Naming Traditions in Western Kenya

The tribe living in Western Kenya is called the Luyha people.  The Luhya are the 3rd largest tribe out of 42 tribes in Kenya and each tribe has a distinct language, customs and traditions.  Even though people from different tribes now live in various parts of Kenya, the majority of tribe members live in the area they call their homeland, where the land has been handed down for generations. 

(While we might think that identifying people by tribe is ethnocentric and mildly pejorative, it's actually akin to saying that I am a Montanan or a Texan.  In the U.S. we primarily identify ourselves by where we were born even if our whole family doesn't live there.  Even though I've lived in California for 23 years, I always tell people that I come from Montana, where my family has deep roots going back to 1865.)

Today I learned about the Luyha tradition of naming their children. Emma Sisia Adolwa, our Just One Person Co-Founder and Director, is a member of the Luyha tribe. Emma's older brother and sister are twins, so her second name, "Sisia", means "one who is born after twins".

Her third name, "Adolwa", is her father-in-law's name and is very unique.  In Western Kenya, there is a superstition attached to a family who've had many children die as infants or toddlers. To trick the evil spirit who is responsible for the death of the previous children, the mother gives birth in a neighboring village and leaves the baby along the road.  Shortly after, someone from her village retrieves the newborn baby and brings it back to the mother's home. This makes the evil spirit believe that the baby is not the biological baby of the family, but an adopted child, thus protecting the health of the new baby. Emma's father-in-law was born under those circumstances.

Because of the naming tradition, when a Luyha learns a person's name, they are also learning import information about that person's birth.  There are hundreds of names with specific meanings in Luyha such as "one who was born at harvest", one who was born in the early morning", and "one who is born under a full moon".

Even though I don't know, I wonder if the name's meaning goes even deeper than simply implying the circumstances of a person's birth.  Perhaps each name also carries some sort of prediction about the child's future, like the belief that zodiac signs influence a person's personality or fortune.  For Mr. Adolwa, "one who was adopted",  it was the promise of a healthy and a long life.

Celebrating A Few Steps Forward for Girls in Kenya

11 girls convened for tea at the Just One Person office this week.  We are celebrating each girls success in passing the Kenyan Comprehensive Exam, which they took after graduation.

One of the highlights of the tea, for me at least, was having strawberry ice cream!  We bought it at a nearby supermarket and raced to the office on a motorbike to eat it before it melted.  It tasted so good, of course its made from really fresh cream and packed with calories...

Faith

The results of the Exam are used to determine 

where they can pursue further education and

which field they have qualified to study.  4 girls

have qualified for the University.  2 of the highest

scoring will qualify for government assistance. 

The other two can attend the University if they

can afford it.  

 

Razoha

The remaining seven can attend either junior
college or take classes that will qualify them for
junior college in the future.  Faith and Razoha
scored very high and it will be so gratifying to
follow their progress from this point forward.

One really revealing fact about how unique these 
results are is that only 9 or the 11 girls in JOP
have moms who graduated from high school.


Self help groups are an integral part of Kenyan society and have formalized procedures for their formation.  The guest speaker at the tea was a woman from the Social Services and Community Development Department who informed the girls about how they could come together and form their own group.  Once they have registered a group, they will be eligible for continuing counseling from the Department as they develop their projects and learn about entrepreneurship.  They'll also be able to take a small loan from the Government's Youth Fund that they can use to start their own project.

The girls were thrilled to learn about the opportunity and met shortly after the social worker left to decide about forming a group.  They voted unanimously to form a group which they named "Just One Person Pioneer Group".  These are the officers they elected to lead them.  They named three activities which they will begin with; bead making, braiding hair and the mushroom project.

Self help groups are taken very seriously here and I feel confident that all the girls will be active participants.  But more importantly they will be able to put into practice the skills they learned from the Just One Person life skills and entrepreneur classes they've attended the last three years.  They'll be challenged to work together as a group; to communicate openly, to follow the leadership of someone other than a teacher or parent, to allocate duties and do their part in making the group successful, to learn about running a business and record keeping and finally, managing their own finances and start saving.  This will be the ultimate test in how well JOP has prepared them to chart their own futures.

Sometimes it feels lonely

I don't feel much like writing today.  I just learned that my cat was hit by a car and died on Monday.  So, today I feel very far away.

Charlie was my daughter's "brought home from college" cat. We always called him Grey Kitty. He was born under her building and was the runt of the litter.  She was afraid he wouldn't find a home.  She knew we were soft hearted and would adopt him.

Grey Kitty was 13 and the last few years, he was having thyroid problems.  Twice each day, over his objections, we would rub a dose of thyroid medicine on his ear.  Ironically, the past few months, he had gained weight again was feeling perky and energetic again.

He liked hanging out with the cat across the street and coming home one night he didn't look both ways before crossing.  My husband buried him in our backyard.  Our family tradition is to remember our pets and the love they brought into our lives by planting a tree in our yard.

 I believe that all sentient beings come from star dust and return to star dust.  Through the goodness of our being, we contribute our spirit to ignite life again somewhere in the universe. 

So Grey Kitty, this is your new journey.  You will always live in my heart. 

Beside Every Successful Man, Stands a Successful Woman

This was the motto of the International Women Day's Baraza (celebration) that I attended at the village of Ikolomani.

The celebration was scheduled to start at 10:00 a.m., but didn't get underway until 12:00 African time.  Everyone here calls this "African time" because it refers to the loose interpretation of scheduled meeting times, which can be anywhere from the actual time up to three hours later.  In the villages in particular, life is so unpredictable that it is practically impossible to be on time.

