Thursday, November 23. 2006
Groceries in Kenya
Sarah and I have been back in Canada from Ugunja, Kenya since mid-April.
For some reason, readjusting to Kitchener-Waterloo society wasn't hard for me. When my aunt had travelled through southern Africa in the 80's she didn't see a single grocery store. So when she came home it was a shock.
This wasn't the case for me. We had our share of large grocery stores in Kenya and the other African countries we travelled through. The largest grocery/department store chain in Kenya is the Nakumatt. I believe it originated as a furniture and mattress store. The name is a combination of the words Nakuru and mattress.
Nakumatt, and a few other similar Kenyan shops are similar to any large superstore-type place in North America. They have everything from British-grown potatoes and South African wine, to digital cameras and laundry machines.
In Kisumu, on Lake Victoria, there was a new mall built a year or so before we had arrived. It was a quasi big-city mall. A new and huge Nakumatt was the foundation. A few smaller shops (with lots of spaces still available) made up the rest of the first floor.
On the upper level there was a food court and a 2-screen movie theatre. There was usually an Indian (Bollywood) movie playing on one screen and an American movie on the other. On the night we went, the American movie looked mediocre, and we had no idea about the Bolly flick so we did rock-paper-scissors (Sarah's favorite decision-maker) and ended up watching the American movie. I can't remember the name...
We were the only ones in the theatres when the movie started, and only a few came in after that. Most of the moviegoers were watching the Bolly screen. Most of the middle-class in Kisumu (and Kenya in general) are of Indian descent.
For some reason, readjusting to Kitchener-Waterloo society wasn't hard for me. When my aunt had travelled through southern Africa in the 80's she didn't see a single grocery store. So when she came home it was a shock.
This wasn't the case for me. We had our share of large grocery stores in Kenya and the other African countries we travelled through. The largest grocery/department store chain in Kenya is the Nakumatt. I believe it originated as a furniture and mattress store. The name is a combination of the words Nakuru and mattress.
Nakumatt, and a few other similar Kenyan shops are similar to any large superstore-type place in North America. They have everything from British-grown potatoes and South African wine, to digital cameras and laundry machines.
In Kisumu, on Lake Victoria, there was a new mall built a year or so before we had arrived. It was a quasi big-city mall. A new and huge Nakumatt was the foundation. A few smaller shops (with lots of spaces still available) made up the rest of the first floor.
On the upper level there was a food court and a 2-screen movie theatre. There was usually an Indian (Bollywood) movie playing on one screen and an American movie on the other. On the night we went, the American movie looked mediocre, and we had no idea about the Bolly flick so we did rock-paper-scissors (Sarah's favorite decision-maker) and ended up watching the American movie. I can't remember the name...
We were the only ones in the theatres when the movie started, and only a few came in after that. Most of the moviegoers were watching the Bolly screen. Most of the middle-class in Kisumu (and Kenya in general) are of Indian descent.
Tuesday, April 11. 2006
Brooklyn Mall, Pretoria, South Africa
Sarah and I are thinking - no, we're sitting in Giovanni's restaurant at the Brooklyn mall in downtown Pretoria. This is the last day of our trip. Our flight leaves Joburg tonight at 9:25.
We have been staying at John & Marcia's (family friends from Botswana & Ottawa) place for the past 3 nights, which has been great. I haven't seen them for years!
Sarah and I are a little anxious about our return home. We are really excited in anticipation, but when I really think about what it will be like to return it is a bit depressing and confusing. It will probably be fine. It's just very emotionally strange to anticipate.
It's disorienting to be heading home because I will have to start managing my time and making decisions about my life. I'm actually looking forward to that but it's still a transition that I will have to go through.
We have been staying at John & Marcia's (family friends from Botswana & Ottawa) place for the past 3 nights, which has been great. I haven't seen them for years!
Sarah and I are a little anxious about our return home. We are really excited in anticipation, but when I really think about what it will be like to return it is a bit depressing and confusing. It will probably be fine. It's just very emotionally strange to anticipate.
It's disorienting to be heading home because I will have to start managing my time and making decisions about my life. I'm actually looking forward to that but it's still a transition that I will have to go through.
Posted by Julian van Mossel-Forrester
at
07:10
Saturday, April 1. 2006
catching up and closing up
During my last few days in Ugunja I paid attention to the sounds that I had gotten used to. The sporadic bursts of song around our compound, the kids laughing or crying, the roosters that every morning told me that dawn had arrived, the wailing that flared up whenever someone in the village died, and the pumping dance music that would play for hours after the burial. I heard a new bird calling outside our hut that seemed to have about 20 different songs that it sang in succession - it reminded me of a gift from my grandma, an audobon clock that plays a different bird song for each hour. I'll miss these sounds, especially in Canada where I stay indoors and closed off from the outside more.
We had lovely goodbyes with our host family, and the UCRC staff. We soaked up the wit and grace of Luo culture while our friends and family made their goodbye speeches. Julian and I made our own speeches too, and did a pretty good job for two who grew up outside of an oral culture. I think we picked up a little of our friends' speaking skills by osmosis, but I don't know how long that will last.
Today we're in Lusaka, Zambia, the city Julian lived in from 1985 to 1988. Yesterday was the fourth anniversary of our "first date". We are so happy to have gone through this experience here together. We're on our way to South Africa, and will fly back to Canada on April 12.
So for now, at least, we're going to stop blogging. Julian and I will continue to work with UCRC by helping to develop a UCRC friends network in Canada, and continuing to build the partnership between UCRC and my organization, The Working Centre. So we may continue the blog as new UCRC projects develop.
Thanks for reading! We've both enjoyed reflecting on our experience here, and knowing that people back home were reading it.
See you in Canada!
We had lovely goodbyes with our host family, and the UCRC staff. We soaked up the wit and grace of Luo culture while our friends and family made their goodbye speeches. Julian and I made our own speeches too, and did a pretty good job for two who grew up outside of an oral culture. I think we picked up a little of our friends' speaking skills by osmosis, but I don't know how long that will last.
Today we're in Lusaka, Zambia, the city Julian lived in from 1985 to 1988. Yesterday was the fourth anniversary of our "first date". We are so happy to have gone through this experience here together. We're on our way to South Africa, and will fly back to Canada on April 12.
So for now, at least, we're going to stop blogging. Julian and I will continue to work with UCRC by helping to develop a UCRC friends network in Canada, and continuing to build the partnership between UCRC and my organization, The Working Centre. So we may continue the blog as new UCRC projects develop.
Thanks for reading! We've both enjoyed reflecting on our experience here, and knowing that people back home were reading it.
See you in Canada!
Posted by Sarah Anderson
at
10:00
Sunday, March 12. 2006
Last Days in Ugunja
Today is our last Sunday here in Ugunja. It is a beautiful day. I walked over to the church/clinic/preschool compound to get some water. It is a sunny hot day with big gusts of breeze that lift me up.
I am sad to leave this place, to leave behind the landscape that has been my home for the past five months. In some ways it has been a short period but at the same time longer than I have spent in most places as a "visitor".
A couple of days ago I watched Sarah Obiero do her laundry when I was waiting for my jerry cans to fill up at the water tank. She is so fast. Her hands move with real experience, holding the bar of soap in one hand and the piece of clothing in the other. Her way of applying soap is much faster than the way I have been doing it for the past 5 months! Hand-washing is a skill that I never really developed.
Handling water here in Ugunja is different from what I am used to in Canada. Here it is no problem for water to splash around a bit and get on the ground. It will just soak in. But back home we are usually inside and obviously don't want to splash water everywhere.
