Asante and Kwaheri

Well, there are many more stories to tell but I have to cut it off at some point and after more than a week at home I think I’m ready. This is the final entry for Erin In Kenya.

Someone recently asked me how my holiday was. This question perplexed me as I certainly wouldn’t consider my experience in Kenya a holiday. But after some reflection I realized that for someone following my blog it might appear that way. I definitely have a tendency to focus on the positive in life so the blog is more of a “best of” chronicle than a comprehensive description of my experience in Kenya. So I apologize to my readers for not painting a more accurate picture of my volunteer experience but I just can’t help myself :) Thanks to all of you for reading my stories and e-mailing me over the past 6 months. This blog has been a great way to stay in touch and a nice release for me when work got too intense.

During my 6 months in Gatura I was incredibly lucky to have a satisfying work experience, make some great friends, and live in one of the most beautiful countries in the world. I was there to contribute my skills and knowledge but I learned plenty myself in the process. I think the most life-changing skill I learned was the tendency to laugh, smile, and find enjoyment at work. For whatever reason it always seems easier to do that at home but Kenya taught me that work doesn’t need to be nearly as frustrating as most of us make it out to be. Maybe it has made me a tiny bit lazier but I like the attitude we have in Kenya of not getting upset when something doesn’t go how we expected (because things rarely go as planned) but adapting and enjoying whatever happens if we can.

Being back in Vancouver feels a bit strange but I’m settling back in. All the Olympics construction was finished during my absence and the city looks amazing. Plus it’s my favorite time of year in Vancouver when there is still snow on the mountaintops but the weather is sunny and warm from where I sit admiring them. Stephen made it through my absence but I’m a bit surprised he didn’t die in a fire from not emptying the lint filter in the dryer for 6 months or eating expired food as I recognized most of the contents of the fridge from before I left. I also found his Halloween costume still in the laundry... But we both did survive the 6 month separation and though we are grateful for my experience in Kenya we don’t think we’d like to be apart for that long ever again!

As for the future, I’m not sure what it holds for me. I don’t have any plans just yet but I now have my Canadian residency so I guess the possibilities are endless!

Thanks for sharing Erin In Kenya with me.

Cheers,

Erin B.

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My final project for Gatanga Kiiga was to create a website which you can check out at http://gatangakiiga.wordpress.com  I haven't proofread or tagged it yet and there are still some more adjustments I'd like to make but any feedback you have is appreciated. The site is designed for donors to learn more about the organization.

New Digs

Lucky for me VSO managed to coordinate my replacement volunteer before I left. Kirsteen joined me in Gatura a week before my scheduled departure so I had a chance to show her the ropes and pass my unfinished projects on to her. It was perfect for all involved. Kirsteen got to be gradually eased into her new position, Francis got to make the transition of having someone new in the office before I was gone, and I got the peace of mind that comes with trusting the capabilities of your successor.

It was a typical crazy hectic work week and I found myself wishing Kirsteen had been with me all along so we could have gotten twice as much accomplished. There is so much untapped potential still remaining at GKHBC that it is very hard for me to walk away from this project after only 6 months. But it helps knowing Kirsteen will be there to continue the work (and keep me posted through e-mail).

But there is absolutely never a dull moment at GKHBC and on Kirsteen’s first day Francis decided that we needed to move the office to a new location...by the end of the week. The landlord had locked us out of our toilets (again) and Francis had enough. I completely agree with his decision to find a new space as we had several issues with that landlord but I was a bit nervous that he promised the landlord we would be out within the week. We talked him out of a completely new town and convinced him that any office involving a new landlord would do the trick. We then spent a good chunk of time that last week looking for offices and found one on Friday that we liked and had cheaper rent than our current office.

I needed to do an exit interview with VSO Monday morning and Kirsteen would be moving all her things from Nairobi that same day so we had made plans to meet up with some other volunteers over the weekend in Nairobi so we left town not knowing what exactly we would come home to.

Francis kept Kirsteen and I updated with texts during the weekend and when we arrived at work on Monday afternoon we had a new office complete with a new desk and room divider Francis had built and a sign that had been painted on the wall outside. He is a whirlwind of activity and there is no possible way to keep up with him. Fortunately one of my last tasks was to hire a new office manager who started the day I left. Between her and Kirsteen they should be able to keep tabs on the frenzy of action that is Francis and keep him somewhat in check. GKHBC could never exist without his incredible energy and it continually amazes me.

