nails to straw to pieces of coloured rope. There we stopped for lunch. With the girl in the bed still on our minds, we discussed the inevitable moral dilemma we were sure to encounter on such a trip. The only thing stopping her from having this operation is an expensive trip by their standards to Nairobi, a 6 hour or so trip of several modes of transportation. She’s one woman in need, but there are a thousand others like her in a bed in a mud hut elsewhere in Africa, will helping one young woman make a difference when there is so much other need? Do you inherit the problem because you’ve been exposed to it? Will this operation make any difference for her at all? Who rolled the dice and made us so lucky to live in a country where we can get the medical treatment we need? Lots of questions, few answers. We left and entered the cacophony of the marketplace.
When we see Dan in the morning, we’ll tell him to get the young woman ready to travel.
We met Dan, who was HIV+. After chatting with him, he quickly verified my personal belief that eating enough vegetables and having a great outlook on life is the key to keeping your immune system strong, as he has been living with HIV for now over 12 years, and to see him and his love of life and jovial attitude, you would never know. When I asked him his secret, these are some of the things I learned. We were taken to the nearby hospital where HIV+ people receive their medication, supplied by US-AID, a US organization that supplies this medicine across Kenya. We were greeted by the admin staff, and as in Kakamega, we were taken into an office to meet the highest officials at the hospital in a very formal setting. Every meeting here seems very formal, a holdover I assume from the British influence before their independence in 1963. They were happy to see us and told us to tour the facilities. We will upload photos when we can, but even they won’t do the tour justice. It Is hard to believe the condition of this place, built with mud walls, quite dirty and not kept up very well – I suppose they do what they have to with what they have, with a lineup of 40 or so people waiting for their medication, the line constantly growing. We were taken to the dispensing room, and of course they stopped giving out medication to greet us. I’m like ‘Keep working, you’ve got many people waiting more important than us’, but they insisted we come in and have a formal name-introduction of everyone. I looked at the faces of the people sitting waiting in line, some with their kids on their laps, they didn’t seem destitute looking for pity, it was more that this was their life, welcome to it. And then there’s Dan, also HIV+ as I said, flitting around like a little bumble bee, introducing us to many of the staff at the hospital – it was a wide range of personalities dealing with the disease.
We proceeded to a final room, a small classroom I suppose, where we were informed we were to teach a lesson on small business start-ups to the group. Scott began the lesson, taking the group of men and women through how to start a small business within the context of this community. It was an interesting exercise to take our knowledge of small business and apply it to selling vegetables, or buying a few chickens, or renting a spot in a busy market to sell wares. We were to continue the lesson the following day at the headquarters for the Andeka Men Group.
They were very happy with Scott’s lesson, you could tell they were very eager to learn and appreciative. After the lesson their applause was rubbing their hands together before a cheer. Then we walked through a tiny village to a home of a woman Dan wanted us to meet, a young woman 22 years old who is HIV+. She is mostly bedridden and needs a critical operation, as she bleeds when she stands. We entered the mud hut and Dan took us to a room in the back where she lay. It’s an image that will stay with us: the smoke from burning wood in the cooking room wafting in the air of the hallways and into her small, dark, mud-walled room where she lay in a small bed. The only light in the room was streaming in from a tiny window beside her, the smoke making the light in the room glow. There she lay, a young, frail young woman, seemingly quite happy to see us visit her. She tried to sit up but it was difficult for her. We spoke with the woman, she was very nice, and spends her days in that room, seemingly just waiting. After some time we left the house, but couldn’t leave the image.
Out on the road we took a Matatu (remember that small minivan with benches to cram in passengers that we spoke of earlier?) for a 40 minute ride to Luanda. The highway was so potholed that most of the time was spent driving on the dirt shoulder or driving up and down the potholes, some a foot or so deep. Luanda is a very busy village with a large outdoor market selling everything from fruits and vegetables to nails to straw to pieces of coloured rope. There we stopped for lunch. With the girl in the bed still on our minds, we discussed the inevitable moral dilemma we were sure to encounter on such a trip. The only thing stopping her from having this operation is an expensive trip by their standards to Nairobi, a 6 hour or so trip of several modes of transportation. She’s one woman in need, but there are a thousand others like her in a bed in a mud hut elsewhere in Africa, will helping one young woman make a difference when there is so much other need? Do you inherit the problem because you’ve been exposed to it? Will this operation make any difference for her at all? Who rolled the dice and made us so lucky to live in a country where we can get the medical treatment we need? Lots of questions, few answers. We left and entered the cacophony of the marketplace.
When we see Dan in the morning, we’ll tell him to get the young woman ready to travel.
Monday, May 24, 2010
We are still alive
Jambo!