For example, this morning Betty wanted to rinse off her right hand. She took a cup of water in her left hand and poured a bit of it onto her right hand, just over the floor. That's the great thing about these floors made of dirt and dung, they just absorb water.
****
I haven't really seen the reality of HIV/AIDS while being here but I know it is there. It is a huge force. The other day a fellow staff person reminded me that there are very few members of the community living in their 30s or 40s. Most of that age group have died from this disease. I don't think about it most days. The funeral music that blares across the landscape at night sometimes reminds me of it, but still it's in the background. I have no idea who it is that has died.
I am sad to leave this place, to leave behind the landscape that has been my home for the past five months. In some ways it has been a short period but at the same time longer than I have spent in most places as a "visitor".
A couple of days ago I watched Sarah Obiero do her laundry when I was waiting for my jerry cans to fill up at the water tank. She is so fast. Her hands move with real experience, holding the bar of soap in one hand and the piece of clothing in the other. Her way of applying soap is much faster than the way I have been doing it for the past 5 months! Hand-washing is a skill that I never really developed.
Handling water here in Ugunja is different from what I am used to in Canada. Here it is no problem for water to splash around a bit and get on the ground. It will just soak in. But back home we are usually inside and obviously don't want to splash water everywhere.
For example, this morning Betty wanted to rinse off her right hand. She took a cup of water in her left hand and poured a bit of it onto her right hand, just over the floor. That's the great thing about these floors made of dirt and dung, they just absorb water.
****
I haven't really seen the reality of HIV/AIDS while being here but I know it is there. It is a huge force. The other day a fellow staff person reminded me that there are very few members of the community living in their 30s or 40s. Most of that age group have died from this disease. I don't think about it most days. The funeral music that blares across the landscape at night sometimes reminds me of it, but still it's in the background. I have no idea who it is that has died.
Posted by Julian van Mossel-Forrester
at
10:27
Tuesday, February 28. 2006
Plastic
A couple of years ago I was surfing around the internet and found a website about how wonderful plastic was and how plastic was going to save the world. It was published by some massive plastic manufacturer. Being here sometimes reminds me of what I read there.
Plastic is everywhere here. We drink tea out of plastic mugs, wash our clothes in plastic basins, fetch water in plastic jerry cans, put our goods in plastic bags when we shop, and when we have no filtered water we sometimes buy water in plastic bottles.
Back in Canada (and every country) plastic is everywhere as well. But here we see the problem close-up. When we are finished with a plastic item like a bag or bottle, what do we do with it?
Here there are two options. Either reuse it or throw it outside, preferably in the pit beside our compound.
Someone burns the garbage in the pit every several weeks. Then we get to inhale the miracle of plastic. I might be sitting in my house drinking a cup of water when the stench enters. It smells like rotten toxic meat.
Most compounds have a pit or a pile for non-biodegradable waste to be burned. So normally we walk through at least one cloud of toxic smoke on the way to and from work.
When there is no pit or pile of trash at hand, people usually throw their plastic on the ground. No matter where I walk I find a shredded plastic bag on the ground every few metres. When travelling by taxi I see the bags clinging to shrubbery and corn stalks, or blowing along the ground.
A couple of times each week the Ugunja town council sweeps the street garbage into small piles and sets it on fire. What else are they supposed to do to get rid of the mess left after market days? Onion stems, broken plastic bottles, dried grass, rotten tomatoes, plastic bags and more, all burned up.
The funny thing is that people call plastic bags "paper bags". No one seems to be bothered by the plastic issue, not that so many people are back home either. Plastic companies do a good job of selling their products and somehow walk away without taking any responsibility for the mess left behind.
Plastic is everywhere here. We drink tea out of plastic mugs, wash our clothes in plastic basins, fetch water in plastic jerry cans, put our goods in plastic bags when we shop, and when we have no filtered water we sometimes buy water in plastic bottles.
Back in Canada (and every country) plastic is everywhere as well. But here we see the problem close-up. When we are finished with a plastic item like a bag or bottle, what do we do with it?
Here there are two options. Either reuse it or throw it outside, preferably in the pit beside our compound.
Someone burns the garbage in the pit every several weeks. Then we get to inhale the miracle of plastic. I might be sitting in my house drinking a cup of water when the stench enters. It smells like rotten toxic meat.
Most compounds have a pit or a pile for non-biodegradable waste to be burned. So normally we walk through at least one cloud of toxic smoke on the way to and from work.
When there is no pit or pile of trash at hand, people usually throw their plastic on the ground. No matter where I walk I find a shredded plastic bag on the ground every few metres. When travelling by taxi I see the bags clinging to shrubbery and corn stalks, or blowing along the ground.
A couple of times each week the Ugunja town council sweeps the street garbage into small piles and sets it on fire. What else are they supposed to do to get rid of the mess left after market days? Onion stems, broken plastic bottles, dried grass, rotten tomatoes, plastic bags and more, all burned up.
The funny thing is that people call plastic bags "paper bags". No one seems to be bothered by the plastic issue, not that so many people are back home either. Plastic companies do a good job of selling their products and somehow walk away without taking any responsibility for the mess left behind.
Posted by Julian van Mossel-Forrester
at
01:45
Website Development Update
Since returning from Kampala three weeks ago, I have been focused on website development.
I sit with George almost every day including some weekends as he adds pages, text and photos to the website. He gets more familiar with the site structure each day, especially when he is able to work without me looking over his shoulder.
There are a lot of distractions. Computer classes go on all day from 6am to 6pm in the same room. There are only a couple of room dividers between us and the lectures. Still we are able to focus and now the site is almost ready.
If I left Ugunja today I'm sure George could finish the site. He could add the few remaining pages and text and all of the photos. All that I have to train him on is how to upload the files to the internet.
Other staff are so busy these days. I did only a brief training with Paul, Rose and Bernard. Rachel is also interested. Each of them hope to find another few hours for training before I leave. Most of them have only basic HTML knowledge but I hope they will still be able to update the pages with a little training.
I have been emailing with a German man who hosts the UCRC website. He has been helping us on the server side of things. He found some software that might serve as a guestbook on the website and is also setting up several new email addresses for UCRC staff.
I have to confirm our use of the guestbook software with Aggrey. The issue with it is that it posts entries directly to the website. Aggrey had asked for something that would allow a moderator to either accept or decline each comment before it was actually visible to other visitors, in case some comments were garbage.
Aggrey and I also need to discuss the online donations system that was on the old site. Apparently there was a downside to that system: too much of the money was lost in the financial transfer to Kenya and in payments to the company which provides the service.
I sit with George almost every day including some weekends as he adds pages, text and photos to the website. He gets more familiar with the site structure each day, especially when he is able to work without me looking over his shoulder.
There are a lot of distractions. Computer classes go on all day from 6am to 6pm in the same room. There are only a couple of room dividers between us and the lectures. Still we are able to focus and now the site is almost ready.
If I left Ugunja today I'm sure George could finish the site. He could add the few remaining pages and text and all of the photos. All that I have to train him on is how to upload the files to the internet.
Other staff are so busy these days. I did only a brief training with Paul, Rose and Bernard. Rachel is also interested. Each of them hope to find another few hours for training before I leave. Most of them have only basic HTML knowledge but I hope they will still be able to update the pages with a little training.
I have been emailing with a German man who hosts the UCRC website. He has been helping us on the server side of things. He found some software that might serve as a guestbook on the website and is also setting up several new email addresses for UCRC staff.
