Home Sweet Home

I just realized that I still haven't spoken about, or shown pictures of where I am living. Since it is sooo beautiful, and right now, we are spending sooo much time here, I figure I need to give it the attention it deserves.

The house where I am living is in Nairobi, in a subdivision called Gigiri, in an area called Roslyn. It is a beautiful neighbourhood surrounded by lush vegetation. Downtown Nairobi itself can be quite a dangerous city at night, but where we live is very safe. Our compound is surrounded by electric fencing and has security guards on duty 24 hours a day. We actually share one fence with the Canadian High Commissioner, so if we ever had any trouble, that is where we would need to be anyway. It is a beautiful home that can sleep up to about 40 guests at one time.

The home itself was purchased from an Indian business man that had been going through a rough divorce and wanted to get rid of it fast! So Leaders Today (now Me to We) bought it to make the transition from Nairobi to the Mara easier for their participants.

So here are some pictures... in a months time we will only have a few days every month here, most of our time will be spent in the mara working on development projects.

The kitchen... where all our wonderful meals are made

chai table... mmm.. One of the bedrooms

The dining room table... right now it is our "office", and this is the view from our "office"

my computer is fussy right now... so i will post more pics of my home later

tutaonana :)

snapshots from Emori Joi

Good monday... just on here to post some beautiful pics from a community that we work with... Emori Joi. I can't take credit for the photos though, they were taken by a staff member from Toronto.

Public Transport

A big part of being in Nairobi without a car (not that I would ever be crazy enough to drive downtown Nairobi...) is being able to navigate public transit. The only difference here, is that there really isn't a controlled public mode of transit... the system here is private, either matatu or taxi. Taxi fare is relatively affordable in comparison to Toronto, but the matatu's are very inexpensive. For a 10 minute trip, we pay about 10 Kenyan Shillings, which is under 20 cents... pretty sweet.... however, each matatu ride is quite the adventure. Each one is smaller than the average North American mini van, and by law they are allowed up to 13 passengers at a time.

On poorly monitored roads, they will often cram up to 18 or 20 people into one. Aside from being loaded with people, they often come equipped with a video screen and pounding music... I have heard everything from reggae, popular rap, boys to men, and Mariah Carey, but it is all LOUD. Some have fluorescent lights inside and most are themed, with the inside walls plastered in posters and fabric.

The matatu business is also one of the most exploited in the country of Kenya, police officers will often pull over matatus and charge the driver a "tax" based upon the number of people using the service.

Here is the inside of a busy matatu...

O'Bama Inauguration night

What a night. I feel like yesterday was one of those times that I will look back and tell my children about... Barack O'Bama's father was born in a small village in Kenya and the people here really take pride in him as the new president.

We went to a large bar/restaurant where they had about 10 large screen tvs set up, and two more two storey high screens to show the inauguration and speech. I usually find moments of empowerment and significance last night emotional... but last night was definitely more emotional than usual for me. Every time Kenya was mentioned everyone cheered... and there were people of ALL ages and walks of life.

Anyway, the energy of the night was an overwhelming feeling of hope... we will see how it goes.

goodnight :)

Kiswahili 101 with Walter

As part of our training, we are having daily Kiswahili lessons with a local teacher, Walter. We have 2.5 weeks to get to the point where we are conversational and ready for action. So far Walter has been extremely patient and helpful with us… we are quite hyperactive at times and have trouble with some of the trickier pronunciation.

Just like you might be following my trip, I thought maybe you might want to know some Kiswahili as well

Some basic greetings:

Jambo! – Hi! General greeting that can be used at any time throughout the day.
Habari Gani? - what is the news? General greeting that can be asked any time.
Habari yako? – what is your news? More specific to be asked to one person.

To answer:

Nzuri - good – will always do, even if you aren’t very good
Njema – fine
Salama- peaceful
Hakuna matata- no worries, just like the Jungle Book

And if you really want to emphasize any of these… just add Sana… it means really really!

Hope this gives you a good start!

