Scenes of Kenya

One of the things I love most about Kenya is that everywhere I go, there are people.  On the other hand, as an American, one of the hardest things about Kenya is that there are people and noise everywhere I go.  But, when I get home to Chico, I miss the hustle and bustle and feel kind of isolated, especially in the winter. Have you noticed?  There aren't many people outside their houses during the winter.  And because we rarely walk, our daily contact with a people is diminished.  Enclosed in a car, we miss being intimately connected to our surroundings.

Here are some of the things I see on my daily walk to town;  women doing laundry, kiosks constructed from sticks and boards selling vegetables, goats tethered anywhere there is something green to eat, hundreds of guys on boda bodas (bicycle taxis) waiting to carry a passenger, people walking and carrying a plastic bag, thousands of discarded plastic bags, women carrying bundles on their heads, and every few yards, racks and piles of used clothing. 

The used clothing business is booming here thanks to the Salvation Army and other thrift stores in the U.S. and Europe.  Did you know that the clothing we donate and is only slightly worn is sorted out from our contributions and sold in huge bales to a middleman?  The middleman then ships containers of the used clothing to Africa where vendors buy them at a discounted price and turn around and sell them to Africans.  Jeans sell for about $5, shirts at $2 and shoes at $3.  Most people just can't afford new clothing, nor can they afford to buy more than one or two items of clothing that they wear until it is worn out. 

However....because cable TV has come to Kenya, girls are increasinly becoming more aware of fashion trends. Girls whose families are at a higher income level wear western fashions like bling jeans and tights with tunics.  I've even seen some of those shoes that zip up the back!

But just a couple of miles out of town, in the villages, women still dress in traditional clothing and wear only skirts, lesos and headscarves.   It's such a wild contrast that when I go to the villages, I feel like I'm traveling back in time. City mouse and Country mouse; it exists everywhere.

Barney comes to Kenya and Cindy dances up a storm

 Progress continues to steal (or steamroll) into Kakamega.  Barney has arrived.  The family I live with, who are better off than most, now have cable TV.  I’m in my room listening to “I’m a Little Teapot.” Yesterday it was reruns of Hawaii Five O.   It seems weirdly incongruous to my image of Africa. 

I also overhead Chris Mathews on MSNBC and caught up on the Hillary Clinton hearing, the conspiracy theorists and the newest fiscal cliff mess.  Too bad, I was really looking forward to a whole month of not hearing about the problems in the U.S.  Every time I come to Kenya, I’m reminded again how our problems are so inconsequential compared to the problems the people living in the villages face.  It's a never ending struggle to make just enough money for food the means for educating their children.  

 

  Cindy finished her visit with a presentation on reproductive health to a group of women and young mothers.  As you can see, the women really studied the pictures in the handouts Cindy provided. While most of the women know these things on a basic level, to see it explained through illustrations was eye opening.  Discussion about sex between mother and daughter is not common, so young girls rely on rumor and myth.    Unfortunately, they also rely on customs that have been accepted for generations…men refuse to use condoms and any resistance is met with domestic violence.  Therefore large families and the spread of HIV is a self-perpetuating cycle. The Kenyan government is currently promoting “family planning” but it is a tough sell.   

 

As Emma explained it; for women, who virtually have nothing, children are their most valuable asset. 

In 2011, the Chinese came into Kenya and are investing in and improving the country’s infrastructure.  They’ve brought lots of massive equipment and are constructing new major roads everywhere.  It’s a huge contrast to the manual labor I saw a few years ago where men and women were spreading gravel on the road by hand. Not surprisingly, the Chinese are the administration and supervisors; the Kenyans are the laborers. The Kenyans are extremely happy about the roads, but they are not happy that there are so many Chinese living here.  They are suspicious of their motives. I would guess they are looking to expand their exports to Kenya, most manufactured products already come from China.

Visitors to Kenya and Just One Person

As always, can't believe I'm back in Kakamega, Kenya again.  This is the 8th year I've come and it's starting to feel like home.

