Wednesday, January 27, 2010
I woke up at 6am to start getting ready for the day which would involve an early morning trip to Thika, the nearest town. I tried to start the day with a simple glass of water only to find that my water filter wasn't draining properly because the filters had become clogged. Since I'd been lazy about boiling water lately I'd already drank all my emergency back up water so this suddenly became a critical issue that needed my immediate attention. So I took the filter apart, scrubbed each cone, washed the entire thing, and put it back together and started boiling more water for filtering. This process took about 40 minutes so the workout I had planned to do before work was out. I got dressed, packed my bag, and prepared breakfast just in time to make my Skype date with Stephen at 7:15. We had a nice chat then I rushed to finish my dishes and be at work by 8am as my employer and I had plans to leave for Thika at 8am.
I really should have known better. I arrived by 8 but we didn't end up leaving until 10:30. First my employer had a long discussion with me about a new grant we would be receiving the following day. Then we moved directly into some business that was supposed to be finished the day before. Then the treasurer showed up and we realized that some of our finances haven't been reported so we set a meeting for Friday to take care of those issues. Then a client came in to see Francis so he went to the other room and we all sat around waiting for him for 40 minutes. I went in to remind him that we'd be late for our appointment in Thika and he realized he'd forgotten to tell me that it got moved to the afternoon. When he finally returned we prepared to leave and another client came so we waited for another 10 minutes...he doesn't do appointments and he rarely says no to people who come in to see him so this is a common occurance.
On our way to the matatu we stopped by the post office to finally pay for a post box. Francis had told me the wrong post box when he gave me our address (we didn't actually even have one) so it's amazing I was receiving any mail at all. Fortunately, this type of a thing isn't a problem here like it would be at home because not many people get mail from Canada or the States in my small town so the post lady had been holding my mail for me.
At 10:30, 2.5 hours later, we finally boarded the matatu to Thika. We arrived a little after 11 and our first order of business was to meet up with a partner and deliver our monthly report. Francis sent a quick text and we went to the city park to wait. Within a few minutes James arrived and we started chatting...then a fellow from social services happened by which was fortunate because we were delivering some paperwork to him that day to so we simply handed it off in the park. Of course a few other people came by that Francis knew so we had to chat with them as well. Our partner decided we should go to a hotel for tea so we wouldn't be disturbed. Being with Francis is like hanging out with a celebrity because he literally knows everyone. We talked shop for a bit in the quiet of the hotel and received our grant money for the month.
Next on tap was the rabbit exhibition. This was not on the schedule but Francis heard it was in town and decided we should go. We entered the soccer stadium to find several tables with absolutely packed crowds around them. We weren't able to actually see the rabbits but of course ran into several people that Francis knows. I never would have guessed a rabbit exhibition could draw such a crowd!
After extracting ourselves from the mass of people we headed back into town to find the Aphia II office. We had heard about several projects this organization was working on and they seemed quite complimentary to the work we were doing so we thought we should check it out. We were able to meet with the in-charge and learn more about the organization and walked away with the promise of a site visit.
Back on the street we got a text from James who realized that he didn't have us sign for the money we had received so we needed to meet back up with him. We met him in an internet cafe where a cousin of Francis works. But by now it was after 1 and we had decided we were hungry. We headed over to the Arcade and found a restaurant with a Githeri Special (beans and cabbage) that was fantastic. I invited a fellow VSO and Francis invited our next appointment (Monica) so we ended up a group of 5 and everyone enjoyed meeting each other and exchanged numbers at the end.
Monica wasn't quite ready for us so Francis and I rushed to the National Health Insurance office to pick up some blank application forms for the office before meeting her in a taxi downstairs. We then drove a little way out of town to a very run-down part of Thika that Monica described as a "mini-slum". We were here to visit a girls rescue home and explore a possible partnership.
The home houses 23 orphan girls from age 5-13. There are only 2 bedrooms and one indoor bathroom. The kitchen is very primitive and there is a family room but that is it. A very small space for that many girls and needless to say they are 2-3 girls in a single-sized bed. The yard has a large garden and 2 cows which they are able to get most of their food from. They have also built a very rough outbuilding that functions as a nursery school for the youngest children so they don't have to leave the compound for school. Most of the children were at school during our visit but we were able to meet the nursery students and one other student who arrived home early. We saw the need was incredible in this facility that has no permanent donor and has gotten by for 4 years on one-time donations month to month. We hope to assist where we can in sourcing shoes, clothing, sanitary pads, etc.We would have liked to spend more time at the home but Monica had made another appointment for us with a local politician. We drove back towards town but turned off into the country where we met a brand new Range Rover with tinted windows parked in a cornfield. It all looked very suspicious to me but 2 guys in fancy suits came out of the car to talk to us. I found out later that Monica was showing them a piece of land out there but at the time I felt like I had gotten myself into a dicey situation.
At 5pm we were finally done! But then we realized James had given us too much money so we texted him to meet us at the gas station for a third time that day where we made the exchange. Then we remembered that we had a computer in the repair shop that needed to be picked up as we had a computer student starting class this week. The computer is ancient and we invested a decent sum of money to get it fixed but didn't really have other options as the organization can't afford a new one. I'm hoping it lasts at least until we can source money for some new computers.
I put Francis on a matatu with the computer and headed back into town to shop for a few odds and ends I can't get in Gatura (which is most things other than vegetables and plastic buckets). I returned to the matatu stage around 6pm and boarded a matatu that smelled like someone had an accident on it. I was joined by a local government official from Gatura who had been to the rabbit exhibition and thought it was amazing. We talked the whole way home about farming, family, religion, etc.
I arrived back at my apartment at 7:30 and no sooner walked in the door than my neighbor came by to see where I had been all day. This neighbor had promised to help me get hot water for my shower. Once he confirmed I was home he sent a missed call to the fundi as a signal to come over. He took a look at my equipment and informed me that he needed to buy some wire for the project. So I gave him some money and off he went to the store. Back 15 minutes later he started working and realized I needed a different shape of pipe. More money, 15 minutes later, really into the work. I loaned him my miner's lamp since he was trying to do the wiring in the dark and he was awed by the invention. I wish I could give him mine as it would be so useful in his job but maybe later, when I don't need it anymore. My neighbor and I had a good chat about Ugandan politics while he was working and by 8pm I had warm water in my shower!
Since it was already so late I decided to save the shower treat for the following morning. I made myself a light dinner of crackers and jam, just enough food so I could take my malaria pill as I was still quite full from the massive plate of githeri. I closed out the day by checking my e-mail and doing a little writing. By 9:30 I'm ready for sleep and ready to dream about my hot shower!
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