Hello all! I would like to let everyone know that I finally remembered to bring my notebook to the computer, and I can finally give everyone that summation of donations that I promised like 2 weeks ago! Before I state the facts, I would like to share with everyone this quote, from a book I read while on the beach in Zanzibar, that pretty much summed up my feelings during the most aggravating of moments at the camp. However aggravating, it was one of the biggest learning experiences of my life.
From A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush, by Eric Newby (his recount of a trek into Nuristan, circa 1950)
"Mustering this sad, mutinous little force, I drove them before me up the Linar Groge, cursing the lot of them. It was not difficult for me to muster up a rage at this moment. All of a sudden I felt that revulsion against an alien way of life that anyone who travels in remote places experiences from time to time. I longed for clean clothes, the company of people who meant what they said, and did it. I longed for a hot bath and a drink. "
Total Donations: $925
$77 Tree Planting - Each family/tent received 2 trees, 5 different types amongst 154 trees
$50 Shosho Basket Group start-up for supplies
$87 Nursery School
- Blackboard, Chalk, Erasers, Teaching materials/books, Charts
$14 Covered Samuel, Camp Chairman's family's hospital bills for his wife and baby (had malaria and diarrhoea, respectively)
$13 Supplies for Welcome Sign for camp (plywood and paint)
$530 Construction materials and labor for Community Center (two room, 9 foot by 18 foot space with two access doors and one window)
$135 Construction materials for miscellaneous chairs, desk, and shelves for Community Center
$15 Bank international withdrawal fees, transportation to get supplies
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!! Pictures to come one week from today!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Thursday, March 18, 2010
once constantinople.
Now sitting in the chilly internet cafe attached to our hostel in Istanbul, it's hard to believe that just a few days ago I was sweating myself silly in Zanzibar. Istanbul has the crisp air of spring, a beautiful city that seems a world away from Kenya. Modernity and cultural beauty are welcome, but not without the perspective and insight that our trip to Kenya brought.
Zanzibar in a nutshell: Hot. Beautiful. Touristy.
We stayed two nights in Stone Town, aka Zanzibar Town, which was both beautiful and exhausting. Roaming the spaghetti bowl of streets during the day, we encountered the Zanzibari Door- an intricately carved massive piece of woodwork that the island is known for- and cooled our bodies in the warm waters of the Indian Ocean. It was really really hot in Zanzibar. Really hot. Like 90 degrees with 75% humidity hot. Not being a huge fan of hot weather, I appreciated it, as it came with an ocean breeze. However, night was a different story. Electricity in Zanzibar had not been working for three months. Evidently installed by the French in 1960, the Tanzanian government is waiting for the French (or some other country) to repair it. The Pyramid Hotel, a gorgeous historic hotel with authentic Zanzibari Beds (big, canopy beds with paintings on them) was our home for two nights. However, once the generator stopped (at approximately 11pm every night) and it felt as though we were swimming in a waterbed of our own sweat, Ben and I would resign ourselves to the roof, where we slept on rope benches. Later on we would meet people with similar Stone Town stories of sleepless nights- but evidently no one but us thought of sleeping on the roof!
We then made our way up to the north coast of the island, the area known for the best beaches...pretty much the best beaches in the world. And that they were! Though we arrived at the beginning of the windy season, and the crystal clear water wasn't as still as it sometimes is, it was fantastic. I didn't wear shoes for an entire week. In fact, when we went back to Nairobi, I found myself taking off my sandals and thinking I could just walk around. Unfortunately, the city isn't as conducive for that as sandy beaches. We stayed in Kendwa, the smaller, more homey of the two northern beaches (other being horrendously over-resort-ridden Nungwi). For 6 days we pretty much sat on the beach, played in the water, and ate delicious Swahili seafood curries. The hotel we randomly picked happened to be awesome, as it was the cheapest, and had the most delicious food. Our bungalow was about 100 yards back from the water, making it amazingly simple to be entirely lazy. Only one day did I walk up the beach at low tide to the town of Nungwi, and once was enough. I realized that if you have enough money, you can stay somewhere big and ugly, where everything is provided for you. Our second to last day we went snorkelling in the Mnemba Atoll- a huge coral reef surrounding the private island of Mnemba off the coast of Zanzibar. My first snorkelling experience, it took me a while to get used to breathing through a tube, as probably my biggest fear of dying is by drowning. We went out twice, and for the first hour and a half I think I was hyperventilating the entire time. Woops! The second time we went out I was much better though, maybe my body finally believed that I was fine. Though I would love to scuba dive sometime, I think I might have a mild heart attack if I do. The reef itself was amazing- an underwater landscape like none I have ever seen before, with exorbitant amounts of multicoloured fish, sea stars, sea cucumbers, anemones. I mean, Nemo and Dorie were poppin' up everywhere.
After Zanzibar there was a really unattractive couple of days of travel- an overnight ferry and two awful bus rides- wherein we decided that flying straight to Zanzibar is not merely a quicker option, but probably cheaper. Lesson learned. Alas, we did get to see Mt. Kilimanjaro, which was quite large and in-charge, as it is the tallest mountain in Africa! That being said, I can check it off the list and say that climbing it appears to be not very difficult, but that is sheerly from a perspective of looking at it from my hotel window in Moshi, Tanzania. Back in Nairobi, we stayed at the Milimani Backpackers Hostel (our new and only favorite place to stay in Nairobi) for a night before departing for Turkey. We got to Nairobi on the night of the 14th, leaving the 15th open for me to go back to the IDP camp to visit! Though I was sick of sitting on buses, I was super excited to see what had been going on in the weeks we had been in Tanzania, so I got up early the next morning, left Ben in bed, and walked to downtown Nairobi to catch a matatu to Gilgil.