I have to confirm our use of the guestbook software with Aggrey. The issue with it is that it posts entries directly to the website. Aggrey had asked for something that would allow a moderator to either accept or decline each comment before it was actually visible to other visitors, in case some comments were garbage.
Aggrey and I also need to discuss the online donations system that was on the old site. Apparently there was a downside to that system: too much of the money was lost in the financial transfer to Kenya and in payments to the company which provides the service.
Monday, February 27. 2006
Harambee
It's Monday and I'm sitting in the UCRC computer lab, while the students around me practice their new computer skills. I'm in a grumpy mood because I just found out that all of my files were erased off the network over the weekend. There's a lot of new tech guys helping out with the MS training, but they don't know the UCRC system. Luckily I had some important files saved in other places on the network. But some important stuff is just lost. Oh well.
We only have two and a half weeks left here. The UCRC website is almost done! I'm proud of the small and big ways that the writing skills of some staff members have improved throughout the process of putting the website together.
Last Sunday Julian and I made our second venture into community fundraising, Kenya-style. Fundraising here is much more fun that bake sales or car washes back home. They call it harambee (ha - ram - bay), which in Kiswahili means to bring resources or energy or ideas together. When Kenya gained independence in the '60s the first president, Kenyatta, encouraged Kenyans to use the spirit of harambee to build up the nation. From what I can tell, this spirit is deeply embedded in UCRC's community development work.
Fundraising harambees are kooky events to an outsider like me. In this case the self-help group of Betty's mom Mary (named Twelve Friends Women Group) held a harambee to help Mary pay for her father's funeral. With pockets full of small change, participants use fines, counter-fines, dares, wit, surprises, bravado, dancing and singing to compel, embarrass, or harass other participants into giving up their money.
Usually each group member invites several guests but this harambee was more intimate - just a few guests were present. Julian, Betty, her friend Maximilla, and I arrived in the late morning to a house full of women drinking tea and eating homemade donuts, dressed in their brown, orange and red group uniforms.
The drama and chaos of harambee humour began when one of the members showed up late. The group ordered her to pay a fine of 20 shillings. She threw her coin into the collection plate and, to make up for her late appearance, she greeted each person in the room with a French-style cheek-to-cheek hug with a wiggle of the bum thrown in for added value. When she got to Julian, the women laughed hard. He was the only man present, let alone strange, skinny, white man!
Julian and I were at a definite disadvantage. We had to figure out the situation, interpreting the dramatic gestures, songs and laughter while undertanding only the odd word of Dhuluo. Betty translated when she could. To start the event, everyone was supposed to introduce themselves and put money into the plate based on how much they respected their name. If people liked how you introduced yourself or how much money you gave, the group would dance and sing while adding their own coins.
Amongst all the fun at such events, there are lots of questions that go through my mind. How much should I give? How much will others give? Do people expect that as a foreigner I’ll give more? Should I give more? Does that perpetuate a crappy dynamic? Funnily enough, we were able to shove these questions aside when we realized at the last minute that we forgot to bring our money along. Julian and I hardly had enough to introduce ourselves in a manner respectful to our names. Just in time, Betty discreetly passed me a folded up bill and we were back in the game.
When Betty was introduced and the group rose to their feet, I got up and danced along. People were surprised by my dancing. I try my best to copy the local dance moves and I think that for a whitey I’m not doing too bad. Dancing is important to me, especially in this context where it gives me a way of communicating to strangers who I cannot talk with. I love these "dance conversations." Whenever I got up with the group to dance, the women across from me kept catching my eye and laughing.
One woman received a lively response when she dramatically introduced herself as a nursery school teacher. The only part we could understand was the Dhuluo word for teacher, and her description of teaching vowel sounds to the children. She got all the women to join in and say: "Tha tho they tha thu!" The group contributed lots of money to her plate. Another woman scolded us for not dancing with enough enthusiasm after her introduction. Everyone threw in their coins then got up to give her a more proper song and dance. Julian had not danced at all the whole time. He is more shy about his dancing in Kenya than he was in Canada. I wanted to get the whole group to put money in to force Julian to dance, but before I could, he got up and did a little dance after Mary introduced herself. The women laughed.
While someone else was introducing herself, I told Julian he should fine the group for being the only man at the harambee. Betty agreed. To order a fine, you usually have to produce a large amount to encourage fine payments. All Julian and I had were two US dollars that happened to be in Julian’s wallet. He produced the dollar, stood up and said he was really dissapointed to be the only man, and that we should all put money in his plate to help him feel less lonely. He passed the plate around to each person and collected a nice pile. The women laughed when Betty translated, pleased by his money-making complaint.
I used the other US dollar to get one of the women who was particularly good at dancing to give me some impromtu lessons. Everyone started singing and she danced over and started shaking her shoulders, something I've always been bad at doing. I tried to keep up. We faced each other and shook our chests, bending over so that our heads almost touched at waist level. Butts out and up. I was laughing, Betty was laughing, Julian was laughing and everyone else was laughing. "You really danced!" Betty said when I sat down.
After everyone had introduced themselves, guests gave a final offering and the group leader and secretary counted the money. In total about 6,000 Kenyan shillings were raised, or $100 Canadian. Not bad! Especially since in most cases 1 dollar stretches further here than it does back in Canada. We were served an amazing feast of chicken, tilapia fish, beef, skuma wiki and ugali, then took a Matatu back to Ugunja.
I like the idea of doing some harambee-style resource gathering back home. I don't think I have a good enough sense of humour or drama to organize a dancing, singing, hooplah event like Mary's. But I have other ideas - ways to promote the idea of friends and families pooling money to help each other.
Back in Canada last fall, together with friends, Julian and I had been mulling over ideas on how to raise small funds together to support a friend or family member, someone whose work needed support. We thought of two ideas. One idea was to encourage friends and family to donate money for a specific cause. For example, we thought of supporting an organic farmer friend of ours who wants to buy land but can't afford a down payment.
The other idea was to gather a group of young people doing creative work and each contribute $5 or $10 a month so that at the end of the year one or two people in the group could benefit from a group grant. With both ideas, the donations per individual would be small, but the numbers donating would hopefully make the total worthwhile. It's so similar to the spirit of harambee that I'm encouraged to really try it out when we get home. It works here. I know we'll get into issues of accountability and such things, but I'd still like to try. What do you think?
We only have two and a half weeks left here. The UCRC website is almost done! I'm proud of the small and big ways that the writing skills of some staff members have improved throughout the process of putting the website together.
Last Sunday Julian and I made our second venture into community fundraising, Kenya-style. Fundraising here is much more fun that bake sales or car washes back home. They call it harambee (ha - ram - bay), which in Kiswahili means to bring resources or energy or ideas together. When Kenya gained independence in the '60s the first president, Kenyatta, encouraged Kenyans to use the spirit of harambee to build up the nation. From what I can tell, this spirit is deeply embedded in UCRC's community development work.
Fundraising harambees are kooky events to an outsider like me. In this case the self-help group of Betty's mom Mary (named Twelve Friends Women Group) held a harambee to help Mary pay for her father's funeral. With pockets full of small change, participants use fines, counter-fines, dares, wit, surprises, bravado, dancing and singing to compel, embarrass, or harass other participants into giving up their money.
Usually each group member invites several guests but this harambee was more intimate - just a few guests were present. Julian, Betty, her friend Maximilla, and I arrived in the late morning to a house full of women drinking tea and eating homemade donuts, dressed in their brown, orange and red group uniforms.
