Saturday Afternoon at Magdaline's

Saturday, 5 August

The countryside in this part of Kenya is beautiful, but also somehow desolate. Magdaline lives a ten or so minute walk from Lavenda school, and life here is hard. Small farms, no irrigation, not enough water, no services that we might expect from our government - no telephone wires, no electricity, no running water, no paved roads off of the main tarmac road, no garbage pick-up, few schools . . . People here work hard, but maintain strong community ties and mostly help each other out.





These are threee of Magdaline and Joseph's grandchildren: Patience, whom I've known since 2004, Ryan, whom I met for the first time today, and Happiness, Patience's younger sister.


A wonderful early dinner that I didn't manage good photos of. The insulated serving bowls are very common here. In the white one is mokimo, basically a mix of potatoes and peas mashed together. To the left might be sukuma wiki, which is like collard greens, and out of the frame is rabbit stew.


Lovely fresh fruit for dessert. The green bananas are actually ripe.


Talking to Magdaline's son Paul. He has a terrific community water project that Bob and I have been involved with in a small way since about 2008. By the way, it desperately needs money. Anyone interested??


Behind the house is an above-ground water tank, supplied by gutters and downspouts. Central Province is semi-arid, and water management is imperative, though many families can't afford the investment in gutters and downspouts. They really suffer in the dry season and times of drought.



The grandkids with their grandfather, Magdaline's husband Joseph. He is a retired primary school English teacher, whose pupils consistently took first place in their district English exams.


This is Obama, a donkey that the family got in 2008. He's a real boon carrying water in barrels up from the river.


Here we are in the courtyard in front of the house - a cousin in the back with her baby, Magdaline, me, Joseph, Paul, and in the front Paul and Eunice's daughters Patience and Happiness, and Katherine's (she's working in Nairobi) son Ryan.


Eunice, on the left, took the photo with me, and I took this one.


We ran into Eunice's mom on our way home.


Eunice. She's primary school teacher, and just a wonderful, kind person.


Above is the top of a sisal tree, super goofy looking - they always remind me of Dr. Seuss foliage. Below is the base of the tree, looking like a small palm or the top of the world's most gigantic pineapple. Sisal is used in rope-making and basket weaving. One of the first blog photos was of Magdaline showing me how to turn the fibers in the sisal leaves into material to weave.





Live is hard! Above and below are women carrying firewood home in the late afternoon. The woman below is another of Magdaline's cousins. This work is terrible on so many levels. It's time-consuming; almost literally back-breaking (so many women from the area that I know have bad, stooped backs); can be dangerous because of the threat of rape (though that's low in this area); always falls to the woman, who also has to fetch water and do all of the cooking, laundry and child-care or her husband would be shamed; and has pretty thoroughly deforested most of the area.








Simon isn't here, but this is Magdlaine's son's football team. He and a couple of other young men started a football club for local unemplyed young men, to try to keep them off drugs and alcohol, and give them something to do.

Another good day!

Marafiki - Friends!

written Saturday, August 6

A terrific day full of visits with old friends. Magdaline and I had lunch with two Lavenda students I met in 2004, Jackson and Beatrice. Jackson has a temporary position at Treetops, and Beatrice is at Nairobi university now!






Then Magdaline and I headed to the site of Lavenda Springs Academy, which has new owners and management but is still called Lavenda. This is the part of the school that was K - 12 in 2004 when Julie and I first volunteered there and is once again serving the entire school, as there are only 76 students.


The dining hall, then and now.


Looking across to the old high school, which is only in use now if students want to visit the library. There aren't enough students to use the classrooms. Such a shame.


Magdaline, Mumbi, Beatrice (who was a secretary at the old Lavenda since 2007 and is still there) and Mama Elliot, a member of Magdaline's women's group whom I've known since 2004, walking up to the library building.




Mumbi is farming. Mama Elliot, Shiro, Mumbi, Beatrice, Mary (a new hire) and Magdaline on Mumbi's onion plot. Shiro's daughter Latifa is front row left.


Shiro and her family, and Mumbi, have moved into the newer Kivuli (orphan home) buildings. Here are Shiro and Latifa in their place. Unfortunately I forgot to take a picture of their wonderful daughter Maureen, who looks the same, but even prettier, smarter, and more grown up.


Mumbi's place. In a rather meta moment, I was in Kenya taking a picture of Mumbi holding a picture of my family taken in America.

So great to have seen Shiro and Mumbi again. They were my first friends in Kenya.

Internet. Arggh!

So, it's certainly amazing that I'm sitting in a mud hut with a thatched roof with an internet connection. But the blog entry I just wrote won't post because I evidently put in too many pictures without a strong enough signal. I'll sort it out tomorrow.