I headed straight for the camp, and was greeted almost immediately by Nova (the preschool teacher), who heard I was coming back on the 15th. I'm pretty sure she heard the chorus of ~how are you?~ upon my entering the camp, and ran out of the school house to greet me. Such a sweet, motivated woman, she invited me for lunch at her tent. Unfortunately, I told her I would only be staying for a couple of hours and had a lot of people to talk to! Soon thereafter, Dan found me to show me the newly purchased furniture for his house that Ben funded, and he, Francis, and Daniel (the men who helped build the house) all posed for photos in the new sweet pad. I then found Secretary John and Chairman Samuel, and they showed me all the recent goings-on of camp. The community center was built, and in one day! The two room structure has a 9' x 12' meeting space with a window, and a 6' x 9' storage space for grains, a food bank, and other miscellaneous community items that need to be locked up. Through the generous collection of my mother, I had received another $100 in the past week, so I passed that along to him for the construction of a table, chairs, and shelves for the storage room. The Kenyan Red Cross was in the process of delivering new tarps for each tent (to cover the holey, decrepit tent roofs) while I was there, which was nice to see, however small a donation. Robin's donations from family were put to excellent use in the construction of water piping and a water kiosk at the camp! Though the residents still have to pay for water, it is extremely cheap, and much closer than any other water that is available. Unfortunately, a pipe on the mountain broke three days before I was there, and no one in the area had water at all! Alas, all new projects have trial periods. It was fixed in the midst of me being there, and I got to experience the mad rush for water at the new kiosk!
I want to take this opportunity to thank each and every one of you that donated, as in total I raised around $925!!!! That is stupendous! I know that I said I would post exact numbers of donations to specific projects, but I forgot my notebook again. That will be done in the next week though, for sure. Getting such an amazing response from friends and family was very encouraging, and you can be sure that each dollar went into creating a more sustainable life for the residents of the Ebenezer IDP camp. Our main goal while there was to work with the residents of the camp and teach them all of the knowledge that we held (and each of us had something different to offer), which is something that doesn't have a price tag. We wanted to encourage them to again lead their lives for themselves, not in wait for foreign or domestic donors for aid. Every dollar that was donated went to the start up of a project that will keep giving- whether it be the community center providing space for the teenage girls' bracelet making group, or the tree seedlings that will grow to provide shade, firewood, and food for every member of the community.
Thank you all for reading my blog also! Even when you're abroad, and experiencing tons of new things every day, you still want to hear from people back home, and I feel like this time even more people read than when I was in Nepal! I loved it. I'm not done yet though, so if you're in for hearing more of my ramblings while in Istanbul for the next three weeks... stay tuned!
Zanzibar in a nutshell: Hot. Beautiful. Touristy.
We stayed two nights in Stone Town, aka Zanzibar Town, which was both beautiful and exhausting. Roaming the spaghetti bowl of streets during the day, we encountered the Zanzibari Door- an intricately carved massive piece of woodwork that the island is known for- and cooled our bodies in the warm waters of the Indian Ocean. It was really really hot in Zanzibar. Really hot. Like 90 degrees with 75% humidity hot. Not being a huge fan of hot weather, I appreciated it, as it came with an ocean breeze. However, night was a different story. Electricity in Zanzibar had not been working for three months. Evidently installed by the French in 1960, the Tanzanian government is waiting for the French (or some other country) to repair it. The Pyramid Hotel, a gorgeous historic hotel with authentic Zanzibari Beds (big, canopy beds with paintings on them) was our home for two nights. However, once the generator stopped (at approximately 11pm every night) and it felt as though we were swimming in a waterbed of our own sweat, Ben and I would resign ourselves to the roof, where we slept on rope benches. Later on we would meet people with similar Stone Town stories of sleepless nights- but evidently no one but us thought of sleeping on the roof!
We then made our way up to the north coast of the island, the area known for the best beaches...pretty much the best beaches in the world. And that they were! Though we arrived at the beginning of the windy season, and the crystal clear water wasn't as still as it sometimes is, it was fantastic. I didn't wear shoes for an entire week. In fact, when we went back to Nairobi, I found myself taking off my sandals and thinking I could just walk around. Unfortunately, the city isn't as conducive for that as sandy beaches. We stayed in Kendwa, the smaller, more homey of the two northern beaches (other being horrendously over-resort-ridden Nungwi). For 6 days we pretty much sat on the beach, played in the water, and ate delicious Swahili seafood curries. The hotel we randomly picked happened to be awesome, as it was the cheapest, and had the most delicious food. Our bungalow was about 100 yards back from the water, making it amazingly simple to be entirely lazy. Only one day did I walk up the beach at low tide to the town of Nungwi, and once was enough. I realized that if you have enough money, you can stay somewhere big and ugly, where everything is provided for you. Our second to last day we went snorkelling in the Mnemba Atoll- a huge coral reef surrounding the private island of Mnemba off the coast of Zanzibar. My first snorkelling experience, it took me a while to get used to breathing through a tube, as probably my biggest fear of dying is by drowning. We went out twice, and for the first hour and a half I think I was hyperventilating the entire time. Woops! The second time we went out I was much better though, maybe my body finally believed that I was fine. Though I would love to scuba dive sometime, I think I might have a mild heart attack if I do. The reef itself was amazing- an underwater landscape like none I have ever seen before, with exorbitant amounts of multicoloured fish, sea stars, sea cucumbers, anemones. I mean, Nemo and Dorie were poppin' up everywhere.