Tutaonana! (see you later)

Mulot Market and return to the Mara

This weekend we returned to the mara for some extra training. When participants come, the trip is made in old military lorries… very cool and big but verrrry slow. Last time it took us about 9 hours to get to the centre. Today, because there were only 8 of us, we took a land cruiser and cut our time in half… 4.5 hours.

We traveled first to tenwek hospital to check it out. This is the hospital that we would go to if we, or any of our participants have trouble. It was quite a long drive, but the hospital itself is the best one around. Although it doesn’t look like the hospitals in Canada, it is equipped with all of the same equipment and capabilities, and many professional people from abroad strive to obtain positions there.
On the way home from Tenwek we stopped at Mulot market. This is a sustainance market that is held for all surrounding communities on Saturdays and Wednesdays. We saw many people from the communities we work with, and they had walked anywhere up to 45 km to get to the market… to sell and to buy. incredible. What a sight. Total sensory overload, and I am pretty sure not many tall blonde mzungus (Kiswahili for foreigner) go there because we definitely surprised some people. Unlike the market in Nairobi, this is not for tourists, this one is for food, every day supplies and livestock trading. The sights and smells were a tad overwhelming, and I mostly looked down so as not to trip over anything or anyone.

We are heading back to the city tomorrow, and then back to Kiswahili classes Monday morning.

The 20th is O’bama’s inauguration, and everywhere is Kenya is gearing up for big parties… so that should be fun… remember to watch for the Kenyan Boys choir if you watch it on t.v.

Lala salama

First trip to the Mara

I really could not have thought of a better way to start 2009 than being in the beautiful savannah with all the amazing Free the Children and me to we staff from Toronto. We started the night with a feast of lamb, goat, chicken and all kinds of vegetables. A dj was hired and we danced and danced.

The highlight of my night came when the Kenyan boys choir performed for us right at our new home. They were amazing singers, dancers and just all around performers. The only instruments they used were a set of homemade drums and their voices. The final song in their set was O Canada, which made me a tad emotional for the first time ever. I m not sure whether it was the beauty of the moment or just knowing that I won’t be back in Canada for a long time… anyway… it was great.

Of the whole staff trip, all the animals we saw, and people we met, I learned the most from the mommas of Emori Joi community. They met us at the school (one of the nearby FTC built schools), and took us to their houses to show how the community members live. Their huts are made mostly of cow dung, dirt, mud and sticks. There is little ventilation and many families share their small and smoky accommodations with goats and chickens. One woman we met is part of a womans group formed in partnership with the alternative income projects through the adopt a village program (more to follow). Because of her involvement, and micro loans that her group members put together, she has been able to build a family structure out of brick, which lasts much longer than the traditional structure, and allows her and her family to live separate from the fire and cooking, which can help prevent respiratory illness.

After the tour of the homes, the mamas invited us to make a very familiar walk with them, down to their water source, the mara river. This is a trip that is about 2 km each way, and on an average day, they might make that trip anywhere from 5-7 times (not too mention one direction each time with an extremely heavy jerry can strapped to their head). The water that we saw was not a pleasing sight. Right next to where they are taking their water, there are children bathing, women doing laundry, donkeys deficating… it really is a dire situation. The need for proper sanitation and clean water is incredible. As my new friend Lois strapped a filled jerry can to my head, I was overwhelmed by the daily activities of these excellent women. I walked it back to one of their homes, dripping sweat and losing feeling all throughout my neck and back… I can’t believe that they or their daughters do this so often. I will never again take the water that pours free from my taps at home for granted.

Back In Nairobi... first trip to the Mara done!

Ok, so I am in Kenya!!! and I have spent the last week and a half in the Mara region with all the wonderful people that work for FTC in Toronto. What an amazing trip.

Photos will be posted when I have all the proper hookups and internet connection... but for now here are some of the highlights;
- Played with orphaned baby elephants
- saw a women's cooperative bead factory... Kazuri beads... www. kazuri.com
- returned to Enelerei for a community gathering
- school building at Salebwek
- Tree planting at the nursery and Emori Joi
- walking with the mamas and carrying water
- new years with the Kenyan Boys choir
- hanging out with Craig and Marc K.
Anyway, that list will be my reminder when I actually have some good time to dedicate to sharing the first leg of this adventure.

:) Jodie