But having a connection was touch and go yesterday. I'd been without my 3G for some reason, and went to the Apple store in Nairobi yesterday. John, the guy working there, took out my chip, which wasn't working, and put his in. Instant connection. He then tried to get his chip out so I could go buy a new one, and the little door thingie wouldn't open! Ultimately, I bought his SIM card from him and he showed me how to top up my card on the internet, without needing to take out the chip. As soon as I get home, Apple store here I come.

Really though. I'm sitting here with my headlamp (no generator, broken) and all I can hear is insects. And maybe frogs. The pit latrine is a minute or so walk down along behind the cow stall on the edge of the vegetable garden. And I'm on the internet. Oh, and now a mosquito is buzzing in my ear. Off to find the repellent, and climb in bed under the mosquito net.




- and for my next life. . .

Reconnecting in Gatarakwa

Thursday, August 5






Magdaline had set up her usual well-organized meeting, having made reminder calls to all of the participants earlier this morning. I wanted to hear from the women I'd trained in sex ed peer education in 2008, see whether it had made an impact in their lives and whether they'd used their new knowledge in the community. Here is Magdaline setting up the expectations.








My daughter Julie's and my first trip to Kenya in 2004, Mumbi gave us one of our warmest welcomes. And is a fantastic cook! She continued to be a good friend to all of us. Here she and I are catching up.








On the right is Mary, a new group member who does a lot of health and HIV education. She discloses her positive status and her story as part of her outreach, so I'm not breaching confidentiality by saying that she is HIV+. As you can see she looks fantastic, was diagnosed in 2005, and uses her story to help empower people who are afraid of her diagnosis.

The drought is not as devastating in this part of Kenya as in many other parts of East Africa, but looking at the ribs on this cow (it was grazing outside the door of the church where we met) you can see that the animals are suffering.







The old group. Eunice, Magdaline, Beatrice, another Eunice, Jane, Joyce, Mary, and in the front row Peris and Murugi, Eunice (no. 2's) daughter.






I heard a lot of stories, most very positive. They are encouraging community members to be tested, much of it by example. Magdaline and a friend of hers (both around my age, nearing 60), were tested and tell people about it. "If I, a grandmother, can get tested and not feel ashamed, so can you."

Two of the women, Joyce and Jane, told stories of visiting HIV+ acquaintances in their homes, in part to show that they weren't afraid, that community members can continue socializing with HIV+ friend and relatives without fear. Joyce also told of encouraging HIV testing at a school, with bad consequences. The school counselor wasn't good and some of the girls who tested positive came screaming and crying out of the session. Joyce, a trained counselor herself, ended up making repeat visits to the girls to help them deal with the realities.

It's winter here, probably in the low 60s inside the church, so you can see from the photo that August at the equator is not necessarily the weather pattern you assume.

A good day.

First Full Day in Kenya!

So what fun is a day when I don't embarrass myself, right? Today started out great, seeing my friend (and boss) Rose Ayuma Moon for breakfast at my hotel. She left me in the capable hands of a driver we know, John. He stayed with me while I got my mobile phone and a microsim card for my iPad sorted, and then I told him I needed a bathroom before we started our drive to Nyeri. He took me to a public pay toilet, which was itself an adventure. The man at the desk wanted 5 shillings (about 7 cents), for which he handed me 4 squares of toilet paper. I told him I wasn't that confident, and offered 15 shillings for triple the paper. My family is reading this and asking themselves where my ever-present "ladies room" (not what I actually call it) bag was. Of course I'd left it in the car, or I would have been amply supplied with TP, hand wash, and wipes.

I entered the line of women in a room filled with large plastic barrels of water. Their reason appeared when the first woman to exit a stall reached into the nearest open barrel, took out a pitcher, and went back into the stall and poured water into the hole. The stalls had perfectly nice squat toilets, tiled, with water cisterns and pull chains above that obviously had no water in them.

The women had fallen silent when I walked in. I have a feeling that white women in town simply do what I would have done if John hadn't taken me to the public restroom, and walk into the nearest nice-looking hotel. Kenyan women can't easily do that because security guards often won't let them in if they can't prove they have a reservation. Plus, purchasing extra toilet paper was evidently an oddity. So, anyway, I emerge, flush by pouring a pitcher of water down the hole, and notice that everyone is looking at me. Figuring that they were admiring my willingness to adopt Kenyan ways, I started to walk proudly out of the restroom. Until one of the women stopped me and yanked my skirt out of my underpants, where I had tucked it neatly into the back. Thanking her graciously, I fled.