After Zanzibar there was a really unattractive couple of days of travel- an overnight ferry and two awful bus rides- wherein we decided that flying straight to Zanzibar is not merely a quicker option, but probably cheaper. Lesson learned. Alas, we did get to see Mt. Kilimanjaro, which was quite large and in-charge, as it is the tallest mountain in Africa! That being said, I can check it off the list and say that climbing it appears to be not very difficult, but that is sheerly from a perspective of looking at it from my hotel window in Moshi, Tanzania. Back in Nairobi, we stayed at the Milimani Backpackers Hostel (our new and only favorite place to stay in Nairobi) for a night before departing for Turkey. We got to Nairobi on the night of the 14th, leaving the 15th open for me to go back to the IDP camp to visit! Though I was sick of sitting on buses, I was super excited to see what had been going on in the weeks we had been in Tanzania, so I got up early the next morning, left Ben in bed, and walked to downtown Nairobi to catch a matatu to Gilgil.
I headed straight for the camp, and was greeted almost immediately by Nova (the preschool teacher), who heard I was coming back on the 15th. I'm pretty sure she heard the chorus of ~how are you?~ upon my entering the camp, and ran out of the school house to greet me. Such a sweet, motivated woman, she invited me for lunch at her tent. Unfortunately, I told her I would only be staying for a couple of hours and had a lot of people to talk to! Soon thereafter, Dan found me to show me the newly purchased furniture for his house that Ben funded, and he, Francis, and Daniel (the men who helped build the house) all posed for photos in the new sweet pad. I then found Secretary John and Chairman Samuel, and they showed me all the recent goings-on of camp. The community center was built, and in one day! The two room structure has a 9' x 12' meeting space with a window, and a 6' x 9' storage space for grains, a food bank, and other miscellaneous community items that need to be locked up. Through the generous collection of my mother, I had received another $100 in the past week, so I passed that along to him for the construction of a table, chairs, and shelves for the storage room. The Kenyan Red Cross was in the process of delivering new tarps for each tent (to cover the holey, decrepit tent roofs) while I was there, which was nice to see, however small a donation. Robin's donations from family were put to excellent use in the construction of water piping and a water kiosk at the camp! Though the residents still have to pay for water, it is extremely cheap, and much closer than any other water that is available. Unfortunately, a pipe on the mountain broke three days before I was there, and no one in the area had water at all! Alas, all new projects have trial periods. It was fixed in the midst of me being there, and I got to experience the mad rush for water at the new kiosk!
I want to take this opportunity to thank each and every one of you that donated, as in total I raised around $925!!!! That is stupendous! I know that I said I would post exact numbers of donations to specific projects, but I forgot my notebook again. That will be done in the next week though, for sure. Getting such an amazing response from friends and family was very encouraging, and you can be sure that each dollar went into creating a more sustainable life for the residents of the Ebenezer IDP camp. Our main goal while there was to work with the residents of the camp and teach them all of the knowledge that we held (and each of us had something different to offer), which is something that doesn't have a price tag. We wanted to encourage them to again lead their lives for themselves, not in wait for foreign or domestic donors for aid. Every dollar that was donated went to the start up of a project that will keep giving- whether it be the community center providing space for the teenage girls' bracelet making group, or the tree seedlings that will grow to provide shade, firewood, and food for every member of the community.
Thank you all for reading my blog also! Even when you're abroad, and experiencing tons of new things every day, you still want to hear from people back home, and I feel like this time even more people read than when I was in Nepal! I loved it. I'm not done yet though, so if you're in for hearing more of my ramblings while in Istanbul for the next three weeks... stay tuned!
Monday, March 8, 2010
oops...a little late
Sooo, I actually wrote this post 5 days ago, when we were on the ferry to Zanzibar from Dar es Salaam, but I never got to transcribe until today! Zanzibar internet is hella expensive, so this was the first time I used it. Since the post we literally haven't done ANYTHING, except walk from our room, to the beach, to the restaurant. Encompassing a radius of about 100 feet. Today I ventured a little further though (about 2km down the beach) to cheap internet! The weather is delicious, the water is clear, and I have nothing to complain about. As for the post I was going to write:
3/4/2010
I am writing right now from the Indian Ocean (to be transcribed to the blog later) aboard a ferry to the island of Zanzibar. It has been a sweltering 4 days since leaving the IDP camp- and the beach is in sight! Well, not yet, but hopefully by the time these words make it to the internet. Last night was horrendously hot, a humid heat that I have not felt in a long time. Even in Costa Rica it cooled off at night, but not in Dar es Salaam. Like the fitful sleep of a fever, I woke up many times praying for it to be morning. My solution was to soak my travel towel in water, lay it on the tile floor, and lie sandwiched between it and my equally water-soaked bandana. Though there was a ceiling fan, the stale back-alley-air brought no avail to the heat. Lesson learned- splurge on the A/C room.
We were both excited to find air conditioning in the VIP (read: foreign) section of the Zanzibar ferry, after walking around in a heat-induced stupor for the past 24 hours. It also has given me a chance to collect my thoughts and write this- of which I should have written many days ago. I always find that the further along I get in a trip, the harder communication becomes- especially when moving around a lot! And when sporadic electricity comes into play.
We left Ebenezer and Kikopey a week ago Saturday afternoon. Both ready and anxious to see our efforts becoming a reality- I think the parting was bitersweet. Ben's house was nearly complete when we left (save for the door and the floor), Robin's water project was beginning Monday, and my plans for a community center should have started on Thursday (see bottom for full project details and donation money spent). The night before we left we took John and Samuel out for some roast goat meat and beers at Nyama Choma, and I realized that I would actually miss these hilarious guys a lot. Both inspiring, funny, and so incredibly motivated, they make me believe that change is possible. But again, they are only two people. There are a handful of other equally inspiring people at Ebenezer that can hopefully keep the progress rolling after we all have left. But in truth, only time will tell. I began reading "The Challenge for Africa" while in my final week at the camp, and it made me reconsider the historical complexities of many of the issues we faced. Written by Nobel Peace Prize winner Wangari Maathai, if you're interested in the effects of colonialism and missionaries on the African psyche- check it out!