The drama and chaos of harambee humour began when one of the members showed up late. The group ordered her to pay a fine of 20 shillings. She threw her coin into the collection plate and, to make up for her late appearance, she greeted each person in the room with a French-style cheek-to-cheek hug with a wiggle of the bum thrown in for added value. When she got to Julian, the women laughed hard. He was the only man present, let alone strange, skinny, white man!
Julian and I were at a definite disadvantage. We had to figure out the situation, interpreting the dramatic gestures, songs and laughter while undertanding only the odd word of Dhuluo. Betty translated when she could. To start the event, everyone was supposed to introduce themselves and put money into the plate based on how much they respected their name. If people liked how you introduced yourself or how much money you gave, the group would dance and sing while adding their own coins.
Amongst all the fun at such events, there are lots of questions that go through my mind. How much should I give? How much will others give? Do people expect that as a foreigner I’ll give more? Should I give more? Does that perpetuate a crappy dynamic? Funnily enough, we were able to shove these questions aside when we realized at the last minute that we forgot to bring our money along. Julian and I hardly had enough to introduce ourselves in a manner respectful to our names. Just in time, Betty discreetly passed me a folded up bill and we were back in the game.
When Betty was introduced and the group rose to their feet, I got up and danced along. People were surprised by my dancing. I try my best to copy the local dance moves and I think that for a whitey I’m not doing too bad. Dancing is important to me, especially in this context where it gives me a way of communicating to strangers who I cannot talk with. I love these "dance conversations." Whenever I got up with the group to dance, the women across from me kept catching my eye and laughing.
One woman received a lively response when she dramatically introduced herself as a nursery school teacher. The only part we could understand was the Dhuluo word for teacher, and her description of teaching vowel sounds to the children. She got all the women to join in and say: "Tha tho they tha thu!" The group contributed lots of money to her plate. Another woman scolded us for not dancing with enough enthusiasm after her introduction. Everyone threw in their coins then got up to give her a more proper song and dance. Julian had not danced at all the whole time. He is more shy about his dancing in Kenya than he was in Canada. I wanted to get the whole group to put money in to force Julian to dance, but before I could, he got up and did a little dance after Mary introduced herself. The women laughed.
While someone else was introducing herself, I told Julian he should fine the group for being the only man at the harambee. Betty agreed. To order a fine, you usually have to produce a large amount to encourage fine payments. All Julian and I had were two US dollars that happened to be in Julian’s wallet. He produced the dollar, stood up and said he was really dissapointed to be the only man, and that we should all put money in his plate to help him feel less lonely. He passed the plate around to each person and collected a nice pile. The women laughed when Betty translated, pleased by his money-making complaint.
I used the other US dollar to get one of the women who was particularly good at dancing to give me some impromtu lessons. Everyone started singing and she danced over and started shaking her shoulders, something I've always been bad at doing. I tried to keep up. We faced each other and shook our chests, bending over so that our heads almost touched at waist level. Butts out and up. I was laughing, Betty was laughing, Julian was laughing and everyone else was laughing. "You really danced!" Betty said when I sat down.
After everyone had introduced themselves, guests gave a final offering and the group leader and secretary counted the money. In total about 6,000 Kenyan shillings were raised, or $100 Canadian. Not bad! Especially since in most cases 1 dollar stretches further here than it does back in Canada. We were served an amazing feast of chicken, tilapia fish, beef, skuma wiki and ugali, then took a Matatu back to Ugunja.
I like the idea of doing some harambee-style resource gathering back home. I don't think I have a good enough sense of humour or drama to organize a dancing, singing, hooplah event like Mary's. But I have other ideas - ways to promote the idea of friends and families pooling money to help each other.
Back in Canada last fall, together with friends, Julian and I had been mulling over ideas on how to raise small funds together to support a friend or family member, someone whose work needed support. We thought of two ideas. One idea was to encourage friends and family to donate money for a specific cause. For example, we thought of supporting an organic farmer friend of ours who wants to buy land but can't afford a down payment.
The other idea was to gather a group of young people doing creative work and each contribute $5 or $10 a month so that at the end of the year one or two people in the group could benefit from a group grant. With both ideas, the donations per individual would be small, but the numbers donating would hopefully make the total worthwhile. It's so similar to the spirit of harambee that I'm encouraged to really try it out when we get home. It works here. I know we'll get into issues of accountability and such things, but I'd still like to try. What do you think?
Sunday, February 26. 2006
Sunday
Today was Sunday. I went to work around 1pm. I love the walk to Ugunja on the weekend because it's so quiet. And it's usually real hot because I go later in the morning than I do on weekdays. The heat radiates off of everything and I feel like I am floating along. During the afternoon I worked on the website with George and worked on one of my resumes.
On the way home from work I dropped by Aggrey's compound to ask if I could borrow their flat pan and egg flipper. When I was there Charles came and surprised me with his presence. It took me a moment to realize who he was.
Charles has been in Kitchener for the last 3.5 months at The Working Centre. He just returned to Ugunja this morning and has been in hiding so that he can rest and recover from the jetlag.
When he was in Canada he met my Grandma a couple of times and saw my Dad once. He really enjoyed meeting them, and got some good contacts from my dad.
Everyone has the same reaction when they meet my Grandma: "She's QUITE a lady!" She introduced Charles to her church which is interested in doing some work with UCRC.
Charles and I didn't talk for too long because he was tired and wanted to save his stories for when he was more alert.
When I got home Sarah was sitting on the stoop of Paul and Betty's house picking the stems off of a big tray of cow pea leaves. I helped her finish that off and chop them into tiny pieces.
Cow peas are referred to as an indigenous vegetable. The plant makes these translucent green seed pods the same shape as snap pea pods. Sometimes the pods turn black. I am not sure why. The leaves taste somewhat like spinach, and reduces the same way when you cook it. I think that cows eat the peas.
I had arranged to cook pancakes with Wilson that evening, which is why I borrowed that pan and egg flipper earlier. Two nights ago I made pancakes for our whole family and they liked the recipe. It's from the Joy of Cooking cook book. So good. Wilson asked me to show him how to make them.
So today he bought a few extra eggs and a small package of flour. Dusk was approaching and he had milked the cow when he called me over. We went to work.
Then we had a delicious dinner of ugali, cow peas and fried cabbage, followed by some tea.
Now I'm sitting in our house at 9:39 PM, typing on this laptop. Sarah is brushing her teeth beside me. We're listening to Tom Waits on the laptop speakers. The room is dark, lit by one candle only.
On the way home from work I dropped by Aggrey's compound to ask if I could borrow their flat pan and egg flipper. When I was there Charles came and surprised me with his presence. It took me a moment to realize who he was.
Charles has been in Kitchener for the last 3.5 months at The Working Centre. He just returned to Ugunja this morning and has been in hiding so that he can rest and recover from the jetlag.
When he was in Canada he met my Grandma a couple of times and saw my Dad once. He really enjoyed meeting them, and got some good contacts from my dad.
Everyone has the same reaction when they meet my Grandma: "She's QUITE a lady!" She introduced Charles to her church which is interested in doing some work with UCRC.
Charles and I didn't talk for too long because he was tired and wanted to save his stories for when he was more alert.
When I got home Sarah was sitting on the stoop of Paul and Betty's house picking the stems off of a big tray of cow pea leaves. I helped her finish that off and chop them into tiny pieces.
Cow peas are referred to as an indigenous vegetable. The plant makes these translucent green seed pods the same shape as snap pea pods. Sometimes the pods turn black. I am not sure why. The leaves taste somewhat like spinach, and reduces the same way when you cook it. I think that cows eat the peas.