Cindy with a rain forest butterfly at the Kakamega Butterfly Farm

This year, Cindy Green, a registered nurse from Chico came with me to see what's up with Just One Person, to learn about Kenya and to meet some of the wonderful people here.  We've kept Cindy busy from morning till night, but she's enjoyed every minute and fallen in love with Kenya like so many people who visit do.  It's a challenge to come to Kenya with all the inconveniences, the crazy bumpy roads and seeing the poverty level, but the courage and positive attitude that people maintain here it awesome to experience.  When I'm here, I always stop and reflect on how lucky I am to, merely by chance,  live in such an affluent country.  I always come home with a sense of gratitude for all those things that make my life easy.

Kicking back while she eats...resting her back foot.

There's a long list of things that Cindy and I've seen and experienced during the last week.  After doing some sightseeing in Nairobi, including the elephant nursery, we took an 9 hour bus ride to Kakamega so Cindy could see the countryside and diversity of geography in Western Kenya.  Contrary to most people's image of Kenya, Western Kenya is mountainous, lush and abundant with growing crops.  We passed by tea plantations, plots growing corn everywhere there is a small space and the Rift Valley.  Kakamega receives a lot of rain and is located at about 5,000 feet.  It never really gets cold here, but the nights do cool off and are a relief from the heat.

One of the highlights in Kakamega has been visiting a Children's Health clinic located in rural Kenya and operated by a wonderful Swiss couple.  With funding from private foundations from Switzerland and Spain, they've built a clinic that treats children who suffer from severe malnutrition and infections resulting from jigger worms burrowing into their feet.  The children aren't malnourished because they don't have food, but rather they don't have nutritious enough food and because the women have babies often and close together so babies aren't breastfed for long enough.  The basic diet for rural families is black tea and ugali, which is a doughy dumpling made from corn flour and water.  It's very filling, but doesn't provide the protein children need for grow healthy.  The toll it takes on their bodies is evident...this little boy, once he had a full stomach, fell asleep immediately.  The children that are treated usually return to their families after about 2 weeks and then community health workers work with the moms to educate them and help them to provide more nutritious food.  That's easier said than done because so many household don't have ways to make even the $2 a day that they need to buy an egg or some vegetables.

On a brighter note, we also visited Shibuha School where Sylvia and Marion, two of our newest Just One Person participants are attending school.  They're sophomores this year and are very serous about taking advantage of JOP programs and doing well in school.  We're proud to report that of the 25 pioneers of JOP, 15 of them are currently attending colleges or universities. All of our JOP girls come from very poor homes. With this further education, these girls will not only be able to escape poverty themselves, but will also help their families to eat and go to school. 

Progress and change are slow in a program like Just One Person where eating always takes priority over education.  But girls who have participated in JOP will teach their daughters, neighbors and granddaughters and over time, many lives will be changed.  That's what keeps us motivated....knowing that by helping a small number of girls, the cumulative effect will create a lasting, sustainable change in many people's lives.

Exactly What is Sustainable Community Development?

I have a personal mission.  To educate people in the U.S and in the western world about the difference between charity and sustainable community development.

So here I am on my soapbox.

There is a place and time for charity... like Haiti after the earthquake.  Charity is  temporary assistance for people who've lived through a natural disaster and need immediate funds for food, shelter and medical needs.  In the chaos following a natural disaster, people don;t have access to resources and are simply unable to organize and take action on their own.  

But charity is a temporary solution.  What must come next are programs that empower people, are locally operated and find creative solutions to become financially stable.

Initially funding for most U.S. non profits working in developing countries comes from two main sources...grants and individual contributions.  But many profits fail when relying totally on donor funds.   During the economic downturn resulting from the banking disaster in the U.S., donations dropped dramatically and scores of non profits in the U.S. were forced to close their doors.

Ideally, as an international non profit program grows and matures,  funding should include a greater percentage generated by local fundraising efforts and income generating activities associated with the programs.  This only happens if the non profit has a strong board of directors "in country" who are committed to the success of the program and want the program to eventually be locally "owned and operated."

This is called "sustainable community development."

Based on my strong belief in the concept of sustainable community development, Just One Person started working toward the goal of financial sustainability and local ownership right from the beginning.  

Initially, we relied on U.S. donor funding and we worked hard to develop a program for girls that is regarded as effective and valuable by our stakeholders....schools, parents, governmental agencies and employers.  Once we established and operated our program for two years, we registered in Kenya as an NGO and we invited several key members of the community to join the Board of Directors.  Our Board members all work in areas concerned with youth development and as a result, have a wide range of contacts in agencies and other non profits that share our mission and are are potential partners in achieving our goals.