After leaving the camp we went to Nakuru for the night and splurged on a nice bed, ice cream, and cookies. Quite a celebration! Then we booked it to Nairobi, stayed the night at a cute backpacker place, and got on the train to Mombasa. The overnight train was much like The Darjeeling Limited- reminiscent in a kitch way of colonialism-meets-African-bush. We got a sleeper car (something I can't afford in the US!) with dinner and breakfast... and the train moved so slowly that we could hang out the window and animal spot all night! We even saw a giraffe silhouette... pretty sweet.
Well, my time has run out on the internet, but I will write about Zanzibar at a later date!
3/4/2010
I am writing right now from the Indian Ocean (to be transcribed to the blog later) aboard a ferry to the island of Zanzibar. It has been a sweltering 4 days since leaving the IDP camp- and the beach is in sight! Well, not yet, but hopefully by the time these words make it to the internet. Last night was horrendously hot, a humid heat that I have not felt in a long time. Even in Costa Rica it cooled off at night, but not in Dar es Salaam. Like the fitful sleep of a fever, I woke up many times praying for it to be morning. My solution was to soak my travel towel in water, lay it on the tile floor, and lie sandwiched between it and my equally water-soaked bandana. Though there was a ceiling fan, the stale back-alley-air brought no avail to the heat. Lesson learned- splurge on the A/C room.
We were both excited to find air conditioning in the VIP (read: foreign) section of the Zanzibar ferry, after walking around in a heat-induced stupor for the past 24 hours. It also has given me a chance to collect my thoughts and write this- of which I should have written many days ago. I always find that the further along I get in a trip, the harder communication becomes- especially when moving around a lot! And when sporadic electricity comes into play.
We left Ebenezer and Kikopey a week ago Saturday afternoon. Both ready and anxious to see our efforts becoming a reality- I think the parting was bitersweet. Ben's house was nearly complete when we left (save for the door and the floor), Robin's water project was beginning Monday, and my plans for a community center should have started on Thursday (see bottom for full project details and donation money spent). The night before we left we took John and Samuel out for some roast goat meat and beers at Nyama Choma, and I realized that I would actually miss these hilarious guys a lot. Both inspiring, funny, and so incredibly motivated, they make me believe that change is possible. But again, they are only two people. There are a handful of other equally inspiring people at Ebenezer that can hopefully keep the progress rolling after we all have left. But in truth, only time will tell. I began reading "The Challenge for Africa" while in my final week at the camp, and it made me reconsider the historical complexities of many of the issues we faced. Written by Nobel Peace Prize winner Wangari Maathai, if you're interested in the effects of colonialism and missionaries on the African psyche- check it out!
After leaving the camp we went to Nakuru for the night and splurged on a nice bed, ice cream, and cookies. Quite a celebration! Then we booked it to Nairobi, stayed the night at a cute backpacker place, and got on the train to Mombasa. The overnight train was much like The Darjeeling Limited- reminiscent in a kitch way of colonialism-meets-African-bush. We got a sleeper car (something I can't afford in the US!) with dinner and breakfast... and the train moved so slowly that we could hang out the window and animal spot all night! We even saw a giraffe silhouette... pretty sweet.
Well, my time has run out on the internet, but I will write about Zanzibar at a later date!
Sunday, February 21, 2010
the news!
This will have to be kind of short and sweet, because I have another computer project I'm working on today and my internet minutes are racking up! I just wanted to send out a huge thank you and update to everyone that has donated so far to the various and extensive projects we have planned for the next few weeks. Though Ben and I will only be here for one more week, we are trying to get as much accomplished as possible. Here is a little list of everything that is going on, because I love things in list form:
-First off, everything seems to be back to normal. No more Maasai fears... for now. I think this is an ongoing struggle though. But for now, it has abated.
-The blackboard is almost complete! Just one more coat of paint and it should be ready to go for school tomorrow, along with the (surprise) charts for Nova. Don't worry, I took lots of pictures, and someday I will put them online.
- Ben and Daniel (and maybe some others) will commence building the very first wood-sided house at the Ebenezer Camp on Tuesday, when the supplies are delivered. The project should only take about two days, we think. Then Dan and his family can move in together again!
-Robin and I have almost completed all the interviews for the Asset-Assessment project (minus those people that can NEVER BE FOUND... they are very illusive), and will be meeting with the camp Monday evening to address all of the information we have gathered. Basically, we have put everyone into groups based on skills and ideas (i.e. Rabbit Rearing, Milking Goats, Knitting, etc.) and will give a short debriefing on how to go about forming small groups and starting projects (making proposals, budgets, and designating roles). Then we will leave it to them to come find us with their ideas!
-Also during the meeting, I will be announcing Tuesday as tree planting day! We have decided (based on finds and accessibility) that each family/plot will receive 2 treelings, each of a different variety (of which I do not have English names for). They are fast-growing and shade-producing, and should be able to reach close to full growth within one year. John and Samuel and I will go pick up the trees from the nurseries on Tuesday morning (hopefully) and planting will happen Tuesday evening. This should be perfect timing, as it has been raining almost everyday, so the soil is nice and soft for planting.
-Our first group, the "Shosho Basket-Weaving Group" (read: grandma basket group) has already formed, even without our help! The 5 ladies have some great baskets, and we have begun talking to them about collaborations and a start-up budget. I will be giving them $50 to start, and then purchasing some of their baskets as a little extra 'push' in their new business. This should get them going with supplies for about 10 new baskets, allowing them to keep all income and intiate a budgeting system.