Il Ngwesi

I thought my free high-end vacations were over when Amanda quit her job with the luxury real estate magazine but I’ve managed to eke out one more. One of the volunteers is placed at a Masai lodge helping them with a website and marketing. The lodge is owned by the Masai people and proceeds benefit their local community. Money goes to conservation, water projects, education, small business development, etc. So you can really feel good about staying at this place...except that it is a bit too spendy for me so when Carter invited some volunteers to stay the weekend at a super VSO price I was thrilled.

The lodge is located on Lewa Conservancy near Mount Kenya. The weekend started with the 4-hour drive from Nanyuki to the lodge, 2 hours of which was through the conservancy so we saw tons of animals. One of our first spots was some cheetahs eating a zebra. I don’t know why I’m so macabre on safari but Stephen refers to this type of sighting as “sports action” and he’s absolutely right. It’s quite exciting to see wild animals in action.


When we arrived at the lodge we were greeted by some singing and dancing by the staff. The Masai have done an amazing job of maintaining their unique culture and they still wear traditional clothes, carry spears, and live in traditional huts. While they value their culture they are also keen to be a part of the ever changing world they live in and seem to have struck that almost unachievable balance between tradition and progress. This is the only reason an experience like Il Ngwesi is even possible. I don’t know about most people but if I know people are performing for me I feel a bit of a voyeur. But at Il Ngwesi you know that when these people go home they are wearing the same clothing and dancing and singing to welcome visitors into their own homes. The scenery, wildlife and accommodations were incredible but for me the best part of the experience was the opportunity to share in the Masai culture rather than just observing it as an outsider.

I think the Masai are a true inspiration to cultures everywhere and they prove that quality of life can be improved through progress without abandoning culture.  I was happy to see a couple of women on staff and although they were a definite minority I think their mere presence shows the Masai are open to new ideas and a new definition of human rights. I suppose what I admire most is the Masai’s ability to distinguish between the parts of their culture that need to be changed because they were discriminating against certain members of the tribe and parts of the culture that aren’t harming anyone and can be maintained. I like their flexibility.

But back to the lodge. It was probably the most beautiful place I’ve ever stayed (and keep in mind Amanda has taken me to some incredible destinations so my bar is sky high). The lodge is set on the side of a mountain and you can’t see another light even with binos. There are very few walls so there is a thatched roof over your head at all times but even sitting on the toilet there might be nothing between you and the incredible view. And the views are fantastic. From my bedroom and my outdoor shower I could view an idyllic elephant watering hole. Unfortunately no elephants showed up during my stay but plenty of giant birds made their appearance. My bedroom was another work of art.  I got to stay in the bed that Prince William stayed in when he visited.  I wish Stacey could have been with me :) At night the bed rolled out onto the terrace and I could sleep under the thousands of stars littering the sky.

The weekend was too much fun and I felt extremely spoiled the whole time. We went on a bush walk, splashed about in the infinity pool, and ate delicious food. The staff completely spoiled us and slaughtered a goat for us the last night and baked us a cake.  That night there was also some amazing singing and dancing. Each person has a different sound and they blend together to sound like actual musical instruments. I could swear there were drums somewhere if I couldn’t see with my own eyes that no one had any instruments. And the dancing! I could really get into that kind of dancing. It mostly consisted of very pogo stick style jumping but it was quite graceful. I’m not sure if it’s because we were friends of their volunteer and they felt more comfortable or they do it this way with all their guests but they seemed to be having a blast. They would stop mid-song and crack up laughing and challenge each other to the jumping dance teasing the manager as he was obviously not quite as fit as some of the others.

This is the view from the toilet.

 

The ride out was another mini-safari and we saw herds of baboons, ostrich, elephants, giraffe, warthog, dik diks, and others. If you find yourself in Kenya and can afford the stay I would highly recommend Il Ngewsi as the perfect way to experience the natural beauty of Kenya and the unique culture of the Masai. http://ilngwesi.com/

Kids and Kiondos

One of my last days before my replacement showed up I had an interesting/depressing/uplifting day of work. The work days here are such a variety of highs and lows I fear working in Vancouver is going to feel very sedate in comparison.

Our task for the day was to do some defaulter tracing. I’m not sure if I’ve explained this before but this is when we drive around the countryside trying to track down HIV/AIDS patients who have stopped coming to the facility and are presumably no longer taking their ARVs. Francis goes to the local facilities every Tuesday to pick up their latest list and does his best detective job to find these people. It is very challenging because many people are transient workers not from the area, children who don’t have full names listed with the facilities, and married women whose names have changed. Additional challenges arise when people use fake names at the facility because they don’t want anyone to know they have HIV/AIDs. Incredibly Francis can still find some of these people but it is not always possible. Some Tuesdays he comes home empty-handed and other days he is able to trace 5-6 patients.