I had arranged to cook pancakes with Wilson that evening, which is why I borrowed that pan and egg flipper earlier. Two nights ago I made pancakes for our whole family and they liked the recipe. It's from the Joy of Cooking cook book. So good. Wilson asked me to show him how to make them.
So today he bought a few extra eggs and a small package of flour. Dusk was approaching and he had milked the cow when he called me over. We went to work.
Then we had a delicious dinner of ugali, cow peas and fried cabbage, followed by some tea.
Now I'm sitting in our house at 9:39 PM, typing on this laptop. Sarah is brushing her teeth beside me. We're listening to Tom Waits on the laptop speakers. The room is dark, lit by one candle only.
Thursday, February 23. 2006
interviews with staff at UCRC
Here's an article I put together for The Working Centre (my work in Canada) newsletter.
*************************************************
During my internship at UCRC I've been interested in the points where UCRC and The Working Centre's work intersect.
One intersection is the commitment to the idea of self-help. Both organizations help people use their own skills and gifts to improve their lives and create community. Whether I am sitting at The Working Centre helping someone with their resume, or at a UCRC training observing a lively discussion, I can see a transformation taking place as people learn about themselves.
I sat down with four UCRC staff members to get some of their ideas on self-help and UCRC's committment to community development through using the resources within the community.
Victorine Atieno coordinates the library and microfinance projects.
Bernard Ochieng coordinates the community policing program.
Joyce Akoth assists in the library and with the orphans and vulnerable children program
Rachel is on the UCRC documentation team
Here are their thoughts…
On the importance of using local resources in community work:
Joyce
In a real sense no one can give you the whole of heaven in their hand. We must start just from the tools and knowledge we have.... to make you earn your life.
Victorine
I remember when I first joined UCRC, we were training women in business development. Half of the 150 we trained received a grant to start their business, and half of them did not. Later, we visited to find out how far they had gone with their business. Where I was so much encouraged, was that those who had the training, but not the grant, were doing so much better than those who were given the grant. They started specifically with what they had and were fully committed so their businesses did well.
Bernard
In peace building we don't need to wait for somebody to come from Nairobi to solve conflicts in our area. It is an advantage for us to train ourselves on how to solve conflicts.
In the case of community policing, we trained young men who were respected in the community on how to detect and respond to conflicts. They were trained on active non-violence, and crime prevention also.
The police in Kenya over the years have protected the interests of the rich. The introduction of community policing was to help the police transform from a force to a service. There was a very bad relationship between the community and the police.
Now those trained are often able to detect conflict before violence happens.
Rachel
Top-down development does not bear fruits, as we've seen from experience. If you talk about the green revolution, the government brought fertilizers. But then the people didn't feel like they owned it. The government brought it today, but people knew they would do something else tomorrow.
If you focus on using the available resources, you learn from other farmers. There is one farmer who grows a local variety of kale and does not need to buy seeds. Others make compost using leaves from local plants. Others plant trees for firewood and fruit. There are many people to learn from.
On how to identify community resources:
Rachel
UCRC facilitates this process by first holding a meeting to identify the problems in the community.
Together we then try to at least note down some of the possible solutions. Openly each person says that as an individual, "Okay, I'm capable of doing this and this". They just volunteer because they know themselves. Somebody says, "I'm a carpenter." "I can be a leader." Or "I'm good at painting." In the community there are even those that are engineers but because they have retired, nobody knows that they have this knowledge.
On learning about personal strengths through involvement with UCRC:
Victorine
I joined UCRC when I was just a pure green person from highschool. I didn't know anything about the community, and I did not have any skills, because I had not gone to any college or training institution. Being at UCRC has developed my confidence. I can face even a crowd and talk to them. Apart from that, through working on different projects at UCRC I've also identified my career, which I plan now to develop.
On working together:
Joyce
I like working with UCRC, simply because, they are cooperative. If I have a problem, I can approach anybody, and that person will help me to overcome it. We as the staff we work hand in hand. And I really appreciate that.
*************************************************
During my internship at UCRC I've been interested in the points where UCRC and The Working Centre's work intersect.
One intersection is the commitment to the idea of self-help. Both organizations help people use their own skills and gifts to improve their lives and create community. Whether I am sitting at The Working Centre helping someone with their resume, or at a UCRC training observing a lively discussion, I can see a transformation taking place as people learn about themselves.
I sat down with four UCRC staff members to get some of their ideas on self-help and UCRC's committment to community development through using the resources within the community.
Victorine Atieno coordinates the library and microfinance projects.
Bernard Ochieng coordinates the community policing program.
Joyce Akoth assists in the library and with the orphans and vulnerable children program
Rachel is on the UCRC documentation team
Here are their thoughts…
On the importance of using local resources in community work:
Joyce
In a real sense no one can give you the whole of heaven in their hand. We must start just from the tools and knowledge we have.... to make you earn your life.
Victorine
I remember when I first joined UCRC, we were training women in business development. Half of the 150 we trained received a grant to start their business, and half of them did not. Later, we visited to find out how far they had gone with their business. Where I was so much encouraged, was that those who had the training, but not the grant, were doing so much better than those who were given the grant. They started specifically with what they had and were fully committed so their businesses did well.
Bernard
In peace building we don't need to wait for somebody to come from Nairobi to solve conflicts in our area. It is an advantage for us to train ourselves on how to solve conflicts.
In the case of community policing, we trained young men who were respected in the community on how to detect and respond to conflicts. They were trained on active non-violence, and crime prevention also.
The police in Kenya over the years have protected the interests of the rich. The introduction of community policing was to help the police transform from a force to a service. There was a very bad relationship between the community and the police.
Now those trained are often able to detect conflict before violence happens.
Rachel
Top-down development does not bear fruits, as we've seen from experience. If you talk about the green revolution, the government brought fertilizers. But then the people didn't feel like they owned it. The government brought it today, but people knew they would do something else tomorrow.
If you focus on using the available resources, you learn from other farmers. There is one farmer who grows a local variety of kale and does not need to buy seeds. Others make compost using leaves from local plants. Others plant trees for firewood and fruit. There are many people to learn from.
On how to identify community resources:
Rachel
UCRC facilitates this process by first holding a meeting to identify the problems in the community.
Together we then try to at least note down some of the possible solutions. Openly each person says that as an individual, "Okay, I'm capable of doing this and this". They just volunteer because they know themselves. Somebody says, "I'm a carpenter." "I can be a leader." Or "I'm good at painting." In the community there are even those that are engineers but because they have retired, nobody knows that they have this knowledge.
On learning about personal strengths through involvement with UCRC:
Victorine
I joined UCRC when I was just a pure green person from highschool. I didn't know anything about the community, and I did not have any skills, because I had not gone to any college or training institution. Being at UCRC has developed my confidence. I can face even a crowd and talk to them. Apart from that, through working on different projects at UCRC I've also identified my career, which I plan now to develop.
On working together:
Joyce
I like working with UCRC, simply because, they are cooperative. If I have a problem, I can approach anybody, and that person will help me to overcome it. We as the staff we work hand in hand. And I really appreciate that.
Friday, February 17. 2006
Trip to Kampala
Our weekend in Kampala was sunny and luxurious. Kampala is the capital city of Uganda which lies just East of Kenya, one of the countries of East Africa (Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania). It was a four hour bus ride from Ugunja.
I reconnected with Ida, a friend from my childhood. She is Norwegian but lived in Botswana at the same time as I did. I was three to five years old and she was around one to three. The last time I saw her was ten years ago in Ontario.