- Robin has raised enough money to start the water project (getting water to the camp), so we will talk again this week with the water commissioner about logistics, and maybe even start it up...but it probably won't be done until Ben and I are gone.
-Robin, Ben, and I have all been talking about gathering our remaining funds to build an office/storage shed for the camp. Locked storage is ideal for things like medical supplies, project supplies, and porridge for the nursery school children, and an office for all the small groups that are forming (plus the Camp officials) would be great! I'm pretty sure this can be managed, but might not be built by the time we leave. We'll just have to rely on Robin for photos...
-This week I'm also going to be working on making a welcome sign for the camp, to be hung on the side of the school, and smaller signs for the Nursery School and Community Center. I just got an itch to paint some stuff, and I have leftover paint, so I figured, why not? Also might paint the door of the school and the windows too... we'll see.
-First off, everything seems to be back to normal. No more Maasai fears... for now. I think this is an ongoing struggle though. But for now, it has abated.
-The blackboard is almost complete! Just one more coat of paint and it should be ready to go for school tomorrow, along with the (surprise) charts for Nova. Don't worry, I took lots of pictures, and someday I will put them online.
- Ben and Daniel (and maybe some others) will commence building the very first wood-sided house at the Ebenezer Camp on Tuesday, when the supplies are delivered. The project should only take about two days, we think. Then Dan and his family can move in together again!
-Robin and I have almost completed all the interviews for the Asset-Assessment project (minus those people that can NEVER BE FOUND... they are very illusive), and will be meeting with the camp Monday evening to address all of the information we have gathered. Basically, we have put everyone into groups based on skills and ideas (i.e. Rabbit Rearing, Milking Goats, Knitting, etc.) and will give a short debriefing on how to go about forming small groups and starting projects (making proposals, budgets, and designating roles). Then we will leave it to them to come find us with their ideas!
-Also during the meeting, I will be announcing Tuesday as tree planting day! We have decided (based on finds and accessibility) that each family/plot will receive 2 treelings, each of a different variety (of which I do not have English names for). They are fast-growing and shade-producing, and should be able to reach close to full growth within one year. John and Samuel and I will go pick up the trees from the nurseries on Tuesday morning (hopefully) and planting will happen Tuesday evening. This should be perfect timing, as it has been raining almost everyday, so the soil is nice and soft for planting.
-Our first group, the "Shosho Basket-Weaving Group" (read: grandma basket group) has already formed, even without our help! The 5 ladies have some great baskets, and we have begun talking to them about collaborations and a start-up budget. I will be giving them $50 to start, and then purchasing some of their baskets as a little extra 'push' in their new business. This should get them going with supplies for about 10 new baskets, allowing them to keep all income and intiate a budgeting system.
- Robin has raised enough money to start the water project (getting water to the camp), so we will talk again this week with the water commissioner about logistics, and maybe even start it up...but it probably won't be done until Ben and I are gone.
-Robin, Ben, and I have all been talking about gathering our remaining funds to build an office/storage shed for the camp. Locked storage is ideal for things like medical supplies, project supplies, and porridge for the nursery school children, and an office for all the small groups that are forming (plus the Camp officials) would be great! I'm pretty sure this can be managed, but might not be built by the time we leave. We'll just have to rely on Robin for photos...
-This week I'm also going to be working on making a welcome sign for the camp, to be hung on the side of the school, and smaller signs for the Nursery School and Community Center. I just got an itch to paint some stuff, and I have leftover paint, so I figured, why not? Also might paint the door of the school and the windows too... we'll see.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
tribes.
Oh it has been more than a week since I last wrote! Apologies. A lot has been going on. Especially in the past four days. I am ever so slowly realizing how complex it is to live in a society ruled by tribes and tribal conflicts. Last week Ben, Robin and I began sending out emails requesting donations for various projects that we would like to complete in the next week and a half (Robin has a bit more time, as she is staying a couple of weeks longer than us). You probably got my email- and thank you to all that have donated so far! I can now begin planning all of my small projects, and we can start funding some start-up business groups at the camp. In fact, today I am in Gilgil to purchase all the supplies for the Nursery School blackboard, and I am hiring one of the very active camp members to install it. Ben was extremely successful in raising funds to build one of our favorite (and hardest working) camp members a house, as his tent burnt down in November, and he is left bunking with a friend in his tent, while his wife and children live far away with family. But, hopefully, by the end of next week, Daniel and his family will have their own house! Robin has been working on determining exactly what she wishes to raise money for, and it looks like right now she is going to work toward piping water to the camp. So yes, things are moving. And then again, things are not.
Ben and I took a weekend vacation to Lake Baringo, about 4 hours northwest of where we live, simply to just sit around and not operate on grandma time for a full two days. It was really nice. Similar to our last weekend trip, we stayed on a very hippo-filled lake. However, this time there was no electric fence to keep the hippos out! Let me tell you, when you have to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night, but you can hear a hippo munching and grunting outside your tent, you decide it is probably better to hold it until daylight.
Upon returning to the camp however, situations had not been that good. Evidently a camp member had been killed by the Maasai for stealing a goat ("beheaded" was the actual term they used, but we realized later just his throat had been cut). The Maasai are known to be one of the fiercest warrior tribes in Africa, and they were the tribe that pushed most of our camp residents out of their old area during the 2008 crisis. Well, whatever genius decided to purchase land for the IDP camp just so happened to purchase on the Maasai grazing path, so tensions have been rough ever since they moved in last year. The Maasai don't want people on their grazing grounds (they are nomadic, so really, these grazing grounds are everywhere), and the camp is extremely scared of the Maasai, so they get a little crazy when tensions are high. Almost all of the camp is Kikuyu, a naturally non-violent tribe, so they have no weapons. After the police came and interviewed a witness to the crime (evidently some man on a hilltop somewhere), it was realized that the dead man was not in fact stealing a goat, but involved in a relationship with the Maasai man's wife. Ahhh yes, your typical crime of passion. Alright, so you think this would put everyone at ease. It wasn't really about tribes, so we're all good, right?