Traffic was awful, but three hours later we were in Nyeri. Magdaline and I had a great time catching up about our families, and a good meeting about the sanitary pad-making workshop she attended last week. Here she's showing me the layers for one of the pieces.



Tomorow we meet with about ten women whom I trained to teach sex ed in 2008. It will be fun to see them and catch up, and Magdaline and I are going to interview them about how they do or don't use their knowledge, and listen to stories. When it comes to sex ed in the field (literally in the field sometimes here) there are always stories.

Layover in London; or: How technology makes me want to punch myself in the face

So, layover in London, which "saved" me $500. It was all worth it because I was able to tuck in a visit with two friends from the years we lived here.

But really? My lovely new camera stopped dead on Oxford St. Replaced it with the identical camera. Teeeeeeny silver lining - the UK plug works in Kenya without an adaptor. Of course, I HAVE an adaptor for my dead camera.

Then on to the Apple store on Regent St. for the external keyboard that I talked myself out of at home. Bluetooth technology my ass. Enabled the bluetooth on my iPad, and it still doesn't want to recognize the external. Suggestions (of a helpful and positive nature) welcome.

And THEN the BA site wouldn't let me check in online last night. What gives with me and all things technological lately? So I stumbled blearily over to the terminal at five this morning to try to score an aisle seat. Success! Though I do have to stagger back with 5 pieces of checked luggage to finish the process.

Later that same morning . . . Kadijah seeing me off at Heathrow. Yes, both carts are mine. Don't judge!

Some selected photos from past trips to Kenya

Here's a small selection from the thousands of photos I have from prior trips.  You can see why I'm excited to leave on Sunday - Kenya is a wonderful place, and I love teaching there!

teaching a women's group in the Kakamega rainforest (2008)

a boda boda driver group (bicycle taxi drivers) Joyce and I taught (2008)

Florence in the February 2009 training

we walk to many of our "gigs" (Rosemary, Joyce, Beatrice, Eunice - 2008)

teaching a Baptist group after church (2008)

Suzy on a boda boda

with a focus group in 2007

Rose and Josephine in the old library

Linda, who arrived at Vumilia with kwashiorkor (big belly form of malnutrition)

the girls! (orphans at Vumilia)

Florence teaching at Bukhaywa Secondary

the kids at Shamberere Secondary reading the sex ed materials

Shamberere kids doing a role play they wrote

teaching reproductive anatomy

no, you CAN'T get HIV from touching someone!

sugarcane, and sugarcane workers

the dirt road to the West Kenya sugarcane factory that runs past Vumilia

the Ember group, which Joyce and I trained in November 2009

Planning progress

Great forward progress on the Kenya planning front.  My farmer friend, Magdaline Wangeci, will be able to attend the sanitary towel training in Nyeri before I get there, and Rose will meet me at my hotel the morning of the 3rd for a visit, and has arranged a driver take me to Nyeri.

This is Magdaline showing me how to make a woven basket, starting with sisal leaves which she is turning into "thread" by splitting the fibers and rolling them along her leg.

This video was made by Jessy at the now-closed Lavenda Springs Academy, about a 10 minute walk from Magdaline's farm.  It's how I got involved in Kenya in 2004.



Some of the students still live in the area and I'm hoping to reconnect with a few, along with some local teachers.

Connections!

Great news from the doctor - lungs are completely clear, and the fatigue and lightheadedness from the antibiotic should wear off in the next couple of days.  Just in time!

Made some terrific connections today.  A friend, Ed Sulzberger from African Children's Haven, is introducing me to a woman who runs a primary school in the Mathare slum in Nairobi - we may be able to do some work together.  And a friend of a friend is introducing me to a Kenyan entrepreneur in Kisumu who works with disadvantaged youth, does HIV education and distributes sanitary pads.  I'll be able to connect him with the woman who is running the sanitary pad project I'll be learning about while I'm there.

A good day's work on the phone.  Tomorrow I'll have the energy to tackle my training manual edits.

Baby steps.  Blogging is evidently not for the faint of heart.  Or the lazy and complacent.  Or something.

Beginning in the Middle

Well, I'm recovering from pneumonia and leaving for Kenya in 11 days.  I've wanted to blog for a while, and am finally getting started.  How I came to train Kenyan farmers to teach sex ed will unfold, I guess, as I figure all of this out.  In the meantime, here's the organization I train for:

Vumilia CBO

Here's my boss, Rose Ayuma Moon: (yes, she is TOO with Ewan McGregor, who funded 6 motorbikes for Vumilia!!)



Here's Rose's country place, where I stay when I work in Kabras:

Okay, I've figured out photos and links.  Enough for my first foray.  Stay tuned!