It is Tuesday morning here and internet access is very challenging and very slow so no pics for these entries - they will follow shortly.
On Sunday morning we were escorted from Kakamega by the GM of the water project, his secretary and his driver on our trip to Kimu - about 30 kms south - or a 3 hr drive:) As luck would have it the truck broke down so what did we do - we grabbed one of our soccer balls and started playing with some kids in a nearby field - it is amazing how quickly soccer unites two groups. Upon arriving in Kimu we were greeted by our hosts Jesse and Julious who head of Kippepeo, a community outreach program that helps empower people living HIV positive, orphans and widows. Now, this town is a dirt patch with a couple of buildings however the buildings are built around these huge boulders - very cool. We had a 3 hr introductory meeting/orientation and those of you who know me know how much a like to sit down for such a long period of time. Formality is very important here - everyone always introduces themselves and restating the obvious is part of the everyday discussions:) They are good hosts and after the meeting we headed for our accommodation - which was a 3 km hike down a network of farmer's paths through some of the most gorgeous countryside you will see. We then headed to a project where orphans and widows are supported and were treated to 20 children doing native dancing and singing for us - most were under 10 years of age - they were very well behaved and once they got used to us were very curious to touch us, wear our sunglasses etc. This project is building a chicken coup to help provide income to these people so we thought that this was a great place to give the money several of you donated to - to help finish the chicken coup. The ladies who run this are all volunteers and wonderful people. You can feel very good as to where your money has gone.
That night we had a simple meal of rice and tea - there is no electricity and our sleeping quarters were on a floor of a mud hut that had roaches and other insects crawling all around. We loved our netting and sleeping bags this night:) - message here - we were missing our food and any comforts big time - but were so tired sleep came quickly.
It is Tuesday morning here and internet access is very challenging and very slow so no pics for these entries - they will follow shortly.
On Sunday morning we were escorted from Kakamega by the GM of the water project, his secretary and his driver on our trip to Kimu - about 30 kms south - or a 3 hr drive:) As luck would have it the truck broke down so what did we do - we grabbed one of our soccer balls and started playing with some kids in a nearby field - it is amazing how quickly soccer unites two groups. Upon arriving in Kimu we were greeted by our hosts Jesse and Julious who head of Kippepeo, a community outreach program that helps empower people living HIV positive, orphans and widows. Now, this town is a dirt patch with a couple of buildings however the buildings are built around these huge boulders - very cool. We had a 3 hr introductory meeting/orientation and those of you who know me know how much a like to sit down for such a long period of time. Formality is very important here - everyone always introduces themselves and restating the obvious is part of the everyday discussions:) They are good hosts and after the meeting we headed for our accommodation - which was a 3 km hike down a network of farmer's paths through some of the most gorgeous countryside you will see. We then headed to a project where orphans and widows are supported and were treated to 20 children doing native dancing and singing for us - most were under 10 years of age - they were very well behaved and once they got used to us were very curious to touch us, wear our sunglasses etc. This project is building a chicken coup to help provide income to these people so we thought that this was a great place to give the money several of you donated to - to help finish the chicken coup. The ladies who run this are all volunteers and wonderful people. You can feel very good as to where your money has gone.
That night we had a simple meal of rice and tea - there is no electricity and our sleeping quarters were on a floor of a mud hut that had roaches and other insects crawling all around. We loved our netting and sleeping bags this night:) - message here - we were missing our food and any comforts big time - but were so tired sleep came quickly.
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Never would have guessed
The party for Jack tonight that we were invited to was so unbelievable. We were not sure if we would even get there however when we arrived at 3 pm we found approximately 60 people there waiting for us to have the party begin - we were guests of honour at the head table. I felt quite bad as the invitation had been casual and we thought we would just drop by for a drink.
Instead there was the entire board of directors, the management team, the workers and special guests - all there to say thank you to Jack the director - and as we were his guests we were to be honoured. They are very formal with process and speeches - all of this lasted about 2 hrs and then we found out that Paul and I were expected to give a speech - and both of us being so shy we did:) Paul managed to video tape much of the afternoon including the amazing feast, the dancing and the speeches. This was total immersion into culture with food, music, people - it was simply overwhelming. The attendees are looking to Paul and I to help them in anyway we can. We received 5 invitations to visit homes and schools and orphanages while we are here - the need is so great. Did not have the heart to say no directly but we simply do not have the time to do all this and meet our other obligations. We have developed a real connection with this community and they are giving us free transport to the orphanage tomorrow morning - where we get to begin handing out the special donations you have provided us with.
Paul is amazingly stoked about this evolving documentary. Always exciting this kind of existence can also be emotionally exhausting as you want to help as many as you can. We handed out our email addresses to many who asked - many just a token of hope of what might be. There is a calling here - just trying to figure out how best to answer.