Wrong. The night after we came home I woke up in the middle of the night. Struggling out of my dream, I eventually came to and realized I woke up becuase people were wailing, and children were screaming. Like they were in pain screaming. I woke Ben up because I was horrified. Of course I thought the worst. Being in a dream-like state still, I imagined the Maasai burning down the camp and coming to our house next. Alas, after looking out the window, and hearing the commotion die down, I realized someone's tent was burning down. It was a cold night and I figured they had left the cook fire burning too long, and the tent caught on fire. Ben insisted that everything was fine (though I'm pretty sure he wasn't really awake for any of this). We found out the next day that 7 children (no parents) had been in the tent, and all were taken to the hospital for burns. Luckily, only one was seriously hurt, and all would be released sometime this week. Still. Scary.
That takes us to this morning. This morning I walked to town with Camp Secretary John, and he relayed to me the intricacies of everything that has been going on this week. Last night, no one in the camp slept. Around 7 pm, just as the sun went down, a man from camp spotted the Maasai at the base of the hill that the camp sits on. They were carrying arrows and torches. The women and children all slept in the school house, while the men guarded camp all night, through the pouring rain. The Maasai never made a move, but the fear is there. John insisted that they were probably just guarding their livestock, but it had horrified everyone. Peace talks need to come soon, or the culture of fear will take over and something bad will happen. The District Officer is coming to camp today to talk to people about a meeting time, and I really hope all will be resolved in a meeting of some sort. No one in camp is sleeping, and for good reason! John has also been in communication with two other IDP camps in the area, and they have been experiencing trouble with the Maasai as well. It's like going back in time. Or like being part of rival gangs. Africa. That's all I can say.
Ben and I took a weekend vacation to Lake Baringo, about 4 hours northwest of where we live, simply to just sit around and not operate on grandma time for a full two days. It was really nice. Similar to our last weekend trip, we stayed on a very hippo-filled lake. However, this time there was no electric fence to keep the hippos out! Let me tell you, when you have to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night, but you can hear a hippo munching and grunting outside your tent, you decide it is probably better to hold it until daylight.
Upon returning to the camp however, situations had not been that good. Evidently a camp member had been killed by the Maasai for stealing a goat ("beheaded" was the actual term they used, but we realized later just his throat had been cut). The Maasai are known to be one of the fiercest warrior tribes in Africa, and they were the tribe that pushed most of our camp residents out of their old area during the 2008 crisis. Well, whatever genius decided to purchase land for the IDP camp just so happened to purchase on the Maasai grazing path, so tensions have been rough ever since they moved in last year. The Maasai don't want people on their grazing grounds (they are nomadic, so really, these grazing grounds are everywhere), and the camp is extremely scared of the Maasai, so they get a little crazy when tensions are high. Almost all of the camp is Kikuyu, a naturally non-violent tribe, so they have no weapons. After the police came and interviewed a witness to the crime (evidently some man on a hilltop somewhere), it was realized that the dead man was not in fact stealing a goat, but involved in a relationship with the Maasai man's wife. Ahhh yes, your typical crime of passion. Alright, so you think this would put everyone at ease. It wasn't really about tribes, so we're all good, right?
Wrong. The night after we came home I woke up in the middle of the night. Struggling out of my dream, I eventually came to and realized I woke up becuase people were wailing, and children were screaming. Like they were in pain screaming. I woke Ben up because I was horrified. Of course I thought the worst. Being in a dream-like state still, I imagined the Maasai burning down the camp and coming to our house next. Alas, after looking out the window, and hearing the commotion die down, I realized someone's tent was burning down. It was a cold night and I figured they had left the cook fire burning too long, and the tent caught on fire. Ben insisted that everything was fine (though I'm pretty sure he wasn't really awake for any of this). We found out the next day that 7 children (no parents) had been in the tent, and all were taken to the hospital for burns. Luckily, only one was seriously hurt, and all would be released sometime this week. Still. Scary.
That takes us to this morning. This morning I walked to town with Camp Secretary John, and he relayed to me the intricacies of everything that has been going on this week. Last night, no one in the camp slept. Around 7 pm, just as the sun went down, a man from camp spotted the Maasai at the base of the hill that the camp sits on. They were carrying arrows and torches. The women and children all slept in the school house, while the men guarded camp all night, through the pouring rain. The Maasai never made a move, but the fear is there. John insisted that they were probably just guarding their livestock, but it had horrified everyone. Peace talks need to come soon, or the culture of fear will take over and something bad will happen. The District Officer is coming to camp today to talk to people about a meeting time, and I really hope all will be resolved in a meeting of some sort. No one in camp is sleeping, and for good reason! John has also been in communication with two other IDP camps in the area, and they have been experiencing trouble with the Maasai as well. It's like going back in time. Or like being part of rival gangs. Africa. That's all I can say.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
the elders.