The next step continues to be the most challenging but it's very crucial to perpetuating our programs. We launched our sustainable income generating activities.  We're fortunate that our executive director is an experienced entrepreneur.  We currently have several small businesses in the start up phase...some which generate small funds now, but several that will take more time to become profitable.  Among those businesses we've started are poultry raising, an apiary, mushroom production and manufacturing charcoal briquettes.  In addition, we employ several women to produce products that I sell in the U.S.

It's been slow going...but thanks to our committed and involved executive director and the support of our local Board, our goal is to reach 80% sustainability within the next three years.

Only by engaging the community and developing financially sustainability, will Just One Person be able to extend our outreach to future generations of girls who will be prepared to contribute to the social and economic well being of Kenya.

New Friends In Kenya.

This is Emma, our Just One Person executive director, her mother and her two aunts at her mother’s home in the village.  As you can see, Mama Emma lives in a traditional mud walled house on a small piece of land called a “shamba  The kitchen is attached to one end of the house and is split into two parts, the cooking area and the cow’s stall.  The cow lives inside so that it is protected from theft from neighbors.  The cow, “Mama Junior”, definitely noticed my white skin. While she stared at me intently, I could see the wondering look in her eye, trying to make sense of this alien being.  Emma’s mother and her sister grow maize in the backyard and some grass for the cow. Emma’s father and one brother are buried in the front yard.

While we were served chapatis and chai, a mentally ill woman appeared in the open front door.  She was only half dressed and as thin as a rail.  The scoop is that her whole family suffers from mental illness and it’s believed that the family must have committed a grievous wrongdoing to be suffering from this illness.  Mama Emma was very put out by the interruption to our visit and she somewhat unwillingly gave the woman some chapati and chai while insisting the visitor stay seated outside the door.  Later I found out that this same woman makes the rounds of the neighborhood every day for her meals and she had already visited the house earlier in the morning for breakfast, so today she taking advantage of my visit to double dip.  

The village was far off the beaten path in a place I had never visited before.  Driving through the countryside, I discovered that in this part of Kenya, time has been suspended.  People don’t adhere to a schedule that is dictated by time.  They eat when hungry and sleep when it’s dark. They get as much work done as possible during daylight hours, knowing that whatever else needs to done, will be done tomorrow or the next day.  People walk long distances to visit neighbors or relatives at no pre-arranged time, and are welcomed when they show up at the door. The pace of life to me as a westerner felt very surreal.

I wonder if it would be possible to learn to live with time suspended after having been governed by schedules since I was a baby…naptime, dinnertime, bedtime, time to go to school, and time to go to work.  Probably not, I think that probably my identity is too closely tied to the value of adhering to a socially acceptable schedule. 

My 2012 Africa Reading List

Kakamega is about 20 miles north of the equator and that means that every 24 hours there is 12 hours of day and 12 hours of night.  There's not a lot to do after dark, so I crawl into bed, under my mosquito net, and read and read and read.  Thank God for the Kindle.  In the old days, most of the weight in my suitcases was from the books I brought.  Here's some of what I''ve read so far...with my starred reviews

Patient Zero **                 A Framework for Understanding Poverty***
The Lock Artist***           Creepiosity*
Growing Up Amish**     1222***
                                    Defending Jacob****

Does anyone have any good suggestions?

Take a trip to town with me in Kakamega

I'm settled into my small room at my host's house, Kelly Nelima.  The cat has come to lie on my bed to keep me company today. I like to think she remembers me from the other years (this is the 4th year I've stayed at Kelly's) but I think she just likes a soft bed and some attention. It is very nice to have animal company.  I'm sitting and having a cup of coffee, made from instant Starbucks which I always bring with me.  There is a small breeze so it's nice and cool with the windows open.  For the second year in a row,  it has been very hot and dry here but they are expecting rain soon.  I'm not sure the expectation is tied to a weather forecast, which seems unlikely, but more to a positive attitude in hopes of influencing the elements.

