The trip to Kisumu had a hectic ending. We picked up Alicia Robb, who is the founder of the Foundation for Sustainable Development, at the Kisumu aiport and arranged for a taxi to take us to Kakamega. There were several taxis vying for the trip, so after all the drivers haggled for a while, we ended up in a pretty nice honda mini suv. however, at the last moment for some unkown reason, we had to transfer all of our stuff to a different car in which we had to hold most of our stuff on our lap. About halfway home, the car started to smoke furiously and the driver had to pull off the road, which made us all a little uneasy. He opened the hood and looked at it suspiciously, but it was clear he didn't have a clue what was wrong. He made several calls and finally arranged for another driver to come. In the meantime, it started pouring down rain, it was very hot and humid in the car while we were waiting. Another guy arrived in about 45 minutes but he was unfortunately in a double cab truck and didn't have a tarp to cover all the luggage, so we were forced to put the luggage in the front seats and four of us crammed into the back seat. Actually, three of us sat on the seat while Alicia laid on our laps. Ah, don't you just love Africa. We made it home safe, but not really sane.
The purpose of Alicia's trip was to visit several of the organizations that interns of FSD have worked with in the past. One of them is a center for handicapped children. The headmaster is great, very well educated and knowledgeable about children with special needs. In Kenya, children with special needs are thought to be sent by God to punish someone's bad acts. As a result, most children are hidden in the house or actually tied behind the house like an animal. The Center does outreach to identify and bring these children to live at the school. They seem to thrive in this environment but still it tugs at my heart to see how tough their lives are.
On a separate day, we visited shikokho high school and delivered the soccer socks and shoes. Last year, thanks to the Chico State Women's team we were able to deliver uniforms and several pair of shoes. Even though the girls team is only 6 years old, they performed very well at the district tournament last year. Believe it or not, the village of Shikokho just got electricity and they already have a computer lab that is serviced by high speed internet. It is so great, it really connects the high school students to the world. Another neat thing that has happened here is that it is possible to get internet through your phone, so our program director Peter actually can work on the internet at his house which doesn't have electricity. Thank God for Alexander Graham Bell.
After that we went to a women's group in Malinya. They are a group of widows who are hiv postive but have come together to support each other and to do community work. They met us at the gate dressed in their lavendar sateen dresses and sang and trilled to welcome us.
They also presented us with strings of tinsel as a kind of a hawiian lei. We did all the formalities and then they fed us dinner, ugali, kale, cabbage and chicken. It rained heavy in the afternoon so it was very dark in the house while we were eating, but really i can't imagine a nicer experience. I worked with some of the women at k-rep and they were very welcoming. I have seen so many people i know here, I hadn't realized how many people i had gotten acquainted with. It is a wonderful second home.
I haven't had water in my house for several days so I have come to town to buy a jerry can and water. It is so funny that in Kakamega where it rains every single day that the water is so inconsistent. People here are so accustomed to adjusting to whatever circumstances happen.
Saturday, May 19, 2007
Monday, May 14, 2007
I am not in Kansas any more
After a 30 hour flight and 10 hour bus ride, I am back. Someone asked me how was Kakamega and I had to reply, it is the same as it was 10 years ago, I am sure. In some ways, the slow pace of change is very relaxing. There is comfort in knowing that I don't have to learn and adjust to very much, that I can slip back into my same routine.
People here have been more than wonderful in welcoming me back. Because I am an older white woman, which is a very rare species here, people tend to recognize me and are surprised to see that I have returned. In the next few weeks I will have a chance to visit some of the microfinance groups I worked with before and that will be great. However, I anticipate some tough times too, since many of the people had Aids and there is a distinct possibility that some may have died. I did get a chance to see one woman from the groups, who had shared her story with me last year. She is in the advance stages of AIDS and has herpesxoster on the left side of her face. This condition is like a big dark mole or wart that is progressive and actually debilitates the nerves on that side of her face. In any event, not only is having the medical problems difficult, having this disease is like wearing a scarlet A for aids. She shared with me that not only is her farming business going well, she has become certified for HIV testing and counseling as well. I am really impressed with that because so few people here with are willing to be an AIDS victim in public, instead they remain secluded until they die.
