Back in Canada

That is where I am, back in Canada. It has been fabulous reconnecting with my parents, family, friends... catching up on local news, family ups and downs, and really just catching up. I am currently supply teaching in my old school board, until I return to Kenya after Christmas.

This past weekend was great, I am actually still recovering from Thanksgiving overload... turkey, stuffing, squash, asparagus, potatoes... and of course pumpkin pie. I had a great time, and the food was delicious, but I really can't help but think of those that I know in Kenya.

As I have mentioned before, and you may have heard on the news, Kenya (and most of Sub-Saharan Africa) is dealing with drought... serious drought. Now drought in this case doesn't mean that it is not raining at all, it rained from time to time throughout the typical rainy season. However, the rains were not even comparable to what is necessary to grow enough crops to sustain a family, let alone yield enough to sell and create income for a household.

This situation is reaching a very critical point. Because of this, the cost of food has skyrocketed making it nearly impossible for most families to meet nutritional requirements. Cows, goats, and sheep are not getting enough to eat, they cannot be sold, so the farmers cannot generate income for their families. Mamas and young girls are forced to walk further and further in search of dirty rivers and hopeful springs... without much luck.

So you can understand why it is hard to be in Canada. A place where we turn the tap, and water is there. Where I open the fridge and ponder what I should eat next. A place where I know I will not go to bed hungry.

Just as I was leaving Kenya, the organization I work for had begun to drill bore holes (deeeeeep wells) to serve the communities where we work. They had successfully hit water at two sites by that time and were continuing the projects while we are away... This is a HUGE step towards proper sanitation and health while the drought runs its course.

Anyway, when I hear how those wells are going, I will let you know.

Just a bit of insight into what being back in Canada is like.

until next time :)

Countdown

i can't believe how fast time is going.

It has been soo long since i have been on to write. Seems that being in the mara with no internet makes it a bit challenging... anyway. I am back. I only have one adult trip and one youth trip left before I board the plane to go back to Canada.

Because the time is coming soo quickly, i can't help but think about the things that I will miss when I go... the things that make Kenya such a special place to me. I have never felt more comfortable with myself than i do here. The children at the schools, the mamas in the villages... they don't care what type of clothes you are wearing, or how much you have spent on your outfit. They look right past that to your intentions... your values, and how respected you are depends entirely on how you treat people... just the way it should be.

The word i have heard the most here... by far, is Karibu. Karibu means welcome. The people i have met, and the places I have gone... I have felt more welcome than anywhere else (aside from my own parent's home). I love it...

All I can think of is how I want my family to come and see everything that we do here, and everyone who has made my stay sooo powerful and meaningful.

Anyway, until next time... i will try to write before I go again.

Visit to Kibera

Kibera is Sub Saharan Africa's largest slum. It is estimated that there are between 800,000 and 1.2 million people living there. It has no plumbing or sanitation. It has no system of garbage removal. All those people are living in one square mile. On one side of the square mile of tin roofs and garbage piles there is a golf course... where Nairobi's most wealthy swoon their clients. The other side is a row of beautiful new condos.

Kibera has become its own city inside of Nairobi. It has its own set of rules, its own business sector, and it operates on its own.

I had the opportunity to tour Kibera with an organization called KCYP (Kibera Community Youth Programme). The organization works to inspire youth in Kibera through their talents. There are projects for visual arts, audio recording, drama, and education.

We started by overlooking the community by standing on the railroad tracks to get a birds eye view. It really was startling. I couldn't believe the number of people crammed into such a small space without many of the things we call "necessities". The garbage lined the tracks as we walked further into the slum.

I was overwhelmed by the smell; burning garbage, rotting garbage, and human waste... quite a combination. I was also surprised by the children that were around... not in school. although there are many schools within the slum... they still require uniforms, books, and examination costs that many families just can afford.

As we walked through children yelled "MZUNGU!" (kiswahili for foreigner) at the top of the lungs to alert everyone that we were there. If you want a good idea of what it is like, watch the Constant Gardener movie... the representation of Kibera's youth is quite accurate.

There are many reasons why people end up in a place like Kibera, many of which I don't know if i will ever understand. Many come from the rural areas... they are farmers who are deeply affected by drought. They are no longer able to make a living in the dry rural areas and so they come to Kibera looking for opportunity. What they find is something quite different.

Although they are living in conditions that are far below what Canadians might deem as sanitary, safe, and acceptable, i was surprised that at the end of our tour, I was left with an overwhelming sense of hope. The people I met were working hard to spread their messages of love, community, safe sex... and many others through their music, artwork, and dramatic presentations.

Although the Kenyan government shows some concern for the conditions and growth of Kibera (there is no more land allotment... even though it is getting bigger in population), it does not seem to be a high priority. There are over 200 NGO's presently operating in Kibera...

i unfortunately have no answers for this community, but please feel free to visit the website of KCYP, or research on your own. www.kcyp.net

round one with daisy

WOW. time is FLYING in Kenya.