"I used to sit in the middle of the village with my guitar on one knee, and a beautiful woman on the other," said 73-year old Waweri, smiling, during my first community-assessment interview. I couldn't have picked a better Ebenezer member to start with. Waweri, confined to a wheelchair for the past 10 years or so (he doesn't really remember, and claims his paralysis from the waist down is due to "old age") was a hoot. He talked of working on the home shamba (farm), working for the Italians on a major peanut farm (a job from which he incurred various injuries...and he showed me all of the scars for proof, don't worry), but his emphasis was on the music he played during his younger years. Before his father broke his guitar in a fit of rage, Waweri played for the village he came from almost every night, which to him was a natural talent, but also came in handy when woo-ing the ladies. In fact, halfway through the interview my translator left me- and I was left with Waweri, babbling in Kikuyu, and playing an air guitar for me with a toothless smile.
Our asset-assessments thus far have been going very well, everyone is MORE than willing to talk to us (yesterday I had a line of people waiting), and most are very interesting to talk to. Granted, there are some very young, uneducated, single mothers that have less than one word to talk about, but that was to be expected. They are, in fact, the ones that we hope to help the most- by pairing and grouping them with more experienced, outgoing, talented older community members, so that they don't fall between the cracks and bring their children with them. Yesterday I talked to a variety of people, but three of the community's elders were the highlights of the day. One older woman (and I can't for the life of me remember her name) talked about how much she would like to give cultural talks to the community, because no one remembers where they come from, or what their tribe was (and is). She used to make traditional costumes, baskets, beads and loved to dance...While right down the road from her a younger woman also makes beads, but has not restarted her craft post-violence. Another young woman, my age actually, with 5 children, has had an onset of random illness (unidentifiable by doctors she said) since the violence occured. Ranging from headaches, to stomach aches, joint pain and nausea - the only thing doctors told her was that perhaps, it was ulcers. My non-medical degree would say, post-traumatic stress? Sometimes I forget what these people went through, but the results and effects that are not easily seen from the outside lie deep within. Some of the residents have been dislocated at least 4 times in the past 30 years.
Over the next few days I hope to compile a list of things needed, little pet projects that I have been thinking about over the past few weeks where I can help make a donation to the camp in a viable, but not entirely unattainable manner. Like a guitar for Waweri, so that he can give guitar lessons. Or the start-up funds so that women can have a knitting group. Or a chalkboard for the Nursery school. So everyone, look out! I may be asking for money sometime soon. Not a lot, just a little to go a long way.
Our asset-assessments thus far have been going very well, everyone is MORE than willing to talk to us (yesterday I had a line of people waiting), and most are very interesting to talk to. Granted, there are some very young, uneducated, single mothers that have less than one word to talk about, but that was to be expected. They are, in fact, the ones that we hope to help the most- by pairing and grouping them with more experienced, outgoing, talented older community members, so that they don't fall between the cracks and bring their children with them. Yesterday I talked to a variety of people, but three of the community's elders were the highlights of the day. One older woman (and I can't for the life of me remember her name) talked about how much she would like to give cultural talks to the community, because no one remembers where they come from, or what their tribe was (and is). She used to make traditional costumes, baskets, beads and loved to dance...While right down the road from her a younger woman also makes beads, but has not restarted her craft post-violence. Another young woman, my age actually, with 5 children, has had an onset of random illness (unidentifiable by doctors she said) since the violence occured. Ranging from headaches, to stomach aches, joint pain and nausea - the only thing doctors told her was that perhaps, it was ulcers. My non-medical degree would say, post-traumatic stress? Sometimes I forget what these people went through, but the results and effects that are not easily seen from the outside lie deep within. Some of the residents have been dislocated at least 4 times in the past 30 years.
Over the next few days I hope to compile a list of things needed, little pet projects that I have been thinking about over the past few weeks where I can help make a donation to the camp in a viable, but not entirely unattainable manner. Like a guitar for Waweri, so that he can give guitar lessons. Or the start-up funds so that women can have a knitting group. Or a chalkboard for the Nursery school. So everyone, look out! I may be asking for money sometime soon. Not a lot, just a little to go a long way.
Saturday, February 6, 2010
week 3.
We're halfway done! With time that is, halfway done with projects... well, that could take a lifetime. The week started with a trip to Naivasha and Hells Gate National Park, a 1 1/2 hour ride from Gilgil on two matatus (read: minibus crammed with at least 14 people). But, the transport was only about $1.50 and we were a world away from the camp, which was pretty welcome at that point. There occurs a time during every trip I have taken when I get a little anxious. Not for any particular reason, just because. This was it. It probably also had to do with the fact that it was my birthday, and let's face it, I've never really been into my birthday (for reasons unknown to me). But this was going to be a very relaxing vacation, for sure.
We rented a "banda" (read: small house with 4 beds and a bathroom) for about $30/night on the shores of Lake Naivasha. It was UBER RELAXING. We ate delicious food and drank beer from the open air patio of the restaurant on the lodge's grounds- they even had 'sticky' chocolate cake for dessert! Though I am not sure how sticky played into the cake at all. At 6:30 pm every night, a two foot high electric fence was activated and spotlights were turned on so that we could view the hippos coming out to graze. Big, fat, and hairless, I was pretty much satisfied with everything I saw over the three days we were there. After a relaxing first day, the following morning we woke up early to rent bicycles to ride through Hells Gate National Park. 8 hot, dusty, sweaty hours later, we had seen more herds of zebras than I had ever imagined in my life. The park has amazing topography- cliffs and rock monuments, rolling grasslands and acacia forests. Pretty much everything you think of when you think of African landscape. And by bike- fantastic!! Though the first turn we took was probably the wrong one (think, biking uphill through sand in search of "Obsidian Caves" that actually don't exist anymore because they collapsed 5 years ago... thanks for changing the signage, park employees), we ended up with sore backsides that were well worth the journey. We determined that we rode a total of 40km (rough estimate) mostly in sand or on rocky surfaces on 20 year old mountain bikes with names like "CHevrolet, the Heartbeat of America". Hahaa, only here. We pretty much got up close an personal with warthogs, zebras, gazelles, kudus, antelope, and 2 giraffes! I was actually 100 yards from the giraffes, but Ben and Robin were much much closer- I was a little jealous. It was a low point in the ride and I was struggling behind....you know, typical heat exhaustion. I was glad we didn't encounter any hostile animals...because really, I cannot imagine trying to out-bike a rhino or wildcat. I could hardly out-bike myself walking. Our third and final day was spent lounging again, mostly in the same chair all day. It was fantastic. Though we knew we had to go back to the camp, it re-energized and vamped our spirits for the next three weeks, especially because I know Ben and I will have some more supre awesome times post-volunteering.