The event finally kicked off when the honored women's group arrived.  They danced and sang as they made their way along the road, traveling from their village that is located several miles away. As they danced into the compound, the other women present, danced to meet them and a crazy melee of dancing ensued. I loved it, it was such a fun way to express my excitement and happiness for being with these women.  (Yes, I danced and let me tell you, white women can't dance in the African way....)
 

The singing and dancing was accompanied by a young guys' ragtag band consisting of a metal ring being knocked by a nail, a couple of handmade drums and a horn like the ones you hear at world cup soccer games.

The members of this women's group,  Mandeleyo ya Wanawake, is a group of widows, 75% of them are HIV positive.  You can see that they are primarily older women, so most likely they were infected by their husbands.  They sang about their experience of going to be tested for HIV so that they would know their status. Their courageous song encourages others to be brave and to be tested for HIV so that they'll also know their status.  While it's decreasing, there is still a very strong stigma attached to people who are HIV positive. Most people in the villages don't want to be seen going to the clinic be tested and very few people ever reveal the test results publicly.

The guest of honor was the District Commissioner, who treated with respect and honor.  Here's something I didn't quite get... to honor him, several of the older women, danced in front of him, shaking their booty his direction?  That somehow reminded me of Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders.

There were many(meaning 3 hours) of speeches and presentations conveying the hopes, dreams and achievements for women in Kenya. The District Commission introduced the chiefs in the area.  I think that the word "chief" means elected village leader in the African context and doesn't have the same connotation as it does to us.  All the male chiefs were dressed in full British style military apparel and carried a baton tucked under their left arm.  When they were introduced, they goose stepped forward and gave a crisp salute.  This young woman is the only female chief in the district, she is a measure of great success for Kenyan women.

The Kenyan government is keenly aware of the pressure on African countries to be able to report they have met the U.N. Millennium Development goals in 2015, so there is a  spotlight shining on those programs that empower women.  Women are coming together in solidarity and men are joining them. In fact, as you can see, several of the male village elders joined the event as well.

I'm really proud that Just One Person is already providing programs that are empowering girls in Kenya. As more and more opportunities become available, rural girls like those participating in Just One Person, will recognize their abilities and step in to the shoes of women leaders in their country. I hope I will be fortunate enough to join them again in celebrating many more successes.

Join Me for a Day In Kakamega, Kenya....

Nothing but net

Saturday night bath in a bucket

The neighbors

The "Hood"

My ride

The Just One Person  Headquarters

Mwanaidi sewing up a storm

Goin' home

In spite of the lack of rain, Just One Person is growing

Even global warming changes are being felt here in rural Kenya.  It has been hot, dry and dusty and now people are praying for rain so they can plant their crops.  There are a few wispy clouds today so maybe it's on its way.  I'm thinking good thoughts.

In spite of the drought, Just One Person is starting to bloom.  11 girls graduated from high school in June and have just learned their scores for the Kenya Comprehensive Exam that all Kenyan graduates take at the end of their 4th year.  6 of the 11 JOP graduates scored high enough to qualify to attend university.   Razoha, on the left, scored very well and is interested in studying biotechnology.  Those girls who did not qualify have an opportunity to attend a type of "junior college" where if they perform well, they can move on to earning a Bachelor's Degree.  I was looking at the course catalog for Masinde Muliro University, the school located here in Kakamega.  They have an extensive list of bachelor's degrees that students can earn including Education, Physics, Nursing, Engineering, etc.  But they also offer some  interesting degrees really relevant to globalization.  Like Renewable Energy and Biofuels, Agriculture and Biotechnology, Disaster Management and International Diplomacy, and Conflict Resolution and Humanitarian Assistance.  The course I'd really like to take is a 2 year degree in Ethics and Corruption studies.  Even though we don't like to admit it, Africa isn't the only place where corruption exists...

Emma Sisia, our Kenyan executive director is currently arranging internships for all of the graduates during this "gap year" before they can go on to school.  Mwanaidi is working with a university project that is developing mushroom farms in the community using a variety of mushroom species.  While she is receiving her training, we are building a mushroom growing hut near our office.  Emma has engaged a group of women who are experienced farmers to help run the project.  After recovering project costs, the proceeds from the sale of mushrooms will be used to support our core girls' empowerment programs for the 12 girls still in school.

Sylvia is participating in a project that grows spirulina bacteria.  The bacteria is used as a health supplement as well as in making soap and other products. Spirulina is a popular new technology in Kenya and there's a good market for the products.  I am not 100% sure how one grows bacteria, but I'm anxious to find out...

Emma is also assisting the 11 grads to form an official youth CBO(community based organization).  Once the group is registered with the provincial government, they will be eligible to take a small loan from the Women's Enterprise Fund and start their own project.  Having the girls work in small projects beforehand gives them the ideas and experience they'll need to decide as a group on what project they will develop.  This is such a great program for so many reasons..,, the girls have the valuable opportunity of working as a member of a team, they will learn about money management and practical entrepreneurial skills, and they will be earning small wages for their work, for the first time in their lives!

 The formation of the JOP Youth group embraces two of JOP core values; girls that have benefited from JOP programs are now giving back to the program in some small way.  In addition, profits from projects like this are a valuable starting point in reaching financial sustainability for future JOP programs.

P.S.  Here's a photo of a happy tree nursery customer.  She is standing by some of the 250 trees she purchased from JOP last year.