It has been a looooong time since i have written... a lot has happened as well.

One of the places we visit with guests from Canada is called the giraffe centre. It is a place where they are attempting to repopulate the Rothschild giraffe... it was very close to extinction in the 1970s... the numbers had reached around only 100 left in the wild. Since its opening, the numbers of Rothschild giraffes have increased to almost 500.

The centre serves as educational resource for local schools, and a place to come play, feed, and pet the giraffes.

So i went to the centre with my last group... we were having a great time, and I was just trying to snap a sweet pic of "Flat Stanley" with Daisy, the big MAMA giraffe... the guide there warned me to only get close to Daisy if i had pellets to feed him. I was stubborn, and thought that nothing would happen to me... but.. just as my friend Cameron tried to snap the pic, Daisy swung her head furiously towards mine.

Although i have cat like reflexes (hehe), i didn't react in enough time, and she drilled me right in the forehead with hers... I didn't pass out, but for a second i thought i might... my group had just met me, and didn't really know how to react, my eyes were watering like crazy, and all i could do was laugh... so really I think it was a good ice breaker for us.

I had a gooseegg, the biggest one i have ever had right over my right eye.

funny. I will go back to even the score this week, i will tell you how it goes.

talk to you soon.

Oloosiyoi Community

WOW! back again from another stint in the Mara. This time I was accompanying a group of high school students from Lakefield C.S. They were building and living in a Maasai community called Oloosiyoi.

Oloosiyoi is a special community because, unlike many other schools where we are working, this was only the third group to travel and build there. The school is fairly small, with 250 students, but very lively.

When the students arrived at the build site, there was nothing but a rocky, uneven piece of land with a rectangle drawn in coloured dirt... a 10 foot by 16 foot rectangle... big. We build with traditional tools, and resources that would be locally available, so no backhoe. They began digging with pickaxes and jembes... and they dug... and dug, and dug... and DUG some more. 6 days to be precise, until that traced rectangle was a trench 5 feet deep!!!

From there, the mixing of cement and making a re bar made up the foundation... and then the beginnings of the walls.

All throughout the building process, we had quite an audience. The students were in school during the time we were there, and on their breaks children all the way from the nursery school to standard 8 would come and watch... we actually had to ask them not to help, in fears that they may hurt themselves.

At the end of Lakefield's time at Oloosiyoi, they had not only been beaten in numerous football games, played the biggest game of duck duck goose in history, but they had laid the foundation for a new classroom, and the community was ecstatic!

To show their thanks to the Lakefield guests, the students organized a wonderfully colourful celebration of traditional Maasai songs and dances.

Upon leaving, I received a note from a standard seven boy from Oloosiyoi. His kind words will always resonate with me, but one part in particular struck me...

I will never forget about you. Remember that life is what you make it, so
make it the BEST!

Enelerai High School

It has been sooo long since my last post... I know... We have had a great month of building and practice teaching for a group of teacher candidates from Nipissing University. Sadly, they left this morning for Canada...

They were doing their teaching at Enelerai Primary, and the last day I was there with them I had a chance to visit Enelerai High School. Although Primary education became free and compulsory in 2004, students still need to pay to attend high school. In this particular school, which is government run, there was a full classroom of form 1 students (grade 9 equivalent)... with over half that were GIRLS (10 years ago, there were barely any girls in the education system at all). Form 2 was about half the size, with fewer girls... form 3 the same... form 4 was a tiny class of about 20... with only 3 girls.

This is a bit alarming to me. With the amount of girls decreasing soo much from form 1 to form 2... it could mean a variety of different things. Maybe it has just taken a while for the girls that started compulsory and free primary education to filter up into the secondary schools... maybe as time goes on the girls, and boys, are forced to leave their education to pursue income generating activities to support their families?... I don't know the answers for sure... but I do know that the need for universal/free high school is very real.

I was touched greatly by the students of Enelerai high school... each one with high hopes of becoming professionals, and desperately wanting to attend university.... but looking at the form 4 class was a bit of a wakeup call. How many of them will even be able to afford to finish high school, let alone attend university?


I am off to the Mara again tomorrow. I will be building with a group from Peterborough, Ontario at a Maasai community called Oloosiyoi. I will be posting upon my return.

In the meantime, please visit www.freethechildren.com and see ways that you can raise your own awareness of education in developing countries. :)

RAIN!!

In Canada when it rains, people get grouchy, complain, and run for cover... not here. Rain here is a blessing.

I arrived in Kenya on December 28th, until today I had not seen any significant rainfall.

The area where we are working has been facing a very serious drought... and had not received a good rain for quite some time. We arrived at the build site (Emori Joi), with a looming black cloud hovering over in the distance. Our guides began making bets on how long it would be before the rain came... it was around 5 minutes before we started getting pelted.

Although our building was cut short, I was so happy for the famers and families in the area. Freshly planted crops were given the boost that they needed today, and the dusty earth was temporarily replaced with puddles and mud.

Excellent.

lala salama.