Ida has lived in Kampala on and off for the past five years and full-time for the past one and a half years. Originally she came to visit her mother who was in Kampala for a few years working on a contract. She liked it so much - and she met her boyfriend Ali - so she decided to stick around.
Ida is sub-editor for a new women's magazine. She compared it to Elle magazine. The magazine is published in Kampala, printed in Dubai, and distributed throughout East Africa. Ida seemed at home in the fashion and music scene. She has a degree in journalism from Norway and is now thinking of getting a masters.
Ali grew up in Vancouver but has lived in Kampala for the past five years. His family owns a security company which keeps him busy during the week. He also owns a happening nightclub which keeps him up late on weekends.
Ali's family has a history in Kampala. They had lived there before he was born but were forced to leave when Idi Amin, the past dictator president, forced all non blacks to leave. And so Ali was born and raised in Vancouver. Years later a new Ugandan president invited all the evicted Ugandans to return. His family came back to the business they had established.
When we were there Ida's fridge was warm and her milk was sour. The power had been off for four hours. That day we used her gas powered generator to check email and charge our phones.
The power outage was not a malfunction of the system. It is the Ugandan government's latest strategy on dealing with recent power shortages. Power is cut for twenty four hours every other day in different districts at different times.
The recent combination of extreme dry weather with rising power use has led to the over-use of Lake Victoria's water. A hydro dam controls how much water flows from the lake into the Nile River which flows up to Egypt. So much water has been allowed to pass that the water level of the lake has dropped two metres. This drop in water level has forced the government to explore alternatives to the dam. It is no small lake - look at a map of Africa and you can see it is the biggest on the continent.
The power rotation happens all over Kampala except one neighbourhood of rich people. Restaurants and shops need generators to stay in business.
We had quite a luxurious time when we were there. Ida introduced us to many of her friends, a mix of Ugandan's and foreigners, including a couple of Canadians. On friday night we went out to a huge Korean restaurant for steak, pickled pork ribs and more. On Saturday we had lunch while hanging out in Uganda's only olympic sized swimming pool which is located on the edge of Lake Victoria. For dinner we had Italian. I had some tenderized steak with cheese melted on top. (Steak seems to be a popular choice around here...) Sarah had delicate homemade tortellini stuffed with spinach and cheese.
After the Italian food we went out to Ali's nighclub for a drink, some dancing and some live music and dance performances. It was our latest night in East Africa yet!
I reconnected with Ida, a friend from my childhood. She is Norwegian but lived in Botswana at the same time as I did. I was three to five years old and she was around one to three. The last time I saw her was ten years ago in Ontario.
Ida has lived in Kampala on and off for the past five years and full-time for the past one and a half years. Originally she came to visit her mother who was in Kampala for a few years working on a contract. She liked it so much - and she met her boyfriend Ali - so she decided to stick around.
Ida is sub-editor for a new women's magazine. She compared it to Elle magazine. The magazine is published in Kampala, printed in Dubai, and distributed throughout East Africa. Ida seemed at home in the fashion and music scene. She has a degree in journalism from Norway and is now thinking of getting a masters.
Ali grew up in Vancouver but has lived in Kampala for the past five years. His family owns a security company which keeps him busy during the week. He also owns a happening nightclub which keeps him up late on weekends.
Ali's family has a history in Kampala. They had lived there before he was born but were forced to leave when Idi Amin, the past dictator president, forced all non blacks to leave. And so Ali was born and raised in Vancouver. Years later a new Ugandan president invited all the evicted Ugandans to return. His family came back to the business they had established.
When we were there Ida's fridge was warm and her milk was sour. The power had been off for four hours. That day we used her gas powered generator to check email and charge our phones.
The power outage was not a malfunction of the system. It is the Ugandan government's latest strategy on dealing with recent power shortages. Power is cut for twenty four hours every other day in different districts at different times.
The recent combination of extreme dry weather with rising power use has led to the over-use of Lake Victoria's water. A hydro dam controls how much water flows from the lake into the Nile River which flows up to Egypt. So much water has been allowed to pass that the water level of the lake has dropped two metres. This drop in water level has forced the government to explore alternatives to the dam. It is no small lake - look at a map of Africa and you can see it is the biggest on the continent.
The power rotation happens all over Kampala except one neighbourhood of rich people. Restaurants and shops need generators to stay in business.
We had quite a luxurious time when we were there. Ida introduced us to many of her friends, a mix of Ugandan's and foreigners, including a couple of Canadians. On friday night we went out to a huge Korean restaurant for steak, pickled pork ribs and more. On Saturday we had lunch while hanging out in Uganda's only olympic sized swimming pool which is located on the edge of Lake Victoria. For dinner we had Italian. I had some tenderized steak with cheese melted on top. (Steak seems to be a popular choice around here...) Sarah had delicate homemade tortellini stuffed with spinach and cheese.
After the Italian food we went out to Ali's nighclub for a drink, some dancing and some live music and dance performances. It was our latest night in East Africa yet!
Victorine, career dreams, and reading
Computer training began yesterday at UCRC. There are six 2 hour lessons in a day, with around 15 students attending classes Monday to Friday. That means only 3 or 4 computers leftover for the many UCRC staff to use in their day to day work. Things are hectic, and it seems like everyone including Julian and I, have a million things to do. In the midst of the chaos I'm getting lots of quiet time when there's nothing to do until a computer is available.
In one such quiet moments, Victorine, was sitting beside me at a large wooden table in the library reading the Nation, one of Kenya's daily newspapers. She glanced up from her paper and told me that she was applying to do a distance education course in Business and Administration. She is 5 years younger than me, but has had two kids (one, Macy Milke is only months old and still breastfeeding). Together with her husband Charles, Victorine decided not to have any more children for now, and instead to focus her energy on her own career development.
I asked her what opportunities there are around Ugunja for someone with business administration skills. Youth usually have to leave for the city in order to get a job, because of little opportunity around Ugunja, though it is a rapidly growing town. Victorine plans to use her Business Admin skills at UCRC for several years, but thinks that eventually she’ll leave the area and find a job in another NGO, a business, or a government institution.
Victorine said that compared to most around here, she is privileged to have the chance to study and pursue her career goals. Partly it is thanks to her equal relationship with her husband, that Victorine has these opportunities. Charles and Victorine are part of a small, but growing minority of young people approaching their marriage in new ways.
They live in town away from their “dala” (home compound) in the village. They have no extended family in town to turn to for childcare support, so Charles cares for the children during the day while he runs his business in Ugunja. Victorine laughed and said he will even sometimes cook lunch for himself and the kids – something quite rare in a local married man. Neighbours used to laugh at Charles when they saw him doing woman’s work like fetching water or even, when Victorine had recently given birth, doing dishes, but he ignored them. Now some of the men around their rental housing compound have also taken on some of their wives’ tasks.
Earlier in the day the Victorine and I were getting a description of the UCRC library ready for the new website. Most people around here see books as only useful for school or career development. Victorine knew all to well, before listing off all of the things most woman do during their days – working the farm, fetching gallons of water, fetching firewood, preparing meals, scrubbing dishes, doing laundry by hand, and watching their children – that woman’s responsibilities leave little time for reading. Men might have less chores, so more opportunity to read, but since most of their leisure time is in the evening, the lack of electric light makes it difficult for them to read.
Victorine, and other staff at UCRC love reading. George, the IT coordinator told me about how Luos love literature. He recommended a bunch of Kenyan writers to me, and I’m making my way through the list.
It was good to have a close chat with Victorine. I’ve been missing talking to women. I’ve had some great talks with Betty too, usually when I’m helping her to wash dishes or prepare dinner. But what with language barriers and the busyness of the women around me, these talks are not as often as I would like.