Back at the camp this week it was slow going. Everyone was kind of in a rut. Our assessment project keeps being pushed back for some reason or another (laziness on part of our interpreters? Not really sure) And the greenhouse roof ripped off over the weekend due to high winds. Ben spent an entire morning fixing it HIMSELF, without the help of anyone at the camp for some reason, while I held his rickety ladder steady so that he wouldn't kill himself in the name of some 500 tomato plants. The camp was supposedly "preparing for a meeting" with some government official, which in the end, didn't even happen. Yesterday I took charge and said that we should start this interview process, interpreter or not. So we started with Rev. John (everyones name is john, and this one is on the way to becoming a reverend..hence the nickname). He was the perfect person to start with! He is probably the most motivated person in the camp, having worked as a mason, carpenter, on an industrial wheat farm, owned his own restaurant, and many many other talents. I think a direct quote of his was something like, "I can do pretty much any job." He is totally motivated, but lacks connections with people in the camp to start projects with. Hopefully our project will help this! Ben and I were invited to dinner at his tent last night where we had ugali and greens (much tastier than the ones we have at home) with he and his wife and their 5 children. While Ben talked to John about anything and everything (the usual question/answer session that takes about 3 hours with every Kenyan we meet), I talked to the youngest two boys, ages 8 and 11 about school and soccer. They both have VERY good English skills, most definitely due to the ferocity of wit and intelligence of their parents.
Well, must cut this short so that I can respond to some emails, and return to the camp to do some more interviewing!
We rented a "banda" (read: small house with 4 beds and a bathroom) for about $30/night on the shores of Lake Naivasha. It was UBER RELAXING. We ate delicious food and drank beer from the open air patio of the restaurant on the lodge's grounds- they even had 'sticky' chocolate cake for dessert! Though I am not sure how sticky played into the cake at all. At 6:30 pm every night, a two foot high electric fence was activated and spotlights were turned on so that we could view the hippos coming out to graze. Big, fat, and hairless, I was pretty much satisfied with everything I saw over the three days we were there. After a relaxing first day, the following morning we woke up early to rent bicycles to ride through Hells Gate National Park. 8 hot, dusty, sweaty hours later, we had seen more herds of zebras than I had ever imagined in my life. The park has amazing topography- cliffs and rock monuments, rolling grasslands and acacia forests. Pretty much everything you think of when you think of African landscape. And by bike- fantastic!! Though the first turn we took was probably the wrong one (think, biking uphill through sand in search of "Obsidian Caves" that actually don't exist anymore because they collapsed 5 years ago... thanks for changing the signage, park employees), we ended up with sore backsides that were well worth the journey. We determined that we rode a total of 40km (rough estimate) mostly in sand or on rocky surfaces on 20 year old mountain bikes with names like "CHevrolet, the Heartbeat of America". Hahaa, only here. We pretty much got up close an personal with warthogs, zebras, gazelles, kudus, antelope, and 2 giraffes! I was actually 100 yards from the giraffes, but Ben and Robin were much much closer- I was a little jealous. It was a low point in the ride and I was struggling behind....you know, typical heat exhaustion. I was glad we didn't encounter any hostile animals...because really, I cannot imagine trying to out-bike a rhino or wildcat. I could hardly out-bike myself walking. Our third and final day was spent lounging again, mostly in the same chair all day. It was fantastic. Though we knew we had to go back to the camp, it re-energized and vamped our spirits for the next three weeks, especially because I know Ben and I will have some more supre awesome times post-volunteering.
Back at the camp this week it was slow going. Everyone was kind of in a rut. Our assessment project keeps being pushed back for some reason or another (laziness on part of our interpreters? Not really sure) And the greenhouse roof ripped off over the weekend due to high winds. Ben spent an entire morning fixing it HIMSELF, without the help of anyone at the camp for some reason, while I held his rickety ladder steady so that he wouldn't kill himself in the name of some 500 tomato plants. The camp was supposedly "preparing for a meeting" with some government official, which in the end, didn't even happen. Yesterday I took charge and said that we should start this interview process, interpreter or not. So we started with Rev. John (everyones name is john, and this one is on the way to becoming a reverend..hence the nickname). He was the perfect person to start with! He is probably the most motivated person in the camp, having worked as a mason, carpenter, on an industrial wheat farm, owned his own restaurant, and many many other talents. I think a direct quote of his was something like, "I can do pretty much any job." He is totally motivated, but lacks connections with people in the camp to start projects with. Hopefully our project will help this! Ben and I were invited to dinner at his tent last night where we had ugali and greens (much tastier than the ones we have at home) with he and his wife and their 5 children. While Ben talked to John about anything and everything (the usual question/answer session that takes about 3 hours with every Kenyan we meet), I talked to the youngest two boys, ages 8 and 11 about school and soccer. They both have VERY good English skills, most definitely due to the ferocity of wit and intelligence of their parents.
Well, must cut this short so that I can respond to some emails, and return to the camp to do some more interviewing!
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