Bring on the motorbikes and mountains
After starting to hand out our donations at a local hospital; taking a small pickup truck with 12 Kenyans on a brutal road to visit an outreach program - and then spending time with residents of a slum to see the impact of their new well, we thought our adventures for the day were done. No way! Meeting Smith at the local grocery store (btw - did we mention there are approx 4 whites in this town of 50,000 plus and we are two of them:)- very friendly folk but now better appreciate how a visible minority feels) Paul and I got on the backs of small 110 cc motorbikes for a 45 minute ride no roller coaster could match - without helmets we zigged and zagged through traffic, goats, cattle, bicycles and mammoth potholes. My driver was a speed demon so any impending tragedy would have been only foreshadowed for a moment.
The purpose of our trip was to visit the lowland rain forest in the Kakamega Park. Smith's compound was a lovely 3 building setup with very comfortable cottages (meaning they had a flush toilet and cold shower). There are over 400 species of birds here and after a quick shower Evelyn came to cook us dinner - she did this on the floor of a mud hut and gave us a wonderful meal of boiled potatoes, rice and some type of spinach on steroids. We asked her to join us and she gave us wonderful insight into the life of a farming family. She has 3 children and her husband is a farmer. This farming life is a hard life and it is little wonder why the average lifespan of a Kenyan is just under 50 years - I guess I would be just about done if I lived here (no ideas to you devious one's out there) There was no electricity however we had two paraffin lamps for light.
We got up just before 5 am and Smith immediately took us on our hike in the pitch black of night. Having only a manual flashlight we walked on the dirt roads passing herds of cattle and other farmers already well up and on their way to work. Once in the forest the light of day began and we ascended a mountain above the forest line and began to see the sun coming up at 6:45 am. The Brits had dug a cave in search of gold back in ww1 and it is now inhabited by sighted bats - we were as close to them as you would every want to be, having them fly over our heads and all around us.
From there we ascended to the top of the mountain and had an absolutely incredible 360 degree panorama view of the lowland forest for 30 miles in every direction. It was incredible - like Gorillas in the Mist meets Medicine Man meets Avatar - for the first time since our arrival we just sat and appreciated the view.
We saw our first sex show up there as well:) Two mammoth snails mating right in the path - this combined with sightings of baboons, collobus monkeys, a variety of birds and butterflies made the hike very enjoyable - if not a little long - 12 km over 5 hours on an empty stomach. We came back to the cottage and had a wonderful breakfast of bread, egg, banana and fresh mango. After this I did my favourite activity after an early morning hike - I slept - and the cold showered - only to have our motorcycle drivers waiting to take us away from this wonderful sanctuary. BTW - Paul was awesome in that he wrote a lonely planet blurb for this facility as it definitely needs to be found by more people.
We are now back in Kakamega on our way to a party for Jack, a brit who heads up the water projects, as he is going back to the UK next week leaving the Kenyans in charge. Should be fun as most there will be Kenyans.
Off to the orphanage tomorrow to begin our teaching work and to finally hand out more of the donations.
Well Project Like No Other
We got up early and went to the hospital for 8AM as we told them we would. We met the administrator and another doctor we had not seen before. We chatted a little and went on our way. I just checked email today to find that they had set up a meeting with us and their teaching staff but couldn't find us in town. But the administrator may catch up with us in Kima next week, since that's his home town. While there Scott gave out some crayons and a colouring book to the children in the pediatric ward.
We took a Matatu (small minivan with benches as seats, where they can cram in about 14 people) to Shinyalu Market, about a 45 minute drive away. We were off to meet Joe, who runs Tafitiku Gardens, a place where volunteers stay while working in the community. We had emailed Joe over the past few months and so we thought we would pop in and chat over tea. He was not there, but his partner was there from Australia so we chatted with him and had a tour of their facilities. Unfortunately they are in the process of shutting down altogether and moving back to Australia. He and his wife have been there 5 years, and they have adopted 4 kids whom they are taking back to Aussie with them. Everyone you meet in Africa has a different perspective, it was quite an interesting chat. Tafitiku Gardens was like an oasis in the middle of Shinyalu Market which is a dusty, bustling village. We grabbed a Matatu back to Kakamega. It was completely packed, I stood on the back footstep hanging onto the roofrack with 2 other Kenyans, had a nice, albeit loud, chat with them. But the piece de resistance (my French is as good as my Swahili) was when I peered into the back of the Matatu to find that one of the young children had crawled up onto Scott's lap, holding his hand. It was the epitome of cute. Scott gave the children in the Matatu some of the toy balls we had brought with us from Canada. He wanted to give them some candy, but when everyone's eyes lit up inside the Matatu, it was hard not to dish it out to everyone.