I hadn’t been with him on a defaulter tracing mission for several months so I decided I should come along and see how things were going. We got only a few miles out of town when a hysterical women came running out onto the road. She was screaming and crying and pulling at her hair so we pulled over at once assuming is was some sort of physical assault. We couldn’t make out anything she was saying and then she started rolling around in the dirt back and forth over and over. I don’t think I’ve ever seen such anguish. Her mother came out of the fields after her and told us that she had lost her baby. At first I didn’t understand the horror of the situation. I figured it couldn’t have gone far, kidnapping is extremely uncommon, and we just needed to calm down and search for the child.

Then the grandmother told us they had looked in the toilets and I started to realize just how horrifying it would be to lose track of your child in rural Kenya. Most people have pit latrines and it would be so easy for a small child to fall in and drown. And then there is the tea. It stands about 3 feet high in most places and if something happened that the child couldn’t call out you might never find them in such an expanse of thick growth.  Once I started I couldn’t stop thinking of different ways you could lose a child in the area and I decided that although I enjoy living in Kenya I didn’t want to raise a child there.

Fortunately there was a happy ending to this story. The kid had wandered down the road and another rider brought him back within a few minutes. I don’t think I’ll ever forget the desperation of that young mother though.

I felt like I’d had a full day emotionally but we hadn’t even made it to our first stop...

Highlights of the day included tracing a 12-year old defaulter and finding that he had simply switched clinics because he had gotten a scholarship to a boarding school. Because his name was incomplete on the facility list we didn’t realize that he was actually one of our orphans so it was a pleasant surprise to get to visit him at home. He is a deaf mute and when we pulled up to the house Francis started speaking to him in sign language. Is there no end to this man’s hidden talents? I asked Francis if he spoke sign language and he replied, “Not really but I try.” They seemed to be having a pretty involved and animated conversation for someone who was just trying... We gave the boy some school supplies that Christian Children’s Fund had supplied for our orphans and headed on our way.

We stopped by a client’s house to help them plant their kitchen garden. I planted the beet seeds and I hope they sprout or I'm going to feel really terrible. I always find the directions on the back of seed packets very unclear...

Our final stop of the day was Jane’s house. Jane is a woman in one of our community groups who makes traditional handbags called kiondos. We are trying to see if we can help her market her product so she can create a business with her women’s group. She demonstrated her craft and her rapid fire finger action was even faster than my aunt Vanda’s when she crochets. She had offered to give me lessons but I think it would have taken me more than a few weeks to learn her craft.

As with almost everyone in the area she had a family member who needed serious assistance. One of her daughters is mentally and physically challenged and like so many others in Kenya receives no special care or education. There are government  programs for the disabled but their capacity isn’t nearly big enough to handle all the cases. Disabled people who live in rural areas seem to be at a particular disadvantage when it comes to accessing these services because they aren’t as visible. Sadly we weren’t equipped to help Jane with her daughter but Francis gave her advice on the process of accessing government services.

We made it home just before dark and decided all the paperwork that goes along with defaulter tracing would have to wait for the next day.

Gatura

I don't think I've really ever posted any photos of Gatura on this blog so heere's a tour of my tiny town!

Gatura is the biggest town around but it only has a population of around 6,000. However, the community is mostly comprised of farmers so it feels much smaller as most people live in the country. The town really comes to life on market days as it is the biggest town for several miles around so other villages come to Gatura to do their shopping.

Above you can see the local car wash and me and Francis cruisin the strip :) The "town" portion of Gatura basically consists of one section of one street (pictured below). Although it's a local hub Gatura is not a path to anywhere. The road turns to gravel just past our office so to get anywhere you have to first take the 45 minute matatu ride to Thika, the nearest real city. Gatura is located between Nairobi and Mount Kenya map.

Gatura is at 5,488 feet so you can definitely feel the altitude which may explain why I didn't totally destroy myself in the 10k I ran 3 days after arriving home. The surrounding countryside is all tea farms. The tea is an incredible color of green all year round and it makes for a beautiful landscape.The photo just below is the type of house you will mostly find in town.

My last week in Gatura I think we saw 5 rainbows!