I saw our adopted children, Faith and Junior. I actually live on the same lane again, only a little further down the way. They were very cute, yelling mama Nette, mama Nette. When I picked junior up he told me in kiswahili that he is reading. They seem to love school and all the extended family is very buoyed up by the fact that they are going to school. They do have a new little brother named Peter. The guy who helps me by paying the school fees and buying the uniforms is named Peter and he is really thrilled to have a namesake. In any event, I can see that I may have to go back to work to support more than a couple of kids! There are so many children here that could use our support. While I am here I will be taking some picture and videos of children that would benefit from some support and I will share those with you when I get home.
The people I will be working with here are Peter Ingosi, the man I knew last year, and a young woman from Florida named Lillian. She is an old pro, she has been here since August. Our first group of new interns arrives on June 3rd so we are busy planning the orientation week for them. Currently, there are four interns here. This weekend we made a trip to the Kakamega Forest and spent the night. On Sunday morning, we started a hike at 4:45 am and ended up on a hill watching the sun rise over the rain forest. It was beautiful, the mist was hanging low, all the birds were making a raquet and you could hear the colobus monkeys call all around the forest. On the return trip, we actually spotted a gaboon viper crossing in the trees above us. Thank god it was little and didn't seem as dangerous as a big one would have. I still had the creeps.
We are cramming into a matatu this morning and heading to the big city of Kisumu to do some errands. Then I will know I am back, hot, crowded and dangerous. Africa in a nutshell.
People here have been more than wonderful in welcoming me back. Because I am an older white woman, which is a very rare species here, people tend to recognize me and are surprised to see that I have returned. In the next few weeks I will have a chance to visit some of the microfinance groups I worked with before and that will be great. However, I anticipate some tough times too, since many of the people had Aids and there is a distinct possibility that some may have died. I did get a chance to see one woman from the groups, who had shared her story with me last year. She is in the advance stages of AIDS and has herpesxoster on the left side of her face. This condition is like a big dark mole or wart that is progressive and actually debilitates the nerves on that side of her face. In any event, not only is having the medical problems difficult, having this disease is like wearing a scarlet A for aids. She shared with me that not only is her farming business going well, she has become certified for HIV testing and counseling as well. I am really impressed with that because so few people here with are willing to be an AIDS victim in public, instead they remain secluded until they die.
I saw our adopted children, Faith and Junior. I actually live on the same lane again, only a little further down the way. They were very cute, yelling mama Nette, mama Nette. When I picked junior up he told me in kiswahili that he is reading. They seem to love school and all the extended family is very buoyed up by the fact that they are going to school. They do have a new little brother named Peter. The guy who helps me by paying the school fees and buying the uniforms is named Peter and he is really thrilled to have a namesake. In any event, I can see that I may have to go back to work to support more than a couple of kids! There are so many children here that could use our support. While I am here I will be taking some picture and videos of children that would benefit from some support and I will share those with you when I get home.
The people I will be working with here are Peter Ingosi, the man I knew last year, and a young woman from Florida named Lillian. She is an old pro, she has been here since August. Our first group of new interns arrives on June 3rd so we are busy planning the orientation week for them. Currently, there are four interns here. This weekend we made a trip to the Kakamega Forest and spent the night. On Sunday morning, we started a hike at 4:45 am and ended up on a hill watching the sun rise over the rain forest. It was beautiful, the mist was hanging low, all the birds were making a raquet and you could hear the colobus monkeys call all around the forest. On the return trip, we actually spotted a gaboon viper crossing in the trees above us. Thank god it was little and didn't seem as dangerous as a big one would have. I still had the creeps.
We are cramming into a matatu this morning and heading to the big city of Kisumu to do some errands. Then I will know I am back, hot, crowded and dangerous. Africa in a nutshell.
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