When we returned to Kakamega, we went back to the water project Bridgewater's office and met the gang there, as they were going to take us to a successful well site in town. We took them to lunch first. A bit about the food - um - fairly basic, and their staple is ugali, this cooked floury paste-like substance that you're supposed to play with in your hands like putty, and if you're good you can make a bowl and scoop up some sauce with it. OK, so when in Rome... The place we went to today had a bit more variety then the place where we're staying. Some chicken, etc. So we had a good lunch. Then we set off to the well location.
This was very interesting. We walked through chaotic street vendors, traffic, cows, to get to the location. The well was built in a nearby slum. The water project linked up with a community organization trying to help the slum, so that's why this was the chosen location. We went in with 2 members of the water project, so I suppose it was fairly safe. When we got there we could see this shiny well standing out amongst the mud huts. They showed us where they used to get the water to drink. The slum is built on a hillside, and all the water, or more like waste I think, flows down the hill from the huts and the earth above, picking up whatever the grazing cows leave behind, into a small stream at the bottom. We saw 2 pigs fighting in the mud, just about 10 metres from 3 little kids playing in the stream of water flowing downhill. Bit of a different world. So that was their old watering hole before the well was built up on high ground. The interesting thing, something Bridgewater never thought of, was that some entrepreneurial slumdwellers are actually selling the fresh water to passersby. So now not only does the slum have clean water, but they have a modest income as it is the only clean water source in the area to drink, shower, wash clothes. So this has made an impact to the slum in different ways. We met some of the people there, very nice people, and we took a lot of video footage with their permission and did some interviews for my promo video for the water project organization.
Wow. We left and had a beer with the Bridgewater gang talking more about the project, before heading out to the Kakamega Forest. Each day is so different from the next.
We took a Matatu (small minivan with benches as seats, where they can cram in about 14 people) to Shinyalu Market, about a 45 minute drive away. We were off to meet Joe, who runs Tafitiku Gardens, a place where volunteers stay while working in the community. We had emailed Joe over the past few months and so we thought we would pop in and chat over tea. He was not there, but his partner was there from Australia so we chatted with him and had a tour of their facilities. Unfortunately they are in the process of shutting down altogether and moving back to Australia. He and his wife have been there 5 years, and they have adopted 4 kids whom they are taking back to Aussie with them. Everyone you meet in Africa has a different perspective, it was quite an interesting chat. Tafitiku Gardens was like an oasis in the middle of Shinyalu Market which is a dusty, bustling village. We grabbed a Matatu back to Kakamega. It was completely packed, I stood on the back footstep hanging onto the roofrack with 2 other Kenyans, had a nice, albeit loud, chat with them. But the piece de resistance (my French is as good as my Swahili) was when I peered into the back of the Matatu to find that one of the young children had crawled up onto Scott's lap, holding his hand. It was the epitome of cute. Scott gave the children in the Matatu some of the toy balls we had brought with us from Canada. He wanted to give them some candy, but when everyone's eyes lit up inside the Matatu, it was hard not to dish it out to everyone.
When we returned to Kakamega, we went back to the water project Bridgewater's office and met the gang there, as they were going to take us to a successful well site in town. We took them to lunch first. A bit about the food - um - fairly basic, and their staple is ugali, this cooked floury paste-like substance that you're supposed to play with in your hands like putty, and if you're good you can make a bowl and scoop up some sauce with it. OK, so when in Rome... The place we went to today had a bit more variety then the place where we're staying. Some chicken, etc. So we had a good lunch. Then we set off to the well location.
This was very interesting. We walked through chaotic street vendors, traffic, cows, to get to the location. The well was built in a nearby slum. The water project linked up with a community organization trying to help the slum, so that's why this was the chosen location. We went in with 2 members of the water project, so I suppose it was fairly safe. When we got there we could see this shiny well standing out amongst the mud huts. They showed us where they used to get the water to drink. The slum is built on a hillside, and all the water, or more like waste I think, flows down the hill from the huts and the earth above, picking up whatever the grazing cows leave behind, into a small stream at the bottom. We saw 2 pigs fighting in the mud, just about 10 metres from 3 little kids playing in the stream of water flowing downhill. Bit of a different world. So that was their old watering hole before the well was built up on high ground. The interesting thing, something Bridgewater never thought of, was that some entrepreneurial slumdwellers are actually selling the fresh water to passersby. So now not only does the slum have clean water, but they have a modest income as it is the only clean water source in the area to drink, shower, wash clothes. So this has made an impact to the slum in different ways. We met some of the people there, very nice people, and we took a lot of video footage with their permission and did some interviews for my promo video for the water project organization.
Wow. We left and had a beer with the Bridgewater gang talking more about the project, before heading out to the Kakamega Forest. Each day is so different from the next.
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