*********
Funny things overheard during computer training:
While George was teaching students to save files he approached a student, pointed at her monitor and said “Can Jesus come and save that too”
When Paul was teaching students how to choose “No” in a dialogue box, he said “Say no” and a bunch of students said “No”. Paul said, “Not with your mouth, with the mouse!”
In one such quiet moments, Victorine, was sitting beside me at a large wooden table in the library reading the Nation, one of Kenya's daily newspapers. She glanced up from her paper and told me that she was applying to do a distance education course in Business and Administration. She is 5 years younger than me, but has had two kids (one, Macy Milke is only months old and still breastfeeding). Together with her husband Charles, Victorine decided not to have any more children for now, and instead to focus her energy on her own career development.
I asked her what opportunities there are around Ugunja for someone with business administration skills. Youth usually have to leave for the city in order to get a job, because of little opportunity around Ugunja, though it is a rapidly growing town. Victorine plans to use her Business Admin skills at UCRC for several years, but thinks that eventually she’ll leave the area and find a job in another NGO, a business, or a government institution.
Victorine said that compared to most around here, she is privileged to have the chance to study and pursue her career goals. Partly it is thanks to her equal relationship with her husband, that Victorine has these opportunities. Charles and Victorine are part of a small, but growing minority of young people approaching their marriage in new ways.
They live in town away from their “dala” (home compound) in the village. They have no extended family in town to turn to for childcare support, so Charles cares for the children during the day while he runs his business in Ugunja. Victorine laughed and said he will even sometimes cook lunch for himself and the kids – something quite rare in a local married man. Neighbours used to laugh at Charles when they saw him doing woman’s work like fetching water or even, when Victorine had recently given birth, doing dishes, but he ignored them. Now some of the men around their rental housing compound have also taken on some of their wives’ tasks.
Earlier in the day the Victorine and I were getting a description of the UCRC library ready for the new website. Most people around here see books as only useful for school or career development. Victorine knew all to well, before listing off all of the things most woman do during their days – working the farm, fetching gallons of water, fetching firewood, preparing meals, scrubbing dishes, doing laundry by hand, and watching their children – that woman’s responsibilities leave little time for reading. Men might have less chores, so more opportunity to read, but since most of their leisure time is in the evening, the lack of electric light makes it difficult for them to read.
Victorine, and other staff at UCRC love reading. George, the IT coordinator told me about how Luos love literature. He recommended a bunch of Kenyan writers to me, and I’m making my way through the list.
It was good to have a close chat with Victorine. I’ve been missing talking to women. I’ve had some great talks with Betty too, usually when I’m helping her to wash dishes or prepare dinner. But what with language barriers and the busyness of the women around me, these talks are not as often as I would like.
*********
Funny things overheard during computer training:
While George was teaching students to save files he approached a student, pointed at her monitor and said “Can Jesus come and save that too”
When Paul was teaching students how to choose “No” in a dialogue box, he said “Say no” and a bunch of students said “No”. Paul said, “Not with your mouth, with the mouse!”
Thursday, February 9. 2006
Journal entries finally entered!
I have just added a bunch of journal entries that I had written but didn't have time to load onto the blog.
The dates are:
-Feb 5 2006
-Feb 1 2006
-Jan 31 2006
-Jan 29 2006
-Jan 23 2006
-Jan 13 2006
Thanks,
Julian
The dates are:
-Feb 5 2006
-Feb 1 2006
-Jan 31 2006
-Jan 29 2006
-Jan 23 2006
-Jan 13 2006
Thanks,
Julian
Trip to Mark and Julius' place
I keep thinking about the fact that we're leaving Ugunja in 4.5 weeks. We spent a year of our lives preparing and then coming here. Our preparations started last May and we'll be returning to Canada in April. I will remember this year.
The last few weeks have been real challenging with things getting so busy and hectic at work, as well as personally for Sarah and I. But things are feeling really good now.
Last weekend was a social one. On Saturday we went to visit Mark Obiero (Sarah Obiero, the Early Childhood teacher's brother) at their compound. Joyce and Julius (sister and brother) were also there.
I rode on the back of Mark's bike and Sarah rode a boda boda. We went up a wide and dusty road that sloped down at its sides. It was so dusty that the bushes lining the road were stained the reddish colour of the earth. The road rose up a hill as if it would go on forever, heading all the way to Bondo.
After 15 - 20 minutes we turned left through a small village where Julius has his woodworking shop. I asked Mark what a very nicely painted building was. It was a rental-housing complex that had been sitting unfinished for a long time.
We were now in the rural area and wow it was dry! Mark said that there hadn't been rain here since October. He said that Ugunja gets more rain and that the last couple of downpours since January didn't touch his area. The fields were a different colour of dust. One compound that we passed accentuated the dryness with it's landscaping - no grass and few plants in general except for a few banana and papaya trees.
The landscape seemed particularly different to me because I hadn't been out to other rural areas since October when we first arrived and did our initial tours.
Joyce and Julius welcomed us when we arrived. She lives at the ECD Centre just in front of our compound with her sister, Sarah Obiero. She is so great - very friendly with a wacky sense of humour. She is always playing with words, which I like doing as well.
Mark and Julius gave us a tour of the compound.
They showed us the milking parlour, laughing because it is simply a tree with the grass worn away under it.
There was a small mango tree (a few inches tall) surrounded by a large protective cage. There were three levels of protection - large branches to keep out cows, medium for sheep, and small thorny brambles for chickens.
We continued past the charcoal-making area: grey sand that is easy to work with now that it is all dug up and loose.
Beside that was the livestock area. It had a "living fence" made of growing trees as the vertical posts and dried wood slats and branches as the horizontal components. The animals (cows, sheep and goats) are tied in here at night. Mark explained that they fence and the locked gate prevent the animals from leaving if they escape their tethers, and prevent any thieves from stealing the animals.
Mark took us into his house where he has his workshop. Mark is a real inventor. He has constructed a bicycle-powered battery charger by raising the back wheel of a bike, removing the tire and attaching a rubber belt that turns a small generator attached behind the seat.
For the garden he has developed an irrigation system using a foot-powered pump that sucks water out of a water hole and sprays it over the garden using rubber tubes with rotating sprinklers on the end. He alone dug the water hole which was about 5 metres by 8 metres large and went 7 feet below the water level (about 14 feet below ground).
His sikumawiki (collards) were looking very healthy in this dry season.
The last few weeks have been real challenging with things getting so busy and hectic at work, as well as personally for Sarah and I. But things are feeling really good now.
Last weekend was a social one. On Saturday we went to visit Mark Obiero (Sarah Obiero, the Early Childhood teacher's brother) at their compound. Joyce and Julius (sister and brother) were also there.
I rode on the back of Mark's bike and Sarah rode a boda boda. We went up a wide and dusty road that sloped down at its sides. It was so dusty that the bushes lining the road were stained the reddish colour of the earth. The road rose up a hill as if it would go on forever, heading all the way to Bondo.
After 15 - 20 minutes we turned left through a small village where Julius has his woodworking shop. I asked Mark what a very nicely painted building was. It was a rental-housing complex that had been sitting unfinished for a long time.
We were now in the rural area and wow it was dry! Mark said that there hadn't been rain here since October. He said that Ugunja gets more rain and that the last couple of downpours since January didn't touch his area. The fields were a different colour of dust. One compound that we passed accentuated the dryness with it's landscaping - no grass and few plants in general except for a few banana and papaya trees.