Kakamega is growing by leaps and bounds, literally.  There must be 4 or 5 new 4 story buildings.  Apparently several major universities have opened branches here. So in addition to the students at the local university,  Masinde Muliro,  there are students from all over the country taking classes at these local branches.  Also, several new banks have opened.  It occurred to me yesterday when I was at the bank with Emma, our Just One Person executive director, why credit is so important in developing countries.  People living in poverty have access to only a small amount of money at a time. They can't really save because there is a cultural tradition of giving money to relatives or other people when they ask. A bank  loan fills the gap when people need to pay for things like school tuition or new business inventory.  Then with the small money they make each day, they are able to pay the loan back over time. 

 

The banks aggressive loan marketing has practically replaced the micro finance institutions in town.  The largest micro finance institution here, K-REP has closed it doors after 10 years because they weren't able to create enough profits to support their business and the funding from their big donor ran out.  I think one of the major reasons for micro finance failures is that, compared to banks, the cost associated with administering MFI loans is high.  A micro finance officer must approve the loans, provide business training, and pursue collections by attending borrower meetings each week.  The bank solves this problem by being an uninvolved third party.

The newest thing in transportation in Kakamega is the motorbike, or piki piki. 

 

 Just an aside, it is funny that almost all of the modes of transportation in Kenya have names that include 2 identical words....piki piki, boda boda(bicycle that carries people on a seat on the back) and the tuk tuk(a three wheel scooter with a cab).  My guess is that the words approximate the sounds the vehicles make...

There are hundreds of guys with motorbikes in this small town.  They buy them using a bank loan that's secured by the motorbike.  I don't see how they are able to pay back the loan.  With so much competition, they take only a few passengers each day.  It would be interesting to know how many are surrendered to the bank when the loan is defaulted on.  My experience tells me that with so many banks in the loan business,  the piki piki owners do what many people do in such a situation.  They pay off the first loan by taking a new loan from a different bank, therefore deferring the payments over a longer period of time and racking up more interest expense.  The banks are making a pretty good profit from this scheme.

Each and every year that I come to Kakamega,  I have a better understanding of the intertwined relationship between poverty, economics and Kenyan cultural traditions.  I also am beginning to understand the Kenyans perspective on westerners and money.  Just like us, the only thing most people know about each other's countries is what they see on TV.  We think there are lions and snakes lurking outside of people's houses; the Kenyans think that westerners all live in very big houses and have an ATM account that never runs out of money.  Until we experience one another's cultures, those beliefs will undoubtedly persist.

See what we did during this year's 2012 Cultural Exchange.

This year four women from Chico accompanied me to Kenya in March to take a safari and visit the Just One Person program in Kakamega.

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.

A Death in Kenya

Juliet Karmari's mother died unexpectedly last week in Ivola, a small village near Kakamega.  Her dad has been terminally ill, so it's really unfortunate that her mom passed away.  Juliet has been a member of our Just One Person family for the last 3 years and graduated from Kamoisi High School in December 2010.


During the last 5 years,  I've learned that death is a constant companion in most African countries.  In Kenya, the "average life span" is about 60.  But so many people die of common things before then....diabetes, childbirth, malaria, AIDS, malnutrition, and tuberculosis just to name a few.

Personally, at age 56, I've attended perhaps 5 funerals.  But for people living in Kenya, it is common to attend 5 funerals a month. It's evident how frequent death is when you see coffins displayed for sale along the roads. 

Most of the funeral activities take place at the family's house.  Usually, the deceased person is displayed in a coffin in the family's main room.  Relatives from all over, neighbors, friends and acquaintances come to visit and honor the deceased days before the funeral takes place.

A couple of years ago, I attended a visitation with a group of women who were the widow's friends.  The women brought sympathy cards and, when their turn came, the group sang several songs to console the woman.  For me, one of the most unexpected events during the visit was that each and every person who came gave a monetary donation to the deceased person's family. 

Tradition in Kenya dictates that the family provide lodging and food to all visitors who travel to attend the funeral.  As you can imagine, this is a difficult task for a family who is grieving, let alone an impossible financial responsibility. As a consequence, no matter how poor and short on cash, each visitor gives some amount of money. In essence, with so many funerals taking place, there is a kind of pot of funds that moves from one family to another as deaths occur.

While the event was sorrowful,  I saw that funeral customs are another powerful example of the commitment to being part of a community that makes life feel rich in rural Kenya, even though people have few material possessions.

Thanks to our donors, we were able to be a small part of that community by contributing  to the funeral fund for Juliet and her family.