The landscape seemed particularly different to me because I hadn't been out to other rural areas since October when we first arrived and did our initial tours.
Joyce and Julius welcomed us when we arrived. She lives at the ECD Centre just in front of our compound with her sister, Sarah Obiero. She is so great - very friendly with a wacky sense of humour. She is always playing with words, which I like doing as well.
Mark and Julius gave us a tour of the compound.
They showed us the milking parlour, laughing because it is simply a tree with the grass worn away under it.
There was a small mango tree (a few inches tall) surrounded by a large protective cage. There were three levels of protection - large branches to keep out cows, medium for sheep, and small thorny brambles for chickens.
We continued past the charcoal-making area: grey sand that is easy to work with now that it is all dug up and loose.
Beside that was the livestock area. It had a "living fence" made of growing trees as the vertical posts and dried wood slats and branches as the horizontal components. The animals (cows, sheep and goats) are tied in here at night. Mark explained that they fence and the locked gate prevent the animals from leaving if they escape their tethers, and prevent any thieves from stealing the animals.
Mark took us into his house where he has his workshop. Mark is a real inventor. He has constructed a bicycle-powered battery charger by raising the back wheel of a bike, removing the tire and attaching a rubber belt that turns a small generator attached behind the seat.
For the garden he has developed an irrigation system using a foot-powered pump that sucks water out of a water hole and sprays it over the garden using rubber tubes with rotating sprinklers on the end. He alone dug the water hole which was about 5 metres by 8 metres large and went 7 feet below the water level (about 14 feet below ground).
His sikumawiki (collards) were looking very healthy in this dry season.
Early mornings and getting water
Paul and Betty are both extra busy these days because planting season is coming up and they have to prepare the garden. Betty is already a full time volunteer at the health centre, a mother of two, aged two and four, and since last week she is the secretary at the church.
This morning Betty had to set her alarm. She got up at 5:30am. When I woke up just after 6am, Paul was already digging in the garden just past his house. I walked up to the toilet and saw Wilson milking the cow as I passed the animal's house.
Yesterday I arrived at work late because I locked my key inside our house. I had to borrow Steven's hammer to pry off the lock held on by nails.
It took only a minute to get off. (That is why, Betty said, that Paul always has his eye on the door while we eat supper in their house.)
Then I straightened out the nails by hammering them into the mud floor which is more solid than the bare compacted earth in front of our house. .
Lately there have been problems with the well in front of the church by our place. The wood handle to crank the rope was falling apart so it was awkward to turn. Plus some days the water is really sandy. I understand that the water-level is getting low down there and that it had not been dug quite deep enough. So apparently this week someone will be down there digging it deeper. I don't mind getting water at the stream or the pump by bicycle, but during the week it is hard to find the time, especially lately because I have been staying later at work.
I hope that someone can bring us water until the well is fixed.
This morning Betty had to set her alarm. She got up at 5:30am. When I woke up just after 6am, Paul was already digging in the garden just past his house. I walked up to the toilet and saw Wilson milking the cow as I passed the animal's house.
Yesterday I arrived at work late because I locked my key inside our house. I had to borrow Steven's hammer to pry off the lock held on by nails.
It took only a minute to get off. (That is why, Betty said, that Paul always has his eye on the door while we eat supper in their house.)
Then I straightened out the nails by hammering them into the mud floor which is more solid than the bare compacted earth in front of our house. .
Lately there have been problems with the well in front of the church by our place. The wood handle to crank the rope was falling apart so it was awkward to turn. Plus some days the water is really sandy. I understand that the water-level is getting low down there and that it had not been dug quite deep enough. So apparently this week someone will be down there digging it deeper. I don't mind getting water at the stream or the pump by bicycle, but during the week it is hard to find the time, especially lately because I have been staying later at work.
I hope that someone can bring us water until the well is fixed.
Monday, February 6. 2006
more on computers and my learning process
UCRC activities
Last week a couple hundred people were at UCRC for the announcement of the new free computer training program. They came from youth groups, women’s groups, groups for people with disabilities, schools, various government ministries, churches, libraries.
The group sat in the shade of an open-sided, tin-roofed conference room, recently built behind the UCRC office buildings. Only a handful put up their hands when asked if they had used computers or had computer training before. Many said they had seen computers, but not touched one.
Last fall when UCRC applied for this Microsoft grant, they first discussed whether access to computers in Siaya District would really help to improve people’s livelihoods. They decided yes, computers could help.
Computers will be used to document local history and traditions, to create self-employment opportunities, to communicate with husbands or family members who live in distant cities, and to conduct research. They also decided that it was important for the communities to be skilled in current technologies, to avoid being left behind.
Student of symbols
When the Microsoft grant was announced, Paul Omondi said he was nervous. He said the community would have a huge interest in accessing computer training. If someone walked down a dirt road towards Paul’s village carrying a computer on their head, a large crowd would gather around. People really want to know more about this technology.
I got excited about Paul’s image of someone walking with a computer on their head. Everywhere I walk I see women and children carrying things on their heads: jerry cans of water, sacks of maize, market baskets, bundles of firewood. I liked the combination of tradition and new technology in the image of a woman carrying a computer on her head.
It seemed to me like the perfect image for a logo for the computer training program. But when I mentioned it to various staff the reaction was only lukewarm. I was surprised.
I asked Aggrey about the image. He explained locally people associate things being carried on their head as burdens. Not a positive image for the computer training program. I hadn't thought of that. Probably because I've never had to carry my basic needs like water and food on my head in order to access them.
It was a good reminder of how our personal histories influence the way we perceive symbols. When you live in a new culture, you don't only struggle to learn a new verbal language. You also have to try to find your way through a new language of symbols. Julian and I have been finding this process fun but humbling.
Last week a couple hundred people were at UCRC for the announcement of the new free computer training program. They came from youth groups, women’s groups, groups for people with disabilities, schools, various government ministries, churches, libraries.
The group sat in the shade of an open-sided, tin-roofed conference room, recently built behind the UCRC office buildings. Only a handful put up their hands when asked if they had used computers or had computer training before. Many said they had seen computers, but not touched one.
Last fall when UCRC applied for this Microsoft grant, they first discussed whether access to computers in Siaya District would really help to improve people’s livelihoods. They decided yes, computers could help.
Computers will be used to document local history and traditions, to create self-employment opportunities, to communicate with husbands or family members who live in distant cities, and to conduct research. They also decided that it was important for the communities to be skilled in current technologies, to avoid being left behind.
Student of symbols
When the Microsoft grant was announced, Paul Omondi said he was nervous. He said the community would have a huge interest in accessing computer training. If someone walked down a dirt road towards Paul’s village carrying a computer on their head, a large crowd would gather around. People really want to know more about this technology.
I got excited about Paul’s image of someone walking with a computer on their head. Everywhere I walk I see women and children carrying things on their heads: jerry cans of water, sacks of maize, market baskets, bundles of firewood. I liked the combination of tradition and new technology in the image of a woman carrying a computer on her head.
It seemed to me like the perfect image for a logo for the computer training program. But when I mentioned it to various staff the reaction was only lukewarm. I was surprised.
I asked Aggrey about the image. He explained locally people associate things being carried on their head as burdens. Not a positive image for the computer training program. I hadn't thought of that. Probably because I've never had to carry my basic needs like water and food on my head in order to access them.
It was a good reminder of how our personal histories influence the way we perceive symbols. When you live in a new culture, you don't only struggle to learn a new verbal language. You also have to try to find your way through a new language of symbols. Julian and I have been finding this process